Savoirs

South-South and triangular cooperation has an enormous potential role in agriculture and rural development in developing countries, both in unlocking diverse experiences and lessons and in providing solutions to pressing development challenges.

From the cases that follow, a number of common lessons emerge. First, it is important to create a space for interaction and cross-country learning. In the Scaling up Micro-Irrigation Systems project or with the household mentoring approach, for instance, workshops and ‘writeshops’ gathered people from diverse countries who could then share their own knowledge and experiences. In such spaces, participants could compare how a similar approach or technology required certain adaptations to better fit with local cultural, social and environmental contexts, offering important lessons for future scaling up.

Sometimes individual champions can make a difference. In Madagascar, the project design for a public/private partnership improved drastically when an IFAD consultant with similar experience in another country became involved. In this case, it was also an ‘unexpected outcome’, as the innovation came from a replacement for the regular consultant, who had broken his foot …. So even through small staff changes, knowledge of a complementary innovation from another country can have a big impact.

​Biodiversity is about more than plants, animals, and micro-organisms and their ecosystems – the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) recognizes that it is also very much about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment. Biodiversity is also essential for the maintenance of ecosystem-based services, such as the provision of water and food for human, animal and plant life. When we make an effort to conserve biodiversity, we are helping to maintain critical global biological resources to meet our needs today as well as those of future generations. Biodiversity conservation is therefore central to achieving recent global commitments for sustainable development under “Agenda 2030”, adopted by the United Nations in 2015. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recognizes that losing biodiversity means losing opportunities for coping with future challenges, such as those posed by climate change and food insecurity. 

​This report is aimed at readers who seek to build economic evidence in support of the inclusion of actions on agriculture in climate change plans and programmes, particularly at the national level under the umbrella of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the December 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to restrict a rise in global temperatures and manage risks. Agriculture is a sector especially sensitive to climate change. It also accounts for significant emissions and is, therefore, a priority for both adaptation and mitigation plans and actions at global, national and local levels. 

In Benin, agriculture plays a central role in the national economy, contributing 32 per cent of GDP and employing a large part of the workforce. Despite significant productive potential and a diversified agricultural sector (crop production, livestock, non‑timber forest products, fisheries), the country relies heavily on imports of food products, which represent 25 per cent of the total value of imports.

Since 1979, IFAD has financed 14 rural development projects for a total of US$268.6 million.

Ce rapport met l’accent sur les Opérateurs Postaux Nationaux (OPN) africains en tant que canaux de distribution, parmi de nombreux autres, dans le secteur des transferts d’argent et des services financiers. Il entend fournir au lecteur des informations précises sur le positionnement actuel des bureaux de poste sur le marché africain des transferts d’argent et sur leur rôle dans l’inclusion financière, et exposer ce qui peut être fait pour tirer profit des actifs et des ressources du secteur public afin d’améliorer la compétitivité et de faire progresser l’inclusion financière.

La deuxième Conférence Africaine sur les transferts d’argent et les réseaux postaux a été organisée dans le cadre de l’Initiative relative aux services financiers postaux en Afrique (APFSI), un programme régional conjoint mis en œuvre par le Mécanisme de financement pour l’envoi de fonds (MFEF) du Fonds international pour le développement agricole (FIDA), en collaboration avec la Banque mondiale, l’Union postale universelle (UPU), l’Institut mondial des caisses d’épargne / le Groupement européen des caisses d’épargne (IMCE/GECE) et le Fonds d’équipement des Nations Unies (FENU).

Le développement rural du Gabon dépend pour une large part de la croissance du sous-secteurs agro-sylvo-pastoraux, mais la mise en valeur du potentiel agricole national reste encore embryonnaire. Depuis l’indépendance, les différentes stratégies mises en place par le Gouvernement n’ont pas pu relever ce secteur. Actuellement le secteur agricole emploie environ 40% de la population rural gabonaise, bien qu’il ne contribue qu’à 5% du PIB et ne compte que pour 0,7% du budget de l’état. La disponibilité des terres agricoles qui occupent 20% (5,2 millions d’hectares) de la superficie du pays contraste avec l’activité dans le secteur qui s’exerce sur une portion congrue estimée à moins de 10% des terres arables. La population rurale qui représentait 20% des gabonais en 2000 décroit de façon effrénée au profit des milieux urbains, et ne représente que 13% de la population en 2013.

More than half of the Philippines’ 100 million people live in rural areas and many of them are poor. Agriculture is the primary and often only source of income for poor rural people, most of whom depend on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods. Illiteracy, unemployment and the incidence of poverty are generally higher among indigenous peoples and people living in upland areas.

