Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty



IFAD supports ongoing projects and programmes in 18 of the 35 low- and middle-income countries and territories in the Near East and North Africa (NENA), Central and Eastern Europe (CEN), and Central Asia. Across these sub-regions, IFAD works to reduce poverty and boost food security through loans and grants for sustainable agricultural and rural development initiatives.

Eradicating rural poverty in NENA
The population of all the countries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) sub-region is about 442 million, of whom 41 per cent live in rural areas. In countries and territories for which data are available, approximately 4 per cent live on less than US$1.25 a day.

Given the enormous challenges facing rural areas and the agricultural sector in NENA, IFAD’s strategic interventions there increasingly focus on national development priorities. These include:

  • Expanding smallholder farmers’ access to rural finance
  • Generating rural youth employment
  • Linking small growers of non-traditional crops with domestic and international markets
  • Improving management of land and water resources
  • Reducing vulnerability to water scarcity and resilience to climate change.

Early interventions in post-conflict situations are also high on the agenda, as evident from IFAD operations in the West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon and Iraq.

Eradicating rural poverty in CEN and Central Asia
The total population of Central and Eastern Europe (CEN) and Central Asia is about 141 million, of whom more than half live in rural areas. In the CEN countries for which data are available, approximately 2 per cent live on less than US$1.25 a day, while the rate exceeds 6 per cent in some Central Asian nations.

In CEN and Central Asia, IFAD focuses on:

  • Boosting rural financial services
  • Establishing wider market linkages for rural smallholder producers through improved value-chain management
  • Developing small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as roads and other infrastructure, to bolster the rural economy
  • Enhancing the productivity of the livestock sector and introducing community-based management of pasture resources.

Harnessing the potential use of remittances more effectively for the advancement of agro-processing capacity is also helping to boost rural economies, creating jobs and reducing unemployment – especially among poor young people in CEN and Central Asia.

Innovative solutions
Throughout the Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia, IFAD is working to meet an increased demand for innovation in rural poverty reduction. It is doing so by replicating and scaling up best practices in, for example, rural finance, employment generation and rural advisory services. Other priorities across the region include:

  • Private-sector and local institutional development
  • Support to civil society and good local governance
  • Assistance to rural producers to access markets and take advantage of value chain opportunities.

In light of its growing programme of work in the region, IFAD is also emphasizing the need to boost dialogue with international financial institutions, and other regional and bilateral partners, on cofinancing of projects and programmes. In addition, IFAD does significant policy research and analytical work to help address recurrent issues faced by projects, to scout for good practices and to scale up innovative solutions.

Countries in Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia

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Contact information

  • Khalida Bouzar
    Director
    Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia
    via Paolo di Dono, 44
    00142 Rome, Italy
    Tel: + 390654592321 
    Fax: +390654593321 
    e-mail: k.bouzar@ifad.org