21st African-Asian Rural Development Organization:
21st African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) concluded and reaffirmed that development is strongest when rooted in community, driven by local knowledge, technology and south-south cooperation.
- It is an autonomous inter-governmental Organization comprising country governments of Africa and Asia which was established in 1962.
- The organization was set up with a view to promote coordinated efforts, exchange of experiences and cooperative action for furthering the objectives of development of the rural areas.
- The membership of the organization is open to all countries of the Afro-Asian region provided that it is a full or associate member of the United Nations or any of its specialised agencies, organisations and foundations concerned with the development of rural communities.
- Currently it comprises 32 countries of Africa and Asia as full members and 3 associate members.
- Functions is to collaborate with the appropriate international and regional organizations, including UN agencies, the national bodies, governmental or non-governmental,To organize and facilitate the conduct of international, regional and in-country training programmes to strengthen the institutional capacity of Afro-Asian member countries in sustainable agriculture and rural development, To initiate research and action research studies of specific or common interest and disseminate disaggregated data/statistics and information to member countries, To provide technical and financial supportto its member countries to undertake pilot projects for experimentation and replication
- It enjoys observer status with international organisations like Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Headquarters:New Delhi, India
