What is IFAD's mission?

To work with developing countries to...

• Alleviate rural poverty
• Reduce food insecurity and malnutrition

What does Food Security mean ?

IFAD describes Household Food Security as “the capacity of households to procure a stable and sustainable basket of adequate food”¹

Many actions contribute to building Household Food Security and each action requires a gender perspective to hold the structure together

Availabililty: Land , Water, Technology, Livestock and Fisheries, Environment

Access: Incomes, Savings and Credit, Extension and Training, Literacy, Community Organization, Participation, Institution Building

Utilization: Health and Sanitation, Caregiving Practices

Stability: Sustainability

For example: Many IFAD projects promote actions such as

• agricultural extension services to increase food availability
• rural savings and credit to improve access to food
• clean water supply to enhance food utilization
• crop storage facilities for stability in food supply

Each of these project activities is intended to make a meaningful difference in the lives of the rural poor

“…ultimately, the only criterion by which the value of the Fund can be properly judged is its impact particularly with regard to food security and nutrition on the circumstances of the rural poor.”²

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1/ Reference: IFAD, Memory Checks for Household Food Security and Gender.

2/ Reference: IFAD Annual Report, 1998.

 

Hot links Household Food Security: implications for policy and action for rural poverty alleviation and nutrition Rural poverty alleviation and nutrition IFAD's evolving experience Memory checks for programme and project design IFAD Paper for the World Food Summit November 1996 Download Multimedia presentation on Food Security and Nutrition (Macromedia Flash 2.6MB) Powerpoint Presentation on Food Security and Nutrition