Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty
IFAD communications toolkit (2012)
English | Download full version
Farmers’ Africa: Complementary actions for the benefit of African producers (2013)
English | French
Support to Farmers’Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP) - Main Phase 2013-2017 (2013)
English
SFOAP Leaflet
English | French
Flexi Biogas systems: inexpensive, renewable energy for developing countries (2012)
English
Agriculture
- Farmers’ Africa: Complementary actions for the benefit of African producers (2013)
English | French - Support to Farmers’Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP) - Main Phase 2013-2017 (2013)
English - Spreading the system of rice intensification across East and Southern Africa (2012)
English - Agriculture – Pathways to prosperity in Asia and the Pacific (2011)
English - IFAD and client-financed agricultural advisory services (2010)
English - Global consultation on cassava as a potential bioenergy crop (2010)
- Egypt: Smallholder contract farming for high-value and organic agricultural exports (2009)
English - Farmers speak out: The vision and recommendations of Africa’s farmers’ organizations for the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (2010)
English | French - Smallholder conservation agriculture: Rationale for IFAD involvement and relevance to the East and Southern Africa region (2011)
English - The role of high-value crops in rural poverty reduction in the Near East and North Africa Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty
IFAD has been strongly engaged in agriculture and rural development support since 1977. As of the end of 2007, IFAD is funding 33 programme loans and 34 regional and country research grants in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region1, with a total commitment of about US$520 million.
Arabic (2008) | English (2009)
Climate change
- Climate change: Building smallholder resilience (2011)
Arabic | English | French | Italian | Spanish - Addressing climate change in:
- West and Central Africa (2011)
- East and Southern Africa (2011)
- Asia and the Pacific (2011)
- Latin America and the Caribbean (2011)
- Near East, North Africa and Europe (2011)
- Preparación jurídica para el cambio climático y el fomento al desarrollo rural en México (IFAD, IDLO 2011)
Organización Internacional de Derecho para el Desarrollo (IDLO, por sus siglas en inglés) y el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) se han unido para realizar una revisión de los marcos legales emergentes en México que abordarán el cambio climático. El resultado es el Informe de Evaluación de Preparación Legal (LPAR, por sus siglas en inglés), un documento que detalla la preparación legal requerida para el cambio climático y el fomento al desarrollo rural en México y que registra las historias detrás de los esfuerzos y las lecciones aprendidas en ese país, tanto a nivel nacional, como subnacional y rural.
Reporte | Resumen - The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have joined together to provide a comprehensive review of Mexico’s emerging legal frameworks to address climate change. The resulting Legal Preparedness Assessment Report (LPAR), documents the stories behind Mexico’s efforts as well as lessons learned at the national, subnational and rural levels.
Full report (Spanish only) | Executive summary (Spanish only) - Regreening the Sahel: Developing agriculture in the context of climate change in Burkina Faso(2011)
English | French - Livestock and climate change (2009)
English - IFAD’s response to climate change through support to adaptation and related actions (2010)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish
Comprehensive report - ODI-IFAD project briefing: Closing the gap between climate adaptation and poverty reduction frameworks (2009)
- IFAD: a key player in adaptation to climate change (2007)
The impacts of climate change are already tangible in many regions and they are projected to become even more severe in coming years. This will have environmental, social and economic consequences.
English
Community-driven development
- Experiencias del FIDA sobre escalonamiento en Perú, Estudio de caso y esquema analítico(2012)
En los últimos treinta años, el FIDA así como sucesivos gobiernos peruanos han desarrollado programas en la sierra, donde los niveles de pobreza son severos. Esto se construye sobre modelos de desarrollo comunal, lecciones aprendidas sistemáticamente y ampliando tanto las áreas cubiertas como el alcance de las intervenciones. Los proyectos FEAS, MARENASS, CORREDOR y SIERRA alcanzaron 120,000 hogares en más de 1,600 comunidades pobres en la sierra sur. Estos proyectos han sacado de la pobreza extrema al 30 por ciento de los hogares objetivos, y 35 por ciento salieron completamente de la pobreza. Estos proyectos secuenciales representan el sendero de un proceso de escalonamiento complejo, pero exitoso.