Que sont les terres arides et pourquoi sont-elles importantes? Présentes sur tous les continents et couvrant plus de 40% de la surface terrestre, les terres arides se rapportent généralement aux zones arides, semi-arides et subhumides. 

Agriculture is the predominant economic activity in Tonga, contributing around 20 per cent of GDP. About 75 per cent of Tonga’s population lives in rural areas, and agriculture and fishing are the main sources of livelihoods. Fewer than 10 per cent of farmers are commercial producers and most of Tonga’s agriculture is thus still based on traditional/subsistence farming systems. The agriculture sector has been stagnant for a decade, with virtually no growth recorded between 2005 and 2012. Factors contributing to this situation include outmigration of the rural population, an ageing farmer population, declining export opportunities, and the increasing frequency and impact of climate change-related extreme weather events. Tonga’s export vulnerability lies in its reliance on very few commodities, such as squash, the exports of which have been falling since 2003. Rising production costs have contributed to a decline in export competitiveness, as has the difficulty in meeting quality and phytosanitary requirements for the principal markets of New Zealand and Australia.

Declining soil fertility, escalating costs of farm inputs and lack of capacity are persistent problems that farmers in eastern Africa continue to grapple with. Such factors have resulted in high levels of poverty and food insecurity due to poor performance of the agriculture sector. Climate change adds a big blow to the already bad scenario with serious ramifications on the smallholder-farming subsector. The region is predicted to experience warmer temperatures and decreased rainfall from June to August by 2050. This being an important season for food production in countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia, adaptation measures are necessary for sustainable food production. Evergreen Agriculture refers to the practice of incorporating selected trees and/or shrub species into annual cropping fields. It can be practiced under conventional farming practices but ideally seeks to combine agroforestry with the principles of conservation farming. Evergreen agriculture practices are now part of the solution to tackle climate change and the adoption is on a rising trend in several countries in the region. Conservation Agriculture, including agroforestry, specialty crops, and permanent cropping systems, promotes food sufficiency, poverty reduction, and value added production through improved crop and animal production and production in relation to market opportunities. 

Developing smallholder pig value chains in Uganda to increase rural incomes and adapt to climate change.

Bananas (Musa spp.), including dessert banana, plantain and cooking banana are the eighth most important food crop in the world, and the fourth most important in least
developed countries (FAOSTAT, 2013). They are produced in 135 countries and territories across the tropics and subtropics. The vast majority of producers are smallholder farmers
who grow the crop for either home consumption or local markets. Less than 15 per cent of the global production of more than 130 million metric tons is exported. Today, the
international banana trade, totaling around 17 million metric tons, is worth over US$7 billion per year (FAOSTAT).

The Netherlands, with its dynamic private sector and renowned research institutions, provides know-how, technology and financing to the partnership. IFAD contributes its wealth of experience in supporting development of small-scale agriculture and rural livelihoods, while acting as a catalyst for investment from other donors and governments. The strength of this partnership is demonstrated by the growing support provided by the Netherlands to IFAD-supported initiatives. It is underpinned by increasing alignment between Dutch development priorities and IFAD’s mandate.

L’appui du FIDA en faveur de l’égalité des sexes et de l’autonomisation des femmes est solidement établi. Son engagement dans ce domaine s’étend sur 25 années, depuis le document de 1992 sur les stratégies du FIDA concernant la promotion économique des femmes rurales pauvres jusqu’au Pland’action 2003-2006 sur l’intégration des questions de parité hommes-femmes dans les opérations du FIDA, l’Évaluation au niveau de l’institution de la performance du FIDA en matière d’égalité des sexes et d’autonomisation des femmes, conduite en 2010 par le Bureau indépendant de l’évaluation, et enfin la politique de 2012 concernant l’égalité des sexes et l’autonomisation de la femme.

​With populations growing, fast emerging middle classes are demanding quality produce, luxury goods (tobacco, alcohol) and animal proteins, and there is pressure on domestic agricultural production to meet these needs. 

At a time when world attention is seized with the crises of migration and forced displacement, conflict, environmental degradation and climate change, FAO and IFAD are keenly aware that development must treat the underlying causes of desperation, inequality, and unsustainable ways of living on the planet.
FAO and IFAD have a shared vision, backed by technical expertise, which looks to the structural, longer-term causes of the scourges the world now aims to eradicate. Together and independently, our practices are geared toward providing sustainable solutions to food insecurity and lasting exits from the poverty trap. Together we are reaching marginalized and forgotten people who have too often been overlooked in development efforts.

