CFC Marks International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2025 with a Call to Empower Smallholders and Humanize Value Chains
Amsterdam, 16 October 2025 — The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) commemorated the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) 2025 with a thought-provoking webinar titled “Economic Justice for Smallholders: Rethinking Poverty Through Structural Transformation.” The event brought together development experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore systemic barriers that perpetuate inequality in global value chains — and to highlight pathways toward more just, inclusive, and sustainable economic systems.
Opening the session, Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, CFC Managing Director, emphasized that poverty today is not born of scarcity but sustained by structure.
“Smallholders are not failing — the system is failing them,” said Ambassador Belal. “Our task is to humanize the value chain, empower smallholders, and ensure that prosperity, equality, and fairness grow from the same soil. When we invest in people, not pity, and fairness, not abstraction, prosperity follows.”
The event’s keynote address was delivered by Dr. Andrew M. Fisher, Professor of Inequality, Social Protection and Development at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), whose research challenges conventional understandings of poverty. Dr. Fisher explored how modern poverty persists in a world of abundance, pointing to deep structural imbalances that continue to undermine the livelihoods of smallholder producers in the Global South.
“We live in an age of plenty, yet millions still go hungry,” noted Dr. Fisher. “The undervaluing of smallholder labour and the declining terms of trade reveal a structural problem — not a personal one. To achieve economic justice, we must rethink the architecture of global production and ensure value is shared more equitably along the chain.”
Throughout the discussion, panellists reaffirmed CFC’s commitment to tackling poverty by investing in inclusive, climate-smart, and sustainable value chains. From cashew cooperatives in Benin to organic farming initiatives in Zimbabwe and rice projects in Senegal, CFC projects continue to demonstrate how local value addition and fairer trade can transform communities.
This year’s IDEP theme reflects CFC’s enduring mission: to turn commodities into catalysts for justice, resilience, and shared prosperity — ensuring that the smallholders who feed and sustain the world are not left behind.
“Ending poverty and protecting our planet are two sides of the same moral coin,” added Ambassador Belal. “A system that impoverishes its stewards cannot protect its soil.”
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[CFC Media Relations Team]
[Email: managing.director@common-fund.org]
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