Bárbara Massler, Mayo 2012 AGEG-Brookings Institution-FIDA
Español - Addressing poverty through mobilization of community resources (2012)
English - Community-driven development decision tools for rural development programmes (2009)
English
Food security
- The future of world food security (2012)
English - Water and food security (2012)
English - Higher and volatile food prices and poor rural people (2011)
Arabic | English | French | Italian | Spanish - Improving food security in Arab countries, a joint FAO, IFAD and World Bank publication (2009)
English
Fragile states
Gender
- Operationalizing good intent: untangling the knowledge around gender (2013)
English - Transforming agricultural development and production in Africa - Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty - Closing gender gaps and empowering rural women in policy and practice (2012)
English - IFAD Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (2012)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Factsheet on IFAD policy on gender equality and women’s empowerment (2012)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Gender equality and women’s empowerment (2012)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Mainstreaming Gender in IFAD-supported projects in NEN Region: Training package (2011)
Arabic: Part I | Part II
English: Part I | Part II - Trail Blazers: Lighting the way ahead (2011)
English - Gender dimensions of agricultural and rural employment: Differentiated pathways out of poverty: Status, trends and gaps (2010)
With the aim of promoting gender equitable rural employment strategies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Labour Office (ILO), partnered to carry out an assessment of the latest thinking on the gender dimension of rural and agricultural employment. The three organizations are committed to improving gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture and rural areas, and to strengthening women’s leadership and participation in decision-making processes.
English - El Poder de Ser Mujer (2010)
La publicación 'El Poder de Ser Mujer' es una muestra de los avances de las asociaciones de campesinas y campesinos pobres que con el apoyo organizativo, financiero y técnico del Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) y de los gobiernos locales trabajan para producir y vender más alimentos, cuidar el ambiente en el que viven, aumentar sus ingresos y determinar la orientación de sus vidas.
Spanish - Promoting women's leadership in farmers' and rural producers' organizations (2010)
Arabic | English |French | Spanish - Lightening the load: Labour saving technologies for rural women (2010)
English - Gender and rural microfinance: Reaching and empowering women, a guide for practitioners(2009)
Innovations in financial services, particularly in microfinance, have enabled millions of women and men in rural areas who were formerly excluded from the financial sector to gain access to financial services on an ongoing basis. Nevertheless, serious challenges remain in establishing microfinance and banking in rural areas. Financial services should be linked to the wider sustainable development process so that these services can help develop markets and value chains and strengthen the local and national economy. The comprehensive, 79-page Gender and rural microfinance publication is useful to technical partners and microfinance institutions, gender practitioners working in rural microfinance, and academic researchers in the fields of gender and microfinance. The guide focuses on rural microfinance, which is defined as “all financial services that are accessible to poor and low-income rural households and individuals.” The guide describes how financial institutions should take into account the needs of their clients when designing products such as credit, savings, insurance and remittances. It puts emphasis on demand-driven product development, such as market research and financial literacy.
Arabic (2010) | English | French | Spanish - International migration, remittances and rural development (2009)
Globalization and migration are rapidly transforming traditional spheres of human activity. The work of rural families is no longer confined to farming activities, and livelihoods are increasingly being diversified through rural-to-urban and international migration. Age-old boundaries are breaking down. Formerly isolated towns and villages in Latin America and the Caribbean have come closer to New York and Los Angeles than to the capitals of their own nations. The same is true of the relationship of certain areas of Africa and Asia to metropolises such as Berlin, Johannesburg, London, Paris, Singapore and Sydney. Development organizations that support rural poor families in overcoming poverty are realizing that essential members of these families are making their living abroad, far away from their dependants. The ‘global village’ has become a reality. However, the poverty that forced rural inhabitants to migrate still exists in their places of origin and continues to influence their lives and prospects in their ‘adopted countries’, as well as those of the people they left behind.
English - Gender in agriculture sourcebook (2008)
The sourcebook provides an up-to-date understanding of gender issues and a rich compilation of compelling evidence of good practices and lessons learned. The sourcebook is aimed at the practitioner both in international and regional development agencies and national governments. More specifically, it speaks to the needs of operational staff who design and implement lending projects and technical officers who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. It is intended to provide guidance on how to integrate gender into agricultural projects and programs.
English - Gender and non-timber forest products: Promoting food security and economic empowerment (2008)
This publication takes stock of past experience and demonstrates that there are many opportunities to invest in non-timber forest products in support of rural livelihoods and to promote better methods of enabling poor rural people, and especially women, to benefit from the sector. It highlights approaches used by IFAD and other agencies and emphasizes the multiple dimension of the challenges – in terms of division of labour, differences in access to credit and market information, and environmental issues. It also illustrated the role of women as agents of change in this sector in knowledge of natural resources, biodiversity and conservation.
English - Gender and water (2008)
Gender and water examines the impact of water-related projects on women, women's role in managing water resources and the constraints women face in gaining access to water.It presents lessons learned in promoting women's participation in decision-making for water management using experiences from several IFAD-supported water programmes and projects. It highlights the innovative activities and catalysts that have helped to address gender issues in water programmes and projects. And it offers recommendations on how to improve women's access to water resources through equitable development and gender mainstreaming.
English - Polishing the stone (2007)
Polishing the stone, that shares some of IFAD's knowledge and experience in promoting gender equity in rural development projects.