Les programmes et projets du FIDA en République démocratique du Congo mettent l’accent sur une transformation inclusive et durable du monde agricole et rural au sens large.

Sharing a vision: Partnership between the Netherlands and the International Fund for Agricultural Development A joint goal: Investing in rural people, contributing to global development Rural areas of poor countries are facing both new and continuing challenges. Among these are the world’s burgeoning population, volatile food prices, environmental degradation, climate change, diversion of farmland, declining public financing and inefficient production and trade chains. Food security and rural development, therefore, are among the top priorities of the Dutch development agenda and central to IFAD’s mandate. Over the coming decades, market oriented smallholder agriculture will be crucial to fulfilling the growing demand for food and related goods and services. It will also be fundamental to raising incomes of poor people, 70 per cent of whom live in rural areas, and protecting the environment. A shared desire to
support smallholder farmers in creating this future is at the heart of the partnership between the Netherlands and IFAD.

The importance of the rural sector for sustainable development is well recognized in the debate on the post-2015 agenda, particularly in connection with sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition, corresponding to the second proposed Sustainable Development Goal (SDG2) drafted by the Open Working Group (OWG) this past summer. Both agriculture and more broadly rural development are, however, important also for many other SDGs related to poverty eradication, reduction of inequalities, inclusive growth, protection of ecosystems, combating of climate change and others.

In September 2015, members of the United Nations will sign up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These – together with their targets and indicators – will guide global and national efforts to achieve sustainable development for the next 15 years. Governments will then be expected to draw on the SDGs to define national implementation strategies and effective monitoring systems, and to align public expenditures and streamline government institutions to support such strategies.

En 2015, le Bureau de l'audit et de la surveillance (AUO) et sa Section des enquêtes ont contribué significativement aux efforts d’atténuation des risques institutionnels par un examen et/ou une enquête portant sur 57 plaintes d’irrégularités, par le
renforcement des procédures d’enquête et des procédures disciplinaires et par des activités de sensibilisation à la lutte contre la corruption. L’année 2015 a été difficile en raison du nombre élevé et de la complexité des nouvelles plaintes, de l’ampleur
des réformes à mettre en oeuvre et des mouvements de personnel clé en début d’année. Grâce à l’appui supplémentaire important apporté par la direction en termes de budget, AUO a pu recruter des experts extérieurs et mener à terme ses tâches
d’enquête avec toute l’indépendance et la latitude voulues.

This paper challenges current thinking on the connection between rural transformation and food security & nutrition. It advocates that improving rural and structural transformation has a positive cyclical effect upon communities by improving food availability, access, supplies and utilization which in turn improves the health and education of communities. 

Using evidence from across the developing world, the paper creates a policy agenda to maximise potential for smallholder farming to transform local economies.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits. 

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will host a high-level meeting (HLM) on 19 September 2016 to agree on a number of global commitments to address large-scale movements of refugees and migrants.

Free-standing development projects cannot, by themselves, eradicate poverty at scale. This realization is very relevant to the debate on the implementation of a universal post-2015 agenda that aims for the eradication of poverty – including rural poverty, which is the specific focus of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Le but de la présente publication est de mettre à la disposition des chargés de programme de pays (CPP) du FIDA, des IMF et de tous les partenaires techniques et financiers, un outil méthodologique permettant de conduire avec efficacité les processus de transformation institutionnelle ou de regroupement d’IMF – en particulier celles ayant vocation à servir les populations rurales – qui sont a priori très complexes.

L’expansion du secteur de la microfinance, en dépit des progrès enregistrés, a été entravée notamment par des obstacles tant de nature institutionnelle que financière. Cette situation a conduit certaines institutions à s’engager dans des processus d’institutionnalisation, de transformation institutionnelle ou de regroupement pour faire face aux enjeux auxquels elles sont confrontées.

De nos jours, les institutions de microfinance (IMF) se présentent sous diverses formes: projets, réseaux de caisses ou de banques villageoises, institutions coopératives et mutualistes d’épargne et de crédit, associations, sociétés de capitaux, etc. 

The 2016 Rural Development Report focuses on inclusive rural transformation as a central element of the global efforts to eliminate poverty and hunger, and build inclusive and sustainable societies for all. It analyses global, regional and national pathways of rural transformation, and suggests four categories into which most countries and regions fall, each with distinct objectives for rural development strategies to promote inclusive rural transformation: to adapt, to amplify, to accelerate, and a combination of them.

