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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.

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.

The project will address sustainable management in shade forests, marine areas, and mangroves in the buffer zones of protected areas (Obo and Principe natural parks) through the development of participatory management plans in five co-management areas, and the implementation of investments for integrated ecosystem management.

The SCCF project focuses on individual/groups of women and youth (mainly involved in cassava processing activities) and men farmers (mainly involved in cassava production activities, processing and marketing) living in fairly remote rural areas. These target beneficiaries are most prone to food insecurity
because of the difficult access to markets.

IFAD has acquired considerable experience during its three decades of partnership with the country. It has contributed directly and indirectly to the mobilization of resources aimed at removing structural obstacles to the development of rural poor people. This has been achieved through the active involvement of, and coordination with, family farmers, indigenous peoples, rural youth organizations, government, international cooperation agencies, civil society and, more recently, the private sector.

IFAD-funded projects mainly support family farmers and entrepreneurs in municipalities in which poverty is prevalent. Activities have also helped to address needs arising after the end of the 12-year internal armed conflict and the 2001 post-earthquake reconstruction process.

The IFAD-GEF supported project aims to increase the resilience to climate change of agriculture in Jordan, focusing on water as a key natural resource for agricultural production in the country. The proposed project will promote technically reliable, economically competitive, clean and sustainable irrigation technology for the agricultural sector in different agro climatic production regions in Jordan.

IFAD will seek to improve food security, natural resource management, livestock value chains, and climate resilience for the poor rural people of Sudan.

Over the last decade, Ecuador’s poverty levels have fallen despite a period of recent political and economic crises. Nevertheless, in rural spheres, indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian communities continue to face barriers to economic inclusion, ranging from lack of secure access to land and water resources to limited investment opportunities. The situation varies across regions and social groups. In the Amazon for instance, indigenous groups struggle to obtain clear titles for communal lands that are under increased pressure from oil exploration and production. In the highlands, peasant communities face shortages of land and increasing degradation due to agricultural intensification and unregulated expansion into the upper reaches of water basins (páramos). In the coastal regions, communities face growing encroachment on their lands by large landholdings, in addition to degradation of mangrove forests due to unsustainable exploitation.

The project interventions focus on water resources management through three
main components: i) capacity building, awareness raising and knowledge
management at the national level, ii) water harvesting and watershed
management, and iii) water conservation and efficient irrigation.

The project interventions focus on water resources management through three
main components: i) capacity building, awareness raising and knowledge
management at the national level, ii) water harvesting and watershed
management, and iii) water conservation and efficient irrigation.

Project activity has been classified into separate components, however they all come together to deliver the same overall objective. One component revolves around sustainable growth and capacity building. It will focus efforts on things such as improvements to infrastructure and hydro agriculture; developing wetlands and watershed areas.

The project work will be split into two components. The first will deal with Rural Livelihoods and the second with Market Linkages and Climate Resilient Infrastructure.
PRELNOR will enable smallholder farmers to improve their productivity to a level where there is enough surplus production that the farmer can sell at market.

The project objective is to strengthen sustainable forest management in the
project area and develop local capabilities, leading to the reduction of carbon
emissions from deforestation and the increase of carbon sequestration
through the financing of initiatives for the most vulnerable. Project operations
are focused in 25 municipalities, in which 83 per cent of the population are
indigenous peoples.

Since the 1990s, Colombia has experienced sustained, strong economic growth. However, it is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The gap between urban and rural areas is particularly wide. While the incidence of poverty is 27.8 per cent of the population at the national level, 40.3 per cent of rural people live in poverty. The percentage is even higher among indigenous peoples and communities of African descent. The agricultural sector represents 6.1 per cent of Colombia’s GDP and 16.3 per cent of employment. However, these figures could be even higher because the country has huge agricultural potential.

Projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that, in the future, warming in Latin America could range from 1-4 degrees Celsius to 2-6 degrees Celsius, depending on the various climate scenarios. As land-use changes in Latin America have intensified the use of natural resources, land degradation and desertification have accelerated. The IPCC predicts that, by the 2050s, about 50 per cent of agricultural land in the region will be subject to desertification, and in some areas salinization. From the Amazon rainforest and the high mountains of the Andes to the coral reefs of the Caribbean and the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean is host to unique ecosystems and biodiversity of global importance. Despite the region’s relatively small contribution to global warming, its natural environments and resource-dependent economies are threatened by the impact of climate change, and poor and marginalized rural communities are at greatest risk. 

The Near East and North Africa region is one of the world's driest and most water-scarce regions. In many areas in the region, demand for water already outstrips supply. Although the region contributes relatively little to greenhouse gas emissions, it will be among those hardest hit by climate change. Climate experts predict that, in future, the climate will become hotter, drier and more variable. Over the next 15 to 20 years, average temperatures are estimated to rise by at least 2 degrees Celsius, and possibly up to 4 degrees Celsius. Higher temperatures and reduced precipitation will increase the occurrence of drought, as is already evident in the western part of North Africa. Densely populated low-lying coastal areas in Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates are particularly at risk from rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion into agricultural land.

Water lies at the heart of sustainable development and is essential for economic growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. It is the basis of human and environmental health, energy security, sustainable urbanization and the ability of rural women and men in developing countries to pursue productive activities. 

But one billion people still lack access to safe water and even more lack access to basic sanitation. Around three quarters of the world’s poorest and hungriest people live in rural areas, often forgotten and bypassed by economic growth and development programmes. The majority of rural people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but face numerous barriers in accessing services and securing vital resources, including water.

The SAIL programme has several components: i) community and livelihood development, ii) agriculture development and diversification, and iii) rural financial services.
The community development activities will focus on the ''new lands'' that have been settled by smallholder farmers. Community development associations will be strengthened so that they can allow for the inclusion of women and youth. The project will also provide buildings and financing for schools, health clinics, community centres and clean water infrastructure.

Overall the KCEP-CRAL project is divided into two objectives, which will be achieved through three technical components. The first project objective is to graduate smallholder farmers to commercially-oriented, climate-resilient agricultural practices through improvements in productivity, post-production management practices and market linkages for targeted value chains. The second objective is to empower local government and communities to sustainably manage their natural resources whilst building resilience to climate change.

Family Farming Development Programme (ProDAF) in Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder.

The first programme component will focus on three areas: plants/crops, animals and infrastructure. 

The project objective is to improve food and nutrition security of rural people
around 5 centers of economic development (Tessaoua, Tchadoua, Sabon Machi,
Guidan Roumdji and Djirataoua) in 18 communes in the Maradi region.

The project objective is to improve food and nutrition security of rural people around 5 centers of economic development (Tessaoua, Tchadoua, Sabon Machi, Guidan Roumdji and Djirataoua) in 18 communes in the Maradi region.

The project design focuses on overcoming three key barriers to the restoration of coastal ecosystems: i) the gap in technical knowledge for low-cost restoration methods; ii) low priority assigned to environmental issues during the tsunami relief and reconstruction programme; and iii) continuation of ecosystem and land degradation processes.

The project aims to demonstrate the adaptation potential of climate-resilient crop production systems and technologies – especially efficient irrigation technologies and conservation agriculture – combined with the rehabilitation and climateproofing of irrigation schemes and value chain infrastructures (e.g. improved storage and processing facilities, and greenhouses) in ten selected crop value chains.

Since its inception in December 2013, PARM has worked for a better management of risks in agriculture in developing countries, considered as a main constraint to improve farmers’ livelihoods. 

Climate change is exacerbating natural resource degradation and reducing the potential of productive lands. For example, rural farmers have to contend with climate shocks such as drought, rainfall deficits, floods and locust invasions. These shocks are reducing yields and making the cropping seasons hard to predict for traditional farmers. Traditional resilience strategies are no longer as effective as they were and the lean season is becoming more challenging to smallholder farmers.