English | Spanish - Gender and desertification: Making ends meet in drylands (2010)
Desertification is the process of land degradation that affects dryland areas and is caused by poverty, unsustainable land management and climate change. Drylands lose their productive capacity in a spiral of destruction that twins increased land degradation with increased poverty and food insecurity. Drought and desertification threaten the livelihoods of more than 1.2 billion people in 110 countries. The problem is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia
English - Gender and desertification: Expanding roles for women to restore drylands (2011)
In addition to caring for their families, women across the developing world spend considerable proportions of their time and energy using and preserving land for the production of food and fuel and to generate income for their families and communities. These activities include crop production, growing fruits and vegetables, raising small livestock, tending trees, processing products for food and markets, and managing and collecting water and fuel. Women are usually responsible for the plots in which food crops are grown, while men are responsible for the plots on which cash crops are grown. The latter account for a major part of the threat of soil nutrient depletion and desertification
English - Gender, Remittances and Development: The Case of Filipino Migration to Italy (2008)
- Working for change: Implementing the Beijing Platform for action:
IFAD's approach (2010)
Arabic (2005) | English | French | Spanish - Women as agents of change (2010)
Arabic (2005) | English | French | Spanish - Memory checks for programme and project design - household food security and gender(2005)
Intended as a support to design teams and project planners in diagnosing and focusing on critical issues relevant to gender and household food security
English | French | Spanish - An IFAD approach to gender mainstreaming: The experience of Latin America and the Caribbean (2005)
The purpose of this publication is document what the Latin America and the Caribbean Division (LAC) has achieved in terms of gender mainstreaming in its projects and regional programmes
English | French | Spanish - IFAD's gender strenghtening programme in Eastern and Southern Africa (2001)
This publication is intended to inform IFAD-supported project management units (PMUs), other donors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Eastern and Southern Africa about IFAD’s Gender Strengthening Programme in the region
English | French - Gender perspective – Focus on the rural poor
An overview of gender issues in IFAD-assisted projects (2005)
This 24-page brochure, presents the evolution of IFAD’s approach to gender, together with some examples of sector-specific approaches selected from IFAD’s project portfolio. The publication highlights some of the challenges that were identified in the Progress Report on the Project Portfolio, which was presented to the May session of the Executive Board
English | French | Spanish - Seminario-Taller para el fortalecimiento de los apsectos de género en los proyectos FIDA asociados al PROCASUR informe (2005)
This report presents a brief description of the Programme for Strengthening of Gender Issues in IFAD Projects (PROSIGIP); the experience of this programme with projects associated to Procasur
Spanish - Women factsheet (2011)
Arabic | English | French | Italian | Spanish
Guidelines and toolkits
- IFAD communications toolkit (2012)
English | Download full version - IFAD social media guidelines (2011)
- IFAD guidelines for disaster early recovery (2011)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Introducing knowledge sharing tools and methods: A faciliator's guide (2010)
Indigenous peoples
- A promising new link between grass-roots indigenous peoples’ organizations and the international community (2011)
English | French | Spanish - Indigenous peoples and sustainable development (2003)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Giving people a chance: the value of opportunity - Experience with Organization in the Andean Countries (2005)
English | French | Spanish - Indigenous peoples factsheet (2011)
Arabic | English | French | Italian | Spanish - Learning by working together - Microprojects financed through the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF) (2010)
English | Spanish - Policy brief on IFAD's engagement with indigenous peoples (2012)
English | French | Spanish
Land
- The Issue of Land in Argentina (2011)
The purpose of this paper is to identify the central issues around land tenure and management in Argentina in light of the global changes in agriculture and rural territorial development. In addition, a series of policy options are put forward to address the most conflict-ridden situations, keeping in mind the goals of equity and development. The scope of this study encompasses a comprehensive analysis of the land dynamic. As well as seeking to achieve that ambitious objective, this study should be considered as input to a broader debate on such issues on the path to formulate a national land policy.
English | Spanish - Responding to ‘land grabbing’ and promoting responsible investment in agriculture (2011)
English | French - Alternatives to land acquisitions: Agricultural investment and collaborative business models(2010)
English - IFAD and client-financed agricultural advisory services (2010)
English - Making the most of agricultural investment: A survey of business models that provide opportunities for smallholders (2010)
English - Land grab or development opportunity? - Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa (2009)
English - Syrian Arab Republic: Thematic study on land reclamation through de-rocking (2010)
English - IFAD Thematic priorities for the Near East and North Africa (2009)
In recent years, economic performance in the NENA region has been uneven. The structural reforms initiated in the 1990s – albeit slow – have resulted in a significant reduction of state involvement in the economy and have boosted private-sector investment and overall economic growth. Countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia have seen considerable economic benefits from these reforms.