The data table shows the key variables used in the 2016 Rural Development Report (RDR). The data covers the period 1990-2014.

The Integrated Approach Programme (IAP) on Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa, supported by the Global Environment Facility, focuses specifically on promoting sustainability and resilience through management of the natural resources– land, water, soils, trees and genetic resources – that underpin food and nutrition security. 

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

Le programme pilote intégré sur la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique subsaharienne cible les systèmes agro-écologiques où vont de pair la nécessité d'améliorer la sécurité alimentaire et les possibilités de générer des avantages environnementaux locaux et mondiaux.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits. 

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

There is broad agreement that partnerships – both global and within countries – will be critical to achieving the post-2015 agenda. They are needed to mobilize new resources – financial and non-financial – and to find synergies among different sources of finance. They are critical to galvanize actions aligned with the new goals and targets, and to ensure that all actors work towards the same objectives. However, identifying and building partnerships that can bring the greatest value added to different parts of the post-2015 agenda is not easy. Moreover, partnerships can also bring risks and challenges.

Most of the world’s 1.2 billion very poor people live in precarious conditions, without the security of reliable income, shelter or food. Being able to save, receive, pay or borrow small amounts of money can make a big difference to their lives.

Since the introduction of a comprehensive set of economic reforms known as Đôi Mói (renovation) in 1986, Viet Nam’s economy has sustained strong economic growth. Over the last 20 years, GDP growth has averaged 7.2 per cent per annum, resulting in rapid poverty reduction. 

La Plate-forme pour la gestion des risques agricoles (Platform for Agriculture Risk Management, PARM) est le résultat des discussions sur la sécurité alimentaire et le développement agricole des Pays membres des G8 et G20. Il s'agit d'un partenariat multi-bailleurs d’une durée de quatre ans entre les Pays en développement et les partenaires de développement ayant pour but d’ integrer la gestion des risques dans les politiques agricoles nationales.

IFAD and the Government of Tajikistan have been investing in building the capacities of village organizations and pasture users unions to participate in and influence processes that are important for the livelihoods of their members. The results have been very positive, as the stories contained here show. Local communities have been empowered in managing local natural resources on which they depend. The community-driven development approach is a very effective way to identify priorities (such as roads, irrigation, drinking water, electricity supply, and low-cost storage and marketing facilities) in rural communities, and has been able to provide the needed investments to improve rural livelihoods. Activities also targeted the needs of female beneficiaries, not only producing significant economic benefits but also strengthening the position of women in communities.

The participation of beneficiaries in all phases of the projects was a key ingredient in ensuring that there would be ownership, commitment and long-term impact. Members of village organizations were involved in setting priorities and decision-making from the outset. Linking community development to training and strengthening local project partners helped to ensure sustainability, so that these communities will continue to thrive in the future.

This module provides guidance and a comprehensive menu of practical tools for integrating gender in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of projects and investments in climate-smart agriculture (CSA). The module emphasizes the importance and ultimate goal of integrating gender in CSA practices, which is to reduce gender inequalities and ensure that men and women can equally benefit from any intervention in the agricultural sector to reduce risks linked to climate change. Climate change has an impact on food and nutrition security and agriculture, and the agriculture sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. It is crucial to recognize that climate change affects men and women differently. The initial assumption is that social differences, particularly gender inequality, must be taken into account to strengthen the effectiveness and sustainability of CSA interventions. Women are key players in the agricultural sector, yet compared to men, they own fewer assets and have access to less land, fewer inputs, and fewer financial and extension services.

Despite gains made in socio-economic development since the end of the civil war in 2003, Liberia remains a low-income food-deficit country and is ranked 175th out of 187 countries in the 2013 UNDP Human Development Index. 

Since initiating its first project in the country in 1980, IFAD has provided a total of US$116.2 million in financing through eight loans and three grants for programmes and projects with a total cost of US$251.9 million. The investment has benefited 513,500 households. Operations were suspended during the civil war and resumed after it ended in 2002.

At that time, IFAD and the African Development Bank established a joint programme coordination unit to facilitate the management and increase the cost-effectiveness of operations in agriculture and the rural sector.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), now known also as Global Goals, give an inspiring vision of what the world could look like in 2030. This is a vision of a world without poverty and hunger, a world of inclusive growth, environmental sustainability and social justice. IFAD’s own vision of inclusive and sustainable rural transformation fits closely with the ambitions of Agenda 2030. Indeed, the Agenda recognizes the importance of IFAD’s mandate and the validity of its approach.