Lesotho ranks 158 out of 186 in the UNDP Human Development Index. Poverty is rife, and it is concentrated in the rural areas of the country, with the greatest incidence in the mountain areas. Lesotho's rural economy is dominated by livestock production. Lesotho's chief export is directly related to this livestock, that of wool and mohair production. Lesotho is the second largest global producer of mohair, and this counts towards a large percentage of the country 's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Only high quality wool and mohair can be exported, and this is dependent on the quality and health of the livestock. The main factor in raising high quality livestock is maintaining healthy rangelands.

IFAD recently resumed operations in Cuba after more than 20 years. The official launch of the Cooperative Rural Development Project in the Oriental Region (PRODECOR) took place on 30 October 2014.
Given the challenges the agricultural sector faces, IFAD is in a position to serve as one of the country’s strategic partners, contributing to the ongoing modernization process.
Cooperatives in Cuba are key actors in ensuring food security, as they represent 80 per cent of the country’s agricultural production. The Government of Cuba has expressed interest in re-establishing the partnership with IFAD with a view to modernizing agriculture.
This will be achieved mainly through developing non-state smallholder farmer business cooperatives. In this respect, IFAD is well placed to provide technical assistance through its projects to increase the physical, human, social and environmental assets of cooperatives.

Three quarters of the poor population in West and Central Africa – about 90 million people – live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. More than 60 per cent of the active population work in the agriculture sector. Women’s share – estimated at 70 per cent in the region as a whole and 89 per cent in the Sahel – continues to rise. Socio-politically, West and Central Africa is still very fragile, with the highest concentration of countries with IFAD operations. Despite this fragility and the poverty that affects over half the population, virtually all countries in the region have made considerable progress over the past decade, particularly in education, health and income redistribution. 

In Djibouti, pastoral communities have made a clearimprovement in their living conditions with better access to water and strengthened capacity in natural resources conservationa and management.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a project co-sponsored by IFAD helped the war-ravaged country make the transition from immediate relief and rehabilitation to long-term sustainable development.

In Yemen, a community-led project for fostering women's empowerment has imporoved the food security of thousands of landless and smallholder famers living in the poorest areas of the country.  

From 2004 to late 2012, the Dhamar Participatory Rural Development Project, cofunded by IFAD and the Government of Yemen, addressed the needs of the rural population in the Dhamar Governorate.  By ensuring the participation of rural people in the decision-making processes and income-generating activities, the project improved the food security of substience farmers and their families in the villages of Dhamar.

In Syria, large areas of degraded land have been turned into arable land thanks to several IFAD projects that managed to combine the sheer power of bulldozers with the long-term commitment of farmers.

In Syria, a sanduq – a local microfinance institution owned and managed by its members – provides much needed loans to poor rural people, with particular attention to women.

In Somalia, much-needed sources of underground water were identified by using advanced geophysical surveys in those same areas where previous trial-and-error drilling had delivered no results.

In Armenia, Macedonia and Moldova, low-cost refinancing capital makes rural investments attractive and profitable for local banks, and reduces rural poverty by stimulating economic growth.

In Macedonia, IFAD trained individuals to become agricultural advisors and assisted them in establishing private companies that today operate in the market for agricultural development services.

In Jordan, the success of a project co-funded by IFAD largely rested on how quickly rural women were able to learn about borrowing money and setting up and running their own small enterprises.

A Holistic Approach to Farming Research In Egypt, land productivity was improved by an IFAD project that created strong links between farmers, research and extension, and raised resource-use efficiency by integrating crops and livestock. The governorates of Fayoum, Beni Sueif and Minia in Upper Egypt extend for about 200 km along the Nile. In this area, land productivity is low and the potential for bringing additional land into production is limited. The only options available to raise the incomes of rural people living in the area are to improve land productivity and intensify land use. This is what an IFAD project has done through a project consisting of three main elements: 1) agricultural research; 2) the dissemination of research findings through extension activity; and 3) the provision of credit necessary to adopt new technologies. The project established an innovative Farming System Research Unit (FSRU), which operated with a holistic approach. That is to say, the FSRU carried out research activities that were adapted to farmers’ real needs and closely linked to extension delivery, and broadened its focus to include livestock – a relatively neglected area in Egypt.