Arabic | English
Livestock and fisheries
- Women and pastoralism (2012)
English - Livestock and renewable energy (2012)
English - Syrian Arab Republic: Thematic study on participatory rangeland management in the Badia - Badia Rangelands Development Project (2012)
Arabic | English - Building and operating a mini-hatchery: sand method (2011)
English | French | Spanish - Fisheries thematic papers
- Livestock thematic papers
- IFAD’s Livestock Position Paper (2010)
- Emergency livestock interventions in crisis and post-crisis situations (2010)
- Gender and livestock (2010)
- Integrated crop-livestock farming systems (2010)
- Livestock and climate change (2010)
- Livestock and land (2010)
- Livestock and pastoralists (2010)
- Livestock and rural finance (2010)
- Value chains, linking producers to the markets (2010)
Market access and trade
- Enhancing market transparency (2011)
English - Access to markets: Making value chains work for poor rural people (2012)
Arabic | English | French | Italian | Spanish - Agritrade 2011: Programa de encadenamientos empresariales
- Trade and rural development (2004)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Promoting market access for the rural poor in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (2003)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - IFAD Thematic priorities for the Near East and North Africa (2009)
In recent years, economic performance in the NENA region has been uneven. The structural reforms initiated in the 1990s – albeit slow – have resulted in a significant reduction of state involvement in the economy and have boosted private-sector investment and overall economic growth. Countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia have seen considerable economic benefits from these reforms.
Arabic | English - Impact of Trade Liberalization on Agriculture in the Near East and North Africa - Joint IFAD and IFPRI publication
In the past two decades, many countries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region have reformed the agricultural sector by lowering agricultural tariffs, liberalizing domestic prices and reducing consumer food subsidies. However, trade restrictions and domestic price support mechanisms are still prevalent for a few “strategic” commodities (such as wheat), and there is wide divergence among the countries in terms of the extent and depth of liberalization.
Previous and on-going domestic agricultural reform, bilateral and regional trade agreements, as well as any future trade liberalization that may result from further multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, will have significant impact on the agricultural sector of the NENA region. Some studies have tried to analyze the expected impact of these changes on the region’s agricultural sector - with divergent results depending on the assumptions and methodologies used, and no analysis has been done relating these changes to small farmers and poor rural households. Given its focus on improving the livelihoods of the rural poor in the region, the NENA Division of IFAD, in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute, has undertaken this study to examine the expected impact of agricultural domestic and international trade liberalization on this target group.
The results of the study are very useful to identify the measures that could be used to either mitigate the potential negative impacts of trade liberalization on small rural producers or to help them in seizing new domestic and international market opportunities. The study concludes that trade policy by itself is an imprecise and costly instrument to address poverty. There is a need, however, for complementary policies to enhance the positive effects of trade liberalization (or reduce its negative impact), and these include flexible factor markets (especially for labour), trade facilitation measures, support to “public goods”, direct income support to farmers, and safety net programs.
English
Millennium Development Goals
- Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Rural investment and enabling policy (2005)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Achieving the Millennium Development Goals by enabling the rural poor to overcome their poverty (2003)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish
Natural resource management
- Les petits barrages de décrue en Mauritanie (2012)
French - Manuel de suivi et d’entretien des petits barrages en Mauritanie
French - Community-based natural resource management: How knowledge is managed, disseminated and used (2006)
Natural resources are the foundation from which rural poor people can overcome poverty. However, planners and implementers of natural resource development projects do not always profit from the lessons learned – either information is lost or it is not easily accessible or changing circumstances may limit its value. Whatever the reason, learning from the past still makes sense. Knowledge does not wear out – although it is sometimes difficult to find, synthesize and use. It is against this challenging background that IFAD has targeted learning as one of its key products
English - Gender and water (2008)
Gender and water examines the impact of water-related projects on women, women's role in managing water resources and the constraints women face in gaining access to water.It presents lessons learned in promoting women's participation in decision-making for water management using experiences from several IFAD-supported water programmes and projects. It highlights the innovative activities and catalysts that have helped to address gender issues in water programmes and projects. And it offers recommendations on how to improve women's access to water resources through equitable development and gender mainstreaming.