Going forward, IFAD will be expected by its donors and partners to give a clear, demonstrable contribution to realizing the Global Goals. Moreover, the implementation of the goals will bring new opportunities for IFAD to expand the impact of its activities. IFAD’s new Strategic Framework (2016-2025) affirms Agenda 2030 as the basis for its work for the next decade. The purpose of this note is to unpack Agenda 2030 and to show how IFAD will be a part of making its vision a reality

The 2030 Agenda is a global commitment, made at the highest level, to “leave no one behind” in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Arguably, this is one of the most challenging features of the agenda, and an apt theme for the 2016 session of the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), as the foremost global forum for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda.

Nowhere is the challenge of leaving no one behind more salient than in rural areas. Since the vast majority of people living in poverty are in rural areas, “leaving no one behind” clearly demands a special focus on rural women and men. Rural-urban gaps exist for virtually all development indicators. The 2016 session of the HLPF is an opportunity to consider how to put poor rural people at the centre of national, regional, and global efforts to implement the agenda and to measure progress. 

This paper examines the role of rural-urban linkages in fostering inclusive and sustainable food systems and how these contribute to rural transformation and,  more broadly, to sustainable and inclusive development. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, the paper analyses the interdependencies between rural and urban areas and points to the key roles played by rural-based populations and producers, particularly smallholders, in promoting inclusive, mutually beneficial and sustainable urbanization. 

Endorsements by the United Nations and international organizations.

The total population of Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States (CEN) is about 150 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. Since its establishment, IFAD has invested approximately US$797 million
in 59 projects in 13 countries of the CEN region.

It is now beyond a reasonable doubt that the earth’s changing climate is a result of human actions.

The expanding total volume of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere is precipitating higher global surface temperatures and sea level rise.

The effects of human-induced climate change threaten the very existence of numerous species across the planet, including our own.

Découvrez, dans notre Rapport annuel 2015, les activités du FIDA, ses investissements et les résultats obtenus. Lisez les récits relatifs aux femmes et aux hommes des zones rurales que nous aidons à s’autonomiser, et prenez connaissance des données et des chiffres que nous communiquons périodiquement à nos États membres et à nos partenaires. Apprenez-en aussi davantage sur les activités de plaidoyer que nous menons pour que les besoins des communautés rurales demeurent en tête des priorités dans l'agenda international pour le développement.

In recent years, forced displacement has become a global problem of unprecedented scale, driven by conflict, violence, persecution and human rights violations. While the total number of displaced people reached an all-time high of nearly 60 million people in 2015, global attention has focused on the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, where continued conflict and violence most acutely affect Iraq, Syria, Yemen and neighbouring countries. The total population of concern in the region is estimated at around 22 million people. According to the Stockholm Declaration, “At the root of conflict and fragility lie injustice, human rights violations, inequality, exclusion, poverty, poor management of natural resources and the absence of inclusive political settlements and capable institutions.” Therefore, people in crisis need not only relief and emergency services; people, communities and countries in crisis also need development strategies that solve underlying problems over the long term.

IFAD’s strategic vision of inclusive and sustainable rural transformation is central to its support of national processes of economic growth and structural transformation in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This document reviews IFAD’s support to LDCs and to the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action, adopted in 2011 in order to enable LDCs to meet the criteria for graduation out of this category by 2020.

This paper investigates how household agricultural involvement affects food consumption and dietary diversity in rural Malawi. It analyses the relationship between on-farm income shares and the caloric consumption levels and shares across food groups. It finds that while food consumption and dietary diversity increase with agricultural involvement, the quality of diets does not improve. It highlights the importance of income diversification to dietary diversity and the need for investments in nutrition-sensitive agricultural value chains, nutrition education and crop diversification programmes. 

IFAD-funded operations in Paraguay focus on empowering smallholder farmers and indigenous families by creating and strengthening rural organizations - in terms of governance, organizational administration and service capacity - to provide members with the tools they need to manage their own development.

IFAD, paying special attention to the needs of disadvantaged groups such as women, youth and indigenous peoples, focuses on strengthening the capacities of rural organizations to assist smallholder farmers in developing profitable rural businesses and tools and strategies to help cope with the challenges posed by climate change.

To achieve this goal, IFAD, in partnership with the Government of Bolivia, designs programmes to develop the technical and business skills of rural organizations, introducing technological innovations to add value to agricultural products by improving their quality and helping smallholder producers to be more competitive.
Furthermore, IFAD-funded operations facilitate the development of public-private joint ventures that help smallholder producers to gain access to markets and value chains.

