Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 173

ther to make joint decisions and to determine specific criteria for each coun-

try's budgetary contribution to the Fund, it can truly be said that the va-

rious Member States come together as equals, expressing their solidarity with

one another and their shared commitment to eradicate poverty and hunger.

In an increasingly interdependent world, joint decision-making processes of

this kind are essential if international affairs are to be conducted with equity

and foresight.

Equally commendable is the emphasis placed by Ifad on promoting em-

ployment opportunities within rural communities, with a view to enabling

them, in the long term, to become independent of outside aid. Assistance

given to local producers serves to build up the economy and contributes to

the overall development of the nation concerned. In this sense the "rural

credit" projects, designed to assist smallholder farmers and agricultural wor-

kers with no land of their own, can boost the wider economy and provide

greater food security for all. These projects also help indigenous communities

to flourish on their own soil, and to live in harmony with their traditional

culture, instead of being forced to uproot themselves in order to seek em-

ployment in overcrowded cities, teeming with social problems, where they

often have to endure squalid living conditions.

This approach has the particular merit of restoring the agricultural sector

to its rightful place within the economy and the social fabric of developing

nations. Here a valuable contribution can be made by Non-Governmental

Organizations, some of which have close links with the Catholic Church and

are committed to the application of her social teaching. The principle of

subsidiarity requires that each group within society be free to make its pro-

per contribution to the good of the whole. All too often, agricultural workers

in developing nations are denied that opportunity, when their labour is gree-

dily exploited, and their produce is diverted to distant markets, with little or

no resulting benefit for the local community itself.

Almost fifty years ago, my predecessor Blessed Pope John XXIII had

this to say about the task of tilling the soil: "Those who live on the land can

hardly fail to appreciate the nobility of the work they are called upon to do.

They are living in close harmony with Nature - the majestic temple of

Creation... Theirs is a work which carries with it a dignity all its own".1 All

human labour is a participation in the creative providence of Almighty God,

1 Mater et Magistra, 130-131.