English - Desertification as a global problem (2011)
- The Rural poor - Survival or a better life? (2003)
The choice between destruction of resources and sustainable development
English | HTML version
French | HTML version
Spanish | HTML version - Livestock services and the poor: A global initiative. Collecting, coordinating and sharing experiences (2004)
English | French | Spanish - The Land Poor: Essential Partners for the Sustainable Management of Land Resources (2005)
English | French | Spanish - Environment and natural Resource management: IFAD's growing commitment (2005)
English | French | Spanish - Tackling land degradation and desertification GEF- IFAD Partnership (2003)
English | French | Spanish
Read more... - Mishqui-Yacu, Sweet water (2005)
This book is about the struggle for and peace brought by water to the Cañari indigenous population in Ecuador. It is a simple and open account of the difficulties that the Upper Basin of the Cañar River Rural Development Project went through. It started out as a highly technical project, ignoring the history and concerns of communities that should have been the leading actors in project formulation. It is also the story of the great efforts made to remedy the shortcomings of the initial formulation by helping people organize themselves, gain a voice and obtain methods, tools and instruments useful in providing a living for themselves and their families
English | French | Spanish - Linking land and water governance factsheet (2006)
Arabic | English | Spanish | Italian - Livestock services factsheet (2004)
English | French | Italian
Nutrition
- Global consultation on cassava as a potential bioenergy crop (2010)
- Guidelines for estimating the month and year of birth of young children (Joint European Union, FAO and IFAD publication) (2009)
Participatory planning
- Evaluating the impact of participatory mapping activities (2011)
English - Participatory mapping and communication (2010)
English - The IFAD adaptive approach to participatory mapping (2010)
English | French | Spanish - Good practices in participatory mapping (2009)
English | French | Spanish - Comprehensive participatory planning evaluation by Lefevre P., Kolsteren P., De Wael M., Byekwaso F., and I. Beghin (IFAD/Belgian Survival Fund, 2001)
This paper documents a participatory approach intended to ensure that relevant interventions are developed based on the needs and perceived problems of beneficiaries; local capacities; and lessons learned from previous experience
English - Participatory approaches for an impact-oriented project cycle (2003)
This publication reports on the findings of the working groups and main messages of plenary presentations of a workshop held at IFAD in November 2000. The objective of the workshop was to analyse project management methods and approaches that support the planning, monitoring and achievement of impact. Prepared by PD, OE and the working group on Impact Achievement throughout the Project Cycle
English | French | Spanish
Private sector
IFAD and the private sector: building links to accelerate pro-poor rural development (2013)
Remittances
- Financing Facility for Remittances (2010)
The Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) has been working since 2006 with the goal of increasing the development impact of remittances and enabling poor rural households to advance on the road to financial
independence.
Arabic | English | French | Spanish | Portuguese - Remittances and Postal Networks (2011)
The Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) aims to expand the reach of financial services to the world's underserved rural areas. The maintenance of a network of dedicated brick-and-mortar branches throughout vast sparsely populated areas is prohibitively expensive for most forms of financial institutions, with one important exception: post offices.
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Remittances and Financial Literacy (2011)
In line with its mandate to expand the reach of financial services into rural areas, the Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) is leading the way in testing models that bring migrants’ funds to recipient families quickly, safely, conveniently and at the lowest possible cost. However, the key to ensuring that remittances help families achieve financial independence lies in financial literacy.
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Remittances and Microfinance Networks (2011)
Of the US$350 billion that migrant workers send home to developing countries every year, between 30 and 40 per cent goes to rural areas. At the starting point of the migration chain, people leave rural areas to seek opportunities elsewhere, due to a lack of opportunities closer to home. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are uniquely capable of serving the needs of remittance recipients, while reinvesting surplus funds to improve opportunities for the local community.
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Remittances and Mobile Banking (2011)
With mobile phone coverage generally surpassing 90 per cent of the population even in developing countries, the potential to leapfrog to mobile banking holds the promise of addressing many of the challenges currently faced by rural remittance recipients. Long, costly and potentially dangerous treks from isolated villages to urban financial institutions could soon be replaced by instantaneous transfers of funds from one country to another using mobile phones.
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Remittances (2009)
Remittances, the money migrant workers send home to their families, provide crucial financial support for millions of people in developing countries. For years, migrants worked in the shadows of globalization while their remittances went uncounted by governments and aid agencies. Over the past 10 years, however, the true size of their contribution – well over US$300 billion a year – has come to light.
English | French - Leveraging Migration for Africa: Remittances, Skills and Investments (2011)
This report comes at a time when countries in Africa and elsewhere are grappling with difficult choices on how to manage migration. It marks an effort to fill data and knowledge gaps on migration which in Africa comes in complex forms. About 30 million Africans live outside their home countries, and migration is a vital lifeline for the continent. These migrants sent home over $40 billion in remittances last year. And their annual estimated saving, usually held in foreign countries, exceeds $50 billion. The report also outlines innovative financing mechanisms such as issuance of diaspora bonds and securitization of future remittance flows that can help finance big-ticket projects like railways, roads, power plants, and higher-education institutions that will, step by step, help to transform Africa.
English | Read more - International migration, remittances and rural development (2008)
Globalization and migration are rapidly transforming traditional spheres of human activity. The work of rural families is no longer confined to farming activities, and livelihoods are increasingly being diversified through rural-to-urban and international migration. Age-old boundaries are breaking down. Formerly isolated towns and villages in Latin America and the Caribbean have come closer to New York and Los Angeles than to the capitals of their own nations. The same is true of the relationship of certain areas of Africa and Asia to metropolises such as Berlin, Johannesburg, London, Paris, Singapore and Sydney. Development organizations that support rural poor families in overcoming poverty are realizing that essential members of these families are making their living abroad, far away from their dependants. The ‘global village’ has become a reality. However, the poverty that forced rural inhabitants to migrate still exists in their places of origin and continues to influence their lives and prospects in their ‘adopted countries’, as well as those of the people they left behind.