Strengthening Climate Resilience of the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (CHOSSO) – National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (NEMA)

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. IFAD provides low-interest loans and grants to developing countries to finance innovative agricultural and rural development programmes and projects.

IFAD was established in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. World leaders agreed that “an International Fund for Agricultural Development should be established immediately to finance agricultural development projects…”. The conference was organized in the wake of the great droughts and famines that struck many parts of Africa in the early 1970s. IFAD is now among the top multilateral institutions working in agriculture in Africa.

Remittances are the traditional means of financial support to family members back home.  This infographic illustrates the global flow of remittances.

Aujourd’hui, plus de 30 millions d’Africains vivent loin de leur pays d’origine. En 2012, les migrants issus du continent africain ont fait parvenir chez eux plus de 50 milliards d’USD, par le biais d’envois de fonds internationaux. Ces flux revêtent une importance vitale pour le continent puisqu’on trouve en Afrique près d’un quart des 40 pays du monde dans lesquels les transferts des migrants contribuent à 10% ou plus du PIB.

It’s a well-worn cliché that women’s work is never done. But in many parts of the world, it’s still undeniably true.

Cette boîte à outils comprend un aperçu général, une note pratique et une note sur les enseignements tirés des technologies permettant de réduire la charge de travail domestique. Ces documents illustrent l'importance de la question au moyen d'une description des techniques, de leurs avantages, et de la façon dont elles pourraient être intégrées aux opérations du FIDA.

Il est nécessaire de disposer de données plus précises sur l'accès à l'eau en quantité suffisante pour répondre aux besoins de tous les membres des ménages, notamment en matière de distances parcourues, de temps requis pour la collecte, et de répartition du travail dans la famille ou le groupe.

Le présent document donne un aperçu général des technologies et pratiques permettant aux rurales de gagner du temps et de diminuer leur charge de travail domestique, ainsi que les avantages qui en découlent. Des exemples tirés de projets appuyés par le FIDA sont également fournis.

The programme will focus on the development of the sugarcane industry

in Bagamoyo, while also building the local populations resilience to climate change.
 

The project consists of two main components. The first aims to promote effective climate change resilient production systems, while the second supports access to
markets and other economic opportunities.

Higher temperatures, wildlife extinction, rising sea levels, droughts, floods, heat-related diseases and economic losses are among the consequences of climate change. Climate change disproportionally affects the poorest and most marginalized communities living in vulnerable regions, among them indigenous peoples, whose livelihoods depend on natural resources. 

Territorial approaches can enable governments to better address geographical or rural-urban inequalities to more effectively integrate the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development with regard to populations and sectors in a given geographical area.
They can help coordinate and concentrate efforts to address the spatial concentration of poverty and food insecurity in some less developed areas, reflecting vast spatial inequalities.

There are three major poverty divides in Ghana: rural-urban, northsouth, and between women and men. To meet these challenges, IFAD, the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana are investing in rural northern Ghana to create viable economic opportunities – particularly for women – while improving market linkages with the south and neighbouring countries. The Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP) is spurring agricultural and rural growth and poverty reduction with innovative approaches like District Value Chain Committees (DVCCs). IFAD-supported NRGP worked in partnership, for example, with the Association of Church Based Development (ACDEP), a local NGO in northern Ghana to establish the DVCCs. Today, DVCCs are responsible for the effective planning, implementation, coordination and monitoring of activities in the maize, soya and sorghum value chains. The committees include buyers, input providers (seeds and fertilizers), service providers (extension and tractor services), financial institutions like rural banks, and farmer-based organizations (FBOs). 

[FRENCH] When the seasonal rains came to some regions of south-eastern Senegal, the flooding used to cut off the inhabitants from the rest of the country. But that has changed with the IFAD-supported project known as PADAER – Projet d’Appui au Développement Agricole et à l’Entreprenariat Rural. Thanks to the projects’ work on rebuilding roads, rural people have new possibilities to make a living, they can access health services and education, and bring their products to markets.

A new lifeline; a new way of life

For poor rural people, lack of infrastructure often translates into lack of options and alternatives. The project is changing that.

This note describes the land tenure issues faced by pastoralists and how IFAD has dealt with some of these through its programmes and projects.

