Lennart Båge is stepping down from his role as SIANI Steering Committee member as he is taking on the role of Sida’s new Acting Director-General from the 1st of November 2016. He has been part of SIANIs steering committee since August 2015.
Lennart Båge has a long career in international development and in Swedish diplomacy. He has been involved in rural development, at project, programme and policy level since the 70s. Between the years 2001-2009 he was the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). IFAD is a specialised agency of the United Nations with the specific mandate to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security. The organisation stresses that 75% of the world’s poorest people – 1.4 billion women, children and men – live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods and it works closely with national governments to ensure capacity building of the rural poor. At IFAD Lennart Båge worked particularly on rural development and on the role of agriculture to ensure reduction of world poverty by 50% by 2015. Lennart Båge has hold numerous of important board appointments linked to agriculture, environment and development.
SIANI is pleased to hear this news and wish to congratulate Lennart Båge as he takes up this new appointment!