English - Sending Money Home: Worldwide remittance flows to developing and transition countries(2011)
Remittances, the portion of migrant workers’ earnings sent home to their families, have been a critical means of financial support for generations. For the most part, these flows have historically been “hidden in plain view”, often uncounted and even ignored. As the scale of migration increases, the corresponding growth in remittances is gaining widespread attention. Today, the impact of remittances is recognized in all developing regions of the world, constituting an important flow of foreign currency to most countries and directly reaching millions of households – approximately 10 per cent of the world’s population.
Arabic (2009) | English | French (2009) | Spanish (2009) - Remittances: strategic and operational considerations (2006)
Exceeding USD 230 billion in 2005, remittances are a critical flow of funds for low-income people in both the North and South. Accessing and affording these services, however, can be a challenge, especially in remote, rural areas. This annex to the IFAD Decision Tools for Rural Finance introduces migrant remittances in the wider context of development finance, discussing the key principles of effective service delivery and highlighting potential areas for IFAD support. Designed to give IFAD staff a solid grounding in this topic, this paper includes a review of donor activity on remittances and provides numerous references to research on remittances in specific regions.
English - Sending money home (2010)
150 million migrants worldwide sent more than US$300 billion to their families in developing countries during 2006
Arabic | English | French | Spanish
Rural development
- Addressing poverty through mobilization of community resources (2012)
English - Growing peace through development (2012)
English - Proyecto Uruguay Rural – Informe de cierre (2011)
Evaluación de resultados y percepciones de los involucrados
El Proyecto Uruguay Rural de la Dirección General de Desarrollo Rural del Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca se implementó entre los años 2001 y 2011 con apoyo del FIDA. El presente informe en tres volúmenes preparado por el Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca expone los principales elementos de la evaluación del proyecto, a partir de la presentación de algunos resultados de ejecución y de las percepciones de los involucrados en su desarrollo.
español (Volumen 1,2,3) - Rural development through decent work (2011)
The report on the “Expert and Inter-agency Technical Meeting on Broadening Coherence and Collaboration for Rural Development - Rural Development through Decent Work”, is a collaborative effort of the different UN agencies. The report is the outcome of an event co-organized by ILO and UN DESA in cooperation with FAO and IFAD. The event set the stage for coordination and joint work among international and national actors for “unleashing rural development through employment and decent work”; and to make this a core element of national and international growth and development strategies.
English - Sustainability of rural development projects:
Best practices and lessons learned by IFAD in Asia
Rural enterprise
- Promoting rural enterprise growth and development: Lessons from four projects in sub-Saharan Africa (2012)
English | French
Rural finance
- Agricultural value chain finance strategy and design - technical note (2012)
English - Microinsurance product development for microfinance providers (2012)
English - Process mapping for microinsurance operations: A toolkit for understanding and improving business processes and client value (2012)
English - Matching grants - technical note (2012)
English - Outgrower schemes - enhancing profitability (2011)
English - IFAD decision tools for rural finance (2010)
English | French | Spanish - Refinancing facilities: IFAD introduces an innovation in rural finance development (2008)
IFAD uses highly concessional loans in an innovative way in the Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Moldova. Low-cost refinancing capital makes rural investments attractive and profitable for formal financial institutions and reduces rural poverty by stimulating economic growth.
In the past seven years, IFAD has successfully used refinancing facilities in economies in transition to stimulate investments on farms and in rural processing companies. The approach supports the financial system as a whole, allowing it to respond more effectively to the financing needs of rural clients, whether individuals or enterprises. Participating banks and credit institutions assume all the risks, and operations do not weigh down state budgets. Near-perfect loan repayment rates are spurring banks and credit institutions to adopt more flexible collateral requirements for rural lending, a major goal of IFAD’s rural finance policy.
Read more | Download publication - IFAD Thematic priorities for the Near East and North Africa (2009)
In recent years, economic performance in the NENA region has been uneven. The structural reforms initiated in the 1990s – albeit slow – have resulted in a significant reduction of state involvement in the economy and have boosted private-sector investment and overall economic growth. Countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia have seen considerable economic benefits from these reforms.
Arabic |English - Guiding Framework for rural finance in the Near East and North Africa (2009)
Over the last thirty years, through its projects and programmes, IFAD has supported the development of rural financial services. The Fund’s strategies and implementation modalities have progressively evolved over the years as greater knowledge of the subject and increased experience has resulted in a better understanding of the nature of poverty and rural finance.
