the pursuit of excellence especially in education, as a vehicle of development in sierra leone. the successes we have scored so far in this area will not have been possible without the support and contribution we have received from the board of trustees of this charity. on behalf of the board of directors, management and staff of the bank of sierra leone, i will like to thank them for their dedication and hard work. within a short period of time the board of trustees comprising six members have worked tirelessly and assiduously to actualise the objectives of the bank, and in the process attract the attention and admiration of the public. as a result, the charity has started receiving contributions from individual members of the international community. i therefore want to take the opportunity to single out the laudable gesture of mr paul wilson and mr glyn williams of de la rue in england who in their personal capacities donated generously towards the trust. as recent as this morning, the trust has received contribution from mrs sheila lee, mother of mr tom lee. their initiative is worthy of commendation. i therefore wish to thank them profusely through mr tom lee who also is a member of the de la rue family and who has been an effective ambassador of the trust, for their humanitarian gesture. this i believe should serve as an inspiration for our local collaborators to follow suit. distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, at this point i particularly want to recognise the contributions of dr s b nicol - cole who was the first chairman of the board of trustees, and who only took leave of us last year. his contributions during the very critical teething period for the trust was truly valued and we want to thank him for his services and wish him well in all his future endeavours. let me also recognise the pioneering efforts of dr j d rogers, erstwhile governor of the bank, who recently retired from the services of the bank of sierra leone. i want to assure him that his efforts in this area will not go in vein. in that same vein, i want also to congratulate prof. aiah a gbakima, the new chairman of the board of trustees, who was elected chairman by his colleague members of the board, after acting in the capacity for one year. i have no doubt that with professor gbakima ’ s drive and commitment, the charity will continue to grow from strength to strength. i will be remiss in my duty, if i did not recognise also our development partners who have made valuable

michelle w bowman : welcoming remarks - national agricultural credit conference welcoming remarks by ms michelle w bowman, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the national agricultural credit conference, washington dc, 25 march 2019. * * * good afternoon. it is a great pleasure for me to join the federal reserve bank of kansas city in welcoming you to the federal reserve board for the 2019 national agricultural credit conference. for nearly 80 years, these meetings have been at the forefront of important discussions for those with a stake in agricultural lending, with the first national agricultural credit meeting held in 1941. at that time and with war looming, there was a clear need to ensure that our nation ’ s farmers had the resources and capability to support the nation in the wake of the great depression, deflation, and the dust bowl. this meeting provided a vital forum for candid conversation, to exchange information, and to forge relationships that would enable lenders to take steps to ensure a sound future for agriculture — a future supported by the efficient and effective provision of credit. in the decades since that first meeting, this conference has seen a number of boom and bust cycles in agriculture, most often the result of volatile swings in commodity prices, land price valuations, and borrowing costs for agricultural business owners. through all of these challenges, this conference has provided an important opportunity to promote a greater understanding of emerging issues in agricultural finance. further, the success of these meetings largely depends on the interactions of everyone here today, so i want to thank you for attending and for participating. i am honored to welcome you to the first conference meeting to be held at the federal reserve board. and i ’ m pleased to support this group ’ s mission to foster discussion on issues pertaining to ag finance, and i look forward to meeting with you and learning from the discussion. today and tomorrow, we will discuss recent developments in agricultural credit markets. we will also hear from presenters on topics that connect in various ways to the agricultural sector. i am especially pleased to see there is a special focus on rural communities at this year ’ s meeting. as many of you know, this topic holds a special place in my heart. my family has deep roots in rural kansas and a long history in farming, ranching, and ag banking. i have spent much of my life and career living, working, and raising a family in a rural area. rural communities are critical for our nation for many reasons including food production and processing, manufacturing, and leading