The decision to create IFAD was made in 1974 in the wake of the great droughts and famines that struck Africa and Asia in the preceding years. We work mainly in marginal, rainfed areas that are at risk for water shortages, land degradation and desertification. This is why adaptation to climate variability and strengthening resilience to environmental stress have always been part of IFAD’s work. The following are just a few examples of how we address the four building blocks of response to climate change.

In Sri Lanka, IFAD and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) are supporting a programme to rehabilitate three key coastal ecosystems along the tsunami-devastated east coast.

In China, IFAD is supporting a weather-based index insurance project to help poor farmers. A private-public funded activity, weather-based index insurance links an insurance payout to objective, measurable events such as rainfall or temperature. This means that farmers are better able to manage risk and may be more comfortable investing in agricultural activities that require a higher initial investment.

Improved natural resource management is an important adaptation response in many areas. In Burkina Faso, the IFAD-supported Sustainable Rural Development Programme is adopting more environmentally friendly technologies such as soil and water conservation techniques and agroforestry. Similarly, in Senegal, in response to increasing desertification, IFAD has supported drip irrigation (goutte-à-goutte).

Economic diversification is a crucial response to climate change in many regions. On the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, an IFAD-funded programme is helping participants diversify their activities into agriculture and microenterprises, so they are not solely dependent on fishing for their livelihoods.
In eastern Morocco, drought and overgrazing had degraded vast areas of rangelands. An IFAD-sponsored rehabilitation programme has led to improved rangeland productivity, soil cover, regeneration of medicinal and aromatic plants, and improved soil water infiltration. The programme includes a GEF component that supported a study providing relevant information for climate change adaptation and offering ways to climate-proof the GEF component.

Source: IFAD