Building on this experience, the Near East and North Africa region has developed a "Guiding Framework for rural finance in the Near East and North Africa". The primary objective of the framework is to guide the staff of the Near East and North Africa Division in designing, implementing and monitoring rural finance interventions and activities at country level by following international good practices in the rural and microfinance sector. The document is also useful in informing IFAD’s partners about the Fund’s medium term approach to rural finance in the region.
Arabic | English - Remittances: strategic and operational considerations (2006)
Exceeding USD 230 billion in 2005, remittances are a critical flow of funds for low-income people in both the North and South. Accessing and affording these services, however, can be a challenge, especially in remote, rural areas. This annex to the IFAD Decision Tools for Rural Finance introduces migrant remittances in the wider context of development finance, discussing the key principles of effective service delivery and highlighting potential areas for IFAD support. Designed to give IFAD staff a solid grounding in this topic, this paper includes a review of donor activity on remittances and provides numerous references to research on remittances in specific regions
English - Handbook for the analysis of the governance of microfinance institutions (2009)
Beyond financial viability, successful and sustainable microfinance institutions (MFIs) have articulated a clear strategic vision and implemented transparent internal processes acceptable to all stakeholders. This handbook outlines a method to evaluate an MFIs’ approach to its systems and organization according to six fundamental elements of good governance. Written by Cécile Lapenu of the Comité d’échanges, de réflexion et d’information sur les systèmes d’épargne-crédit (CERISE) and Dorothée Pierret, consultant with the Institut de recherches et d’applications des méthodes de développement, this guide is based on the field experience of CERISE and their microfinance partners
English - Assessing and managing social performance in microfinance (2006)
Many microfinance institutions (MFIs) have a “double bottom line:” they work toward both a social mission and financial sustainability. Assessing and managing social performance details several tools that evaluate how an MFI translates their social mission into practice, encouraging a transition from one-off impact assessments to the continuous monitoring of social performance. This publication was produced with significant input from Anton Simanowitz of Improving the Impact of Microfinance on Poverty, a three-year action-research programme working with 30 rural finance institutions in 20 countries, and Cécile Lapenu of the Comité d’Echanges, de Réflexion et d’Information sur les Systèmes d’Epargne-crédit
English - Emerging lessons in agricultural microfinance: Selected case studies (2006)
Based on desk reviews, consultant site visits and stakeholder consultations, CGAP identified a shortlist of institutions actively engaged in agricultural finance with the potential to achieve scale and sustainability. Selected from this shortlist, Emerging lessons presents several case studies to offer insight, lessons learned and analyses relevant and useful to donors, investors, financial institutions and others engaged in promoting financial services to the many millions of poor people dependant on agriculture.
These five case studies—Confianza in Peru, the Bai Tushum Financial Foundation in Kyrgyzstan, Caja Los Andes in Bolivia, Equity Bank Limited in Kenya, and the Cooperative League of the USA in Mozambique—were used by CGAP to finalize Occasional Paper 11 on Managing Risks and Designing Products for Agricultural Microfinance: Features of an Emerging Model
English - Managing risks and designing products for agricultural microfinance: Features of an emerging model (2006)
Based on these case studies and their wider research, CGAP also identified the ten cross-cutting features that characterize successful agricultural microfinance portfolios in Managing risks and designing products for agricultural microfinance. Written by Robert Peck Christen of the Boulder Microfinance Institute and Douglas Pearce of the UK Department for International Development, CGAP first issued this publication as Occasional Paper 11 in 2005. IFAD has re-issued this paper here as part of the 2006 IFAD series of rural finance publications
English - Village banks – The new generation: How IFAD helped FINCA set its village banking programmes on the road to commercialization (2006)
This shorter, more accessible paper gives an overview of village banking, as well as the fundamental benefits and constraints to commercialization among MFIs. Appropriate for readers new to microfinance,Village banks – the new generation provides an overview of the IFAD grant to FINCA and describes some of the new challenges faced by the FINCA affiliates that have undertaken the process of commercialization
English - Supporting innovation in the field: The role of IFAD’s support in the sustainability and commercial transformation of FINCA’s village banking programmes (2006)
Designed for IFAD staff and other donors, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers more familiar with microfinance, Supporting innovation in the field provides more detail than Village banks – the new generation. This longer, more technical paper describes the lessons learned at FINCA on the commercial transformation of their village banks during implementation of the three-year technical assistance grant from IFAD
English - Rural Finance for the Poor: from unsustainable projects to sustainable institutions (2005)
This 12-page brochure presents concisely the IFAD rural finance policy approved by the Executive Board in May 2000
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Microfinance: macro benefit factsheet (2009)
Arabic | English | French | Italian | Spanish - Remittances factsheet (2011)
Arabic | English (2010) | French | Italian | Spanish
Rural institutions
- Institutional and Organizational Analysis for Pro-Poor Change: Meeting IFAD’s Millennium Challenge: a source book (2008)
English - Guidance notes for institutional analysis in rural development programmes (2009)
- Transforming rural institutions in order to reach the Millennium Development Goals (2005)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Institutions the key to development: Building alliances to empower the rural poor (2005)
English
Rural poverty
- Rural Territorial Dynamics Program – Final Report 2007-2012 (2012)
Between 2007 and 2012 the Rural Territorial Dynamics Program worked with more than 50 organizations in 11 Latin American countries to explain why some rural territories have achieved greater economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion, while others have demonstrated notablelags in development. With the knowledge from this work, the program collaborated in the design and implementation of public strategies, policies, programs and projects throughout the region. The program benefited from the support of IDRC Canada, IFAD and the New Zealand Aid Programme. The final report prepared by the implementation agency, the Rimisp Latin American Center for Rural Development, highlights the lessons learned from this innovative program. Learn more by visiting the Rural Territorial Dynamics web portal.
