James Marc de Sousa Shields has formally assumed his role as the new Country Director and Head of the Multi-Country Office for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in India, presenting his credentials to Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs. He emphasized India’s pivotal moment on its path to becoming a fully developed nation by 2047 and highlighted IFAD’s nearly 50-year partnership with India in supporting rural development. De Sousa-Shields expressed his commitment to empowering smallholder farmers and rural communities while fostering collaborations with government and private sector partners to enhance rural finance, market access, sustainable food systems, and opportunities for rural women and youth.
IFAD has a long-standing history of working with India, having financed 36 rural development projects valued at a total of US$4.68 billion, making India one of IFAD’s largest country portfolios. Of this, US$1.53 billion represents IFAD’s direct investment, with four ongoing projects totaling US$327 million. These projects focus on transforming smallholder agriculture into business-oriented enterprises, strengthening farmers’ capacity to access markets, and improving agro-based enterprises and pro-poor value chains to attract youth to agriculture. Additionally, IFAD promotes climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices to build resilience against climate and market variability while fostering partnerships between farmers, organizations, and private companies.
The US$327 million investment currently underway includes initiatives that target key rural development challenges. Projects aim to expand market access for over 45,000 enterprises in Meghalaya, enhance rural women’s participation in remunerative employment in Maharashtra, boost climate resilience for 300,000 small-scale farmers in Jammu and Kashmir, and double rural livelihoods’ incomes in Uttarakhand while reducing distress migration. These efforts reflect IFAD’s strategy of inclusive, sustainable, and market-focused rural development.
Before his appointment in India, de Sousa-Shields served as Lead Regional Technical Specialist for Rural Finance and Markets at IFAD, covering multiple regions including the Near East, North Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. He played a key role in developing IFAD’s Inclusive Rural Finance Policy, establishing the Private Sector Operations Division, and leading the Private Sector Strategy Action Plan. Prior to joining IFAD, he ran an international development consultancy spanning three continents and advised UN agencies, governments, and private sector actors on sustainability and inclusive finance. De Sousa-Shields’ career also includes entrepreneurial ventures, board service, and early experience as a dairy farm herdsman in Canada.
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