This paper looks at the role of agriculture in fostering inclusive and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses how improving agricultural productivity, smallholder access to markets and expanding agribusiness opportunities can accelerate transformation, investment and industrialization. The paper presents key investment and policy elements to be considered and points to the centrality of smallholders for the rural transformation process to be inclusive.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries affected by climate change. During the monsoon period, the Haor region of Bangladesh becomes completely inundated with 4-8 metres of water for around 6-7 months of the year. Flash fl oods are common, and in some years 80-90 per cent of crops are lost because of extreme weather events. The situation is expected to worsen as a climate
change-related shift towards pre-monsoon rainfall is coinciding with the paddy rice pre-harvest period. This severely affects food output in the Haor, which provides up to 16 per cent of national rice production.

In 2016, around 200 million migrants worldwide sent home an estimated US$ 445 billion to their families in developing countries. These remittances provide for basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter that are essential to lifting millions of people out of poverty. The truly transformative potential of these funds, however, lies in their investment in education, healthcare and asset building. To meet these needs, the us$36 million multi-donor Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) has been working since 2006 with the goal of increasing the development impact of remittances and enabling poor households to advance on the road to financial independence and rural transformation. The FFR is administered by IFAD, a specialized agency of the united nations with the mandate to invest in rural people to eradicate poverty in developing countries.

Recent advances in technology and telecommunications have the potential to make financial services more accessible and affordable for smallholder households in rural areas. With digital platforms such as mobile phones, smallholders can now use financial services without having to visit a bank branch. 

Partnerships have always been a key element of IFAD’s work. In recent years the private sector has become an ever more important collaborator in the development of enabling rural business environments, pro-poor value chains and private rural finance.

Les Notes pratiques sont des outils qui servent à concevoir et à exécuter des projets en tenant compte des meilleures pratiques observées sur le terrain. Elles serviront de mode d’emploi aux équipes afin d’appliquer certaines recommandations relatives aux politiques opérationnelles du FIDA, aux exigences des cycles de projets, et aux outils de financement. 

The Community-based Integrated Natural Resources Management Project is located in the Lake Tana Watershed within Amhara National Regional State. The project covers 21 Woredas (districts) comprising 347 kebeles. 

Project operations  will consist of two components, namely: (i) Community-Based Integrated Watershed Management; and (ii) Institutional, Legal and Policy Analysis and Reform.

GEF finance was allocated to help land users living around the LUSIP with no land, who may face greater pressure on their access to grazing lands as a result of the project. The LUSIP-GEF incremental project has enabled these land users to convert their farming systems into sustainable, productive smallholder and agro pastoralist enterprises while protecting the wider agroecosystem.

Advances in digital technology and telecommunications are presenting new financial inclusion opportunities for smallholder farmers in rural areas.1 A growing number of payments, savings, credit and insurance products can be delivered digitally to address the financial needs of smallholder households. Smallholders
can especially benefit from mobile phone platforms, which offer immediate, safe access to government subsidies, cash transfers and remittances. The messaging features of mobile phones can complement digital financial services (DFSs) by offering timely information on weather conditions, farming tips, market
prices and potential buyers, which can help increase farming yields and profitability.

Recent advances in technology and increasing penetration of telecommunication systems into rural areas have the potential to make financial services more accessible to smallholder households. Mobile telephony and data networks, coupled with agent networks, can enable the use of digital payments and savings and
provide a platform for credit and insurance, without smallholders having to visit a bank branch. Mobile phones can also bridge information asymmetries by offering weather forecasts and real-time market prices, which can improve the ability of farmers to prepare and respond to inclement weather and price fluctuations.

This paper analyses the role of migration in promoting rural livelihoods and discusses how migration interacts with transformative economic processes. Focusing on migration out of rural areas, it examines the impacts of migration on rural livelihoods and challenges the perspective that sees rural outmigration as a failure of rural development. 

The origins of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) stretch back to the food crisis of the early 1970s, which sparked the World Food Conference of 1974. Three years later, with support from donors, including Japan, IFAD was created as both a specialized agency of the United Nations and an international financial institution. 

Since 1978, IFAD has empowered about 453 million people to grow more food, manage their land and other natural resources more productively, learn new skills, start businesses, build strong organizations and gain a voice in the decisions that affect their lives. 

L’objectif de développement n’est pas de créer de la richesse en tant que telle, ou au profit de quelques-uns, mais plutôt de bâtir des sociétés mieux à même de favoriser la cohésion. Pour ouvrir aux populations la voie de la prospérité – ou de la survie après une catastrophe –, il faut planifier et investir, tant dans la sphère publique que privée.