English | Spanish - Informe Latinoamericano sobre Pobreza y Desigualdad 2011
‘El Informe Latinoamericano sobre Pobreza y Desigualdad 2011’ busca incentivar la discusión de los aspectos claves que afectan a los territorios y regiones que presentan mayor dificultad para crecer con reducción de pobreza y desigualdad desde una perspectiva social y territorial.
La análisis del informe –elaborado por Rimisp–Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural, con el apoyo del Centro Internacional de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo–Canadá (IDRC por sus siglas en inglés) y el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA)– aborda las dimensiones de educación; salud; dinamismo económico y empleo; ingreso y pobreza; seguridad ciudadana y género, obteniendo cifras e indicadores de Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Nicaragua y Perú.
español
Poverty and Inequality 2011: Latin America Report (IDRC, IFAD, Rimisp - 2012)
The English-language executive summary of the ‘Poverty and Inequality 2011: Latin America Report’ highlights the causes of extreme inequality, territorial achievement gaps and lack of opportunities in Latin America’s rural sector, analysing socio-economic indicators in health, education, economic dynamism and employment, income and poverty, citizen security, and gender equality from 10 Latin American countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. The report was produced by the RIMISP - Latin American Center for Rural Development, and made possible through funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Development Research Centre - Canada (IDRC).
English - Rural Poverty Report 2011: New realities, new challenges: new opportunities for tomorrow's generation
The Rural Poverty Report 2011 provides a coherent and comprehensive look at rural poverty, its global consequences and the prospects for eradicating it. - Overview (1.3MB)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish |Italian - Electronic version(3.9MB)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Print version (5.0MB)
Arabic | English | French | Spanish - Kindle version
English - Multidimensional poverty assessment tool (MPAT): A new framework for measuring rural poverty (2010)
English - Status of rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa
The "Status of rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa" is the outcome of a joint IFAD-FAO activity. Its main objective is to provide IFAD and its partners with updated knowledge about the status of rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region and to enhance their capacity to design and implement more effective country strategic opportunities programmes (COSOPs) and country projects aimed at rural poverty reduction. The study also aims at informing the work of the NENA division in 2008 and beyond, particularly in formulating its thematic priorities in the region and strategic priorities at country level, and in sharpening its approaches in specific areas.
Arabic (2009) | English (2008)
Rural youth
- Investing in the future: creating opportunities for young rural people (2011)
English - IFAD Thematic priorities for the Near East and North Africa (2008)
In recent years, economic performance in the NENA region has been uneven. The structural reforms initiated in the 1990s – albeit slow – have resulted in a significant reduction of state involvement in the economy and have boosted private-sector investment and overall economic growth. Countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia have seen considerable economic benefits from these reforms.
Arabic | English
Water
- Challenges and opportunities for agricultural water management in West and Central Africa: lessons from IFAD experience (2012)
English - Les petits barrages de décrue en Mauritanie (2012)
French - Water and food security (2012)
English
Weather insurance
- Weather Index-based Insurance in agricultural development: a technical guide (2011)
English - Managing weather risk for agricultural development and disaster risk reduction (2006)
English - The potential for scale and sustainability in weather index insurance for agriculture and rural livelihoods (2010)
Extreme weather events and natural disasters such as drought or floods can have a devastating impact on food security as well as the social and economic development of rural households. In recent years, an increasing number of initiatives have tested weather index-based insurance to help manage these risks in agriculture. Building on the experience of the IFAD-WFP Weather Risk Management Facility (WRMF) and the analysis of 37 index insurance programmes around the world, this paper identifies eight key principles to help weather index-based insurance reach scale and sustainability. It also includes nine case studies on index insurance programmes and outlines how donors and governments can support the sector.
English | French | Spanish - Creating pathways out of poverty in rural areas: Managing weather risk with index insurance (2008)
English