As we celebrate our united successes during this 6^th World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance based on our contribution to the economic transformation of our various continents, let me remind all of us also of the onerous responsibility that we have to shape rural agricultural finance in a manner that will make it truly beneficial to our rural and agricultural populations.

This year’s global event on Rural and Agricultural Credit Associations could not come at a better time than this, because it is being held at a time when climate change effects are really threatening not only our human existence but also agriculture which puts food on the table. It is also significant to note the venue which is New Delhi, India where emerging agricultural technologies are gaining traction with spillover to other developing world.

A look at the programme shows a good number of innovative topics with diverse approaches to supporting agricultural financing in our respective continents.

I commend APRACA, NABARD, the organizing Committee and the Government and people of India for hosting the 6th World Congress. It is my hope that the valuable experiences shared across the continents and the lessons learnt out of this congress would spur us on to deliver even better agricultural financial services to agricultural value chain actors.

I will urge that we continue to maintain the network we have so as to benefit from diverse sources of innovations to promote rural development.

I wish all of us a successful congress.