Chaque année, les membres de la diaspora mondiale envoient plus de 450 milliards d’USD à leurs familles restées dans des pays en développement. Grâce à ces envois de fonds, qui favorisent les investissements, le tourisme, les échanges, les actions philanthropiques, les transferts de savoirs et les relations transfrontières, les diasporas jouent un rôle essentiel dans le développement de leurs pays d’origine. Selon les estimations, la part des envois de fonds utilisée à des fins agricoles dans les zones rurales est relativement modeste – jusqu’à 5 pour cent du montant total – mais représente cependant quatre fois l’aide publique au développement (APD) mondiale allouée à l’agriculture.

Report to the sixth global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum in conjunction with the thirty-ninth session of IFAD’s Governing Council.

This paper by Adinda Van Hemelrijck and Irene Guijt explores how impact evaluation can live up to standards broader  than statistical rigour in ways that address challenges of complexity and enable stakeholders to engage  meaningfully. A Participatory Impact Assessment and Learning.

Approach (PIALA) was piloted to assess and debate the impacts on rural poverty of two government programmes  in Vietnam and Ghana funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

This report proceeds from the Global Forum on Remittances and Development held in Milan, Italy in 2015.

This joint evaluation synthesis report (JES) has been prepared by FAO and IFAD Evaluation Offices (OED  and IOE) within the framework of ‘Statement Intent’ of 2 April 2013 for strengthening collaboration across the two  Rome-based agencies.

Policies affect every dimension of the institutional and legal context in which poor rural people pursue their livelihoods; they shape the world they live in and the economic opportunities open to them. Supportive policies can go a long way towards providing the conditions in which people can lift themselves out of poverty. Conversely, policies that do not create opportunities, or that exclusively reflect the interests of other economic players, can be an insuperable barrier or an unbridgeable gulf – roadblocks barring the way out of the poverty trap. Thus, an enabling country-level policy environment for agriculture and rural development is not only critical for effective implementation of IFAD-supported projects, but also a precondition for enabling rural people to overcome poverty. As IFAD shifts its focus from exclusively project-specific goals to making a broader contribution to rural poverty reduction, engaging in country-level policy processes is becoming an increasingly important activity within country programmes, supported by dedicated services and products, and an important mechanism through which to scale up proven approaches and lessons learned at the project level. 

IFAD launched its Junior Professional Officer (JPO) programme in 1980, just three years after IFAD was established, and has maintained a dynamic JPO programme ever since. The JPO programme was originally established by the General Assembly of the United Nations as a way of recruiting young professionals for service in the field of development assistance. The programme is sponsored by Member States interested in investing in young, university-trained nationals of their own country or other countries, for employment in organizations of the United Nations system.

Farmers’ Africa is a capacity-building programme that aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of rural producers in Africa. It works with farmers’ organizations (FOs) to help them evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises.

The programme supports the main functions of FOs, promotes their engagement in policy processes and contributes to their professionalization. It also supports the efforts of FOs to provide economic services to their members. 

The African Postal Financial Services initiative is a joint regional programme launched by IFAD and the European Commission in collaboration with the World Bank, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) – a specialized United Nations agency for the postal sector, the World Savings Banks Institute/European Savings Banks Group (WSBI/ESBG) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

This uniquely broad-based partnership seeks to enhance competition in the African remittance market by promoting and enabling post offices in Africa to offer remittances and financial services. Post offices are ideally placed to deliver remittances in rural areas, but they often lack the business model, technology and expertise to process real-time payments such as remittances in an efficient and safe manner. The goal of this initiative is to promote, support and scale up key postal networks in Africa in the integration of remittance services.

IFAD has to report to its Members States on the total number of rural people lifted out of poverty1. The government programmes it funds, however, are implemented in complex ways and environments that challenge mainstream evaluation practice. The challenge for IFAD and its co- implementing and co-funding partners, moreover, is not just to rigorously assess impact but also to understand the processes generating impact in order to realize its ambitious targets (IFAD, 2011). Albeit a strong emphasis on quantitative measurement, there is a need for impact evaluation that fosters learning and responsibility.

Cette note aidera les équipes de conception et de supervision des projets du FIDA à améliorer les indicateurs de S-E des projets filière

L'approche, étape par étape, de l’analyse de filière et de la conception de projet suit le cycle fondamental de conception des projets du FIDA.

This paper is a guide to current debates about agricultural development. It analyses the changes in development approaches and thinking in recent decades and explores today's critical issues in agricultural and rural development policy. With the main focus on Africa, the paper also includes insights from Asia and Latin America.