Ghana has the third largest IFAD country programme in the West and Central Africa region. The programme contributes to building inclusive and
sustainable institutions, backed by pro-poor investments and policies as well as relevant innovation and learning. IFAD supports the main thrusts of the government’s Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda – including accelerated agricultural modernization, sustainable natural resource
management and enhanced private-sector competitiveness. 

Its work also aligns with Ghana’s Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan on food security, income growth and other programme areas related to rural poverty reduction.

Somalia’s poverty and food security situation remains critical after years of conflict and natural disasters. Since the 1980s, IFAD has supported nine programmes in the country for a total of US$140 million.
There is currently no country strategic opportunities programme for Somalia.

However, the strategic objectives of IFAD interventions in Somalia can be summarized as follows:
• Increase incomes and food security by supporting agriculture and related activities, improving access to water, sanitation and health care, strengthening the natural resource base and building rural financial services;
• Identify and promote pro-poor investment mechanisms in rural areas for dissemination, replication and scaling up; and
• Build the capacity of the diaspora and promote the transformation of people in the diaspora into agents of development through remittances – the portion of their earnings that migrants outside the country send home.

 IFAD has been working in small island developing states (SIDS) for 35 years, financing investments for smallholder farmers and fishers.

IFAD recognizes that small island developing states are different than other developing countries. 

They face constraints that are quite particular to their size, remoteness, insularity and ocean resource base. In the light of a changing world and new challenges faced by rural people living in SIDS, IFAD recently took the opportunity of the Global Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Samoa in 2014 to articulate its lessons learned and current approach to financing investment in rural people in its paper presented at the Conference, IFAD’s approach in Small Island Developing States.

Taller regional de América Latina y el Caribe en preparación de la segunda reunión mundial del Foro de Pueblos Indígenas en el FIDA.

Africa Regional Workshop in preparation for the Second Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD.

Climate change threatens the natural resource base
across much of the developing world. Climate
change accelerates ecosystem degradation and makes
agriculture more risky. As a result, smallholder
farmers, who are so critical to global food security,
are facing more extreme weather. Small-scale farmers
are impacted more immediately by droughts, floods
and storms, at the same time as they suffer the
gradual effects of climate change, such as water stress
in crops and livestock, coastal erosion from rising sea
levels and unpredictable pest infestations.

In February 2013, the First Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples Forum took place at the IFAD headquarters in Rome, in conjunction with the 36th session of the Governing Council. In attendance at this inaugural meeting were 31 indigenous people’s representatives from 25 countries in Asia, Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean regions. Of the 19 Asia- Pacific regional representatives, two were from the Pacific; Mr. Anthony Wale, the Executive Director Aoke Langalanga Constituency Apex Association (ALCAA), and Ms Rufina Peter, Senior Research Officer at the PNG Institute of National Affairs.

During the meeting the Pacific representatives highlighted the need for the Pacific to have a “separate identity” as per the outcomes of Asia Pacific regional preparatory workshop in Bangkok. The issue was one of visibility for the Pacific Region due to its unique, rich and diverse cultures and traditions, its significant land and sea area and its high biodiversity. The Pacific Regional meeting proposed three action plans, of which the Pacific Regional Workshop in preparation of the Second Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD is a direct result.

Since 1978, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has worked
with small-scale farmers in 122 countries and territories around the world to help
them overcome rural poverty and increase their food and nutrition security. IFAD
has invested a total of about US$15.6 billion in grants and low-interest loans to
developing countries, reaching more than 400 million people.
Agricultural development can be a major driver of poverty reduction. IFAD acts as
an advocate for poor rural people, helping to create an enabling environment – with
appropriate policies, know-how, finance, infrastructure and market access – for
them to improve their lives and livelihoods.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development works with small-scale farmers in 98 countries and territories around the world to help them overcome rural
poverty and increase food security. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$16 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached more
than 430 million people.

