Bangladesh holds ‘incredible potential’ in agriculture, transforming rural communities: IFAD

Bangladesh has “incredible potential” when it comes to agriculture and transforming rural communities, IFAD’s newly appointed Country Director for Bangladesh Dr Valantine Achancho has said,

“I am excited to collaborate with the government, our partners, and local communities to strengthen agricultural systems and improve lives across the country. By working together, we can create sustainable growth and give smallholder farmers the support they need to overcome challenges and thrive,” said Achancho while presenting his credentials to Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain recently.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) remains deeply committed to improving the lives and livelihoods of rural communities by boosting agricultural productivity, increasing rural incomes, and empowering smallholders and farmers, women, and youth, said Achancho.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations.

Before coming to Bangladesh, Achancho served as IFAD Country Director and Representative for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo from 2020 to 2024, and has previously held the same position for Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad, IFAD said on Friday in a media release. 

He also served as IFAD Country Programme Officer for Cameroon and Gabon, and Programme Officer for the Indian Ocean region, contributing to rural development projects in the Sahel and Congo basin, mobilizing co-financing, and strengthening partnerships with governments, donors, and civil society to improve rural livelihoods.

In his new role of Country Director for Bangladesh, Achancho will be advocating for and enhancing national government programmes that strengthen climate resilience in vulnerable rural communities through infrastructure and climate-smart agriculture, while enhancing access to finance, technology, and markets for smallholders and marginalized groups to diversify the economy and create rural jobs.

“I am dedicated to collaborating with our partners to empower rural communities, enabling them to adapt to climate change, tackle economic challenges, and build sustainable livelihoods for long-term resilience,” says Achancho.

Before joining IFAD in 2011, Achancho was deputy director of farmers’ professional organizations and cooperative movement, and senior engineer in charge for prospective analysis and agricultural policies in the Ministry of Agriculture in Cameroon.

His earlier positions include national coordinator for Agence Française de Développement (AFD) funded project, visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of Dschang in Cameroon, and consultant for IFAD, the Word Bank and European Union operations.

He holds a Ph.D in Sociology for Development from Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences.

Since 1978, IFAD has supported the Government of Bangladesh in its ambitious rural development goals. Over the past 45 years, IFAD has supported 37 projects, mobilizing USD 3.9 billion in financing, to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than 11 million families.

Today, IFAD’s programme in Bangladesh is one of its largest. Currently, IFAD has investment of USD 519 million in Bangladesh, distributed across six ongoing projects implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Local Government Engineering Department, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation, and the Bangladesh Water Development Board.