Agricultural development can be a major driver of poverty reduction. IFAD acts as an advocate for poor rural people, helping to create an enabling
environment – with appropriate policies, know-how, finance, infrastructure and market access – for them to improve their lives and livelihoods.

Climate change and sustainable development are the central challenges of our time. They are inseparably linked and need to be addressed together. Action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate impacts is essential for ensuring sustainable development. At the same time, only sustainable development can provide the stable political, economic, social and environmental conditions that all countries need to address climate change successfully and
build carbon-neutral economies. This is why the UN system is fully committed to supporting the international community as it confronts climate change while working to build a sustainable world for the twenty-first century.

IFAD is committed to gender equality. Women embody half the talent and energy at any country’s disposal. That’s why greater gender equality leads to higher economic growth and better lives.

This note provides an overview on lines of credit illustrating the the key issues and the main challenges, opportunities and benefits.

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.
 

The agricultural sector in Rwanda has been hit hard by climate change. Agricultural
production is increasingly exposed to drought, intense and erratic rainfall, high winds
and emerging seasonal and temperature shifts. If not addressed, climate variability
will mean signifi cant economic costs – estimated at up to US$300 million annually
by 2030.

The northern part of Nigeria is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is reducing rural income as a result of decreased agricultural productivity – agricultural yields have declined by 20 per cent over the last 30 years in the north. ASAP interventions under CASP will strengthen the capacity of farmers to use climate information for the planning and promotion of climate-resilient farming techniques. It will also implement larger investments to reduce the impact of climate hazards on rural infrastructure, farms and livelihoods.

The project will increase the availability of adaptation assets and knowledge, which will enable target households to cope with the changing climate situation. 

The programme will support institutional capacity-building and greater public awareness on topics related to climate change resilience. Water users’ associations and farmer organizations, among other
members of the selected value chains, will benefit from activities such as the dissemination of climate change adaptation toolkits, national and international exchange visits, the dissemination of good practices
and training.

NICADAPTA will improve incomes and quality of life for rural families – and reduce their vulnerability to the impact of climate change – by facilitating access to markets for valueadded coffee and cocoa. It will introduce water efficiency and crop diversification measures such as coffee-cocoa intercropping in coffee plantations to buffer the effects of rising temperatures.

Kyrgyzstan is a food-deficit and low-income country, with a geographical position and topographical make-up that contribute to making it one of the most vulnerable
countries to the impacts of climate change in Central Asia. The country suffers from drought, land and mudslides. Flooding events and river erosion are set to increase in frequency and intensity. The mountainous nature of the country renders 45 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s land inhospitable. The majority of the population live in valleys and at the foothills of the mountains, where vulnerability to climate-related hazards is highest.

Viet Nam is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and among the countries hardest hit by climate change. Rising sea levels (between 75 and
100 centimetres by the end of this century) are expected to affect 20-50 per cent of the low-lying Mekong Delta. Changes in rainfall and temperatures are increasing the risk of fl oods, typhoons and droughts. Climate change has serious implications for Viet Nam’s socio-economic development, especially in the densely populated and productive Mekong Delta.  

The programme will support the design and implementation of participatory management plans for ecosystem conservation to alleviate stresses and increase the resilience of fragile habitats.

The programme will stimulate more sustainable economic growth for women and men in
rural communities. This includes increasing their resilience to climate change impacts by
helping communities to diversify their livelihoods options and improving the management
of natural resources. Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure will also support
agricultural development.

ASAP resources are complementing the first component (natural resource management, investment in assets and enterprise development) of ACCESOS. 

Between 2009 and 2012, the IFAD-supported Scaling up Micro-irrigation Systems (SCAMPIS) project developed a market approach for the dissemination of locally adapted drip irrigation kits. 

The approach identifies the technology that is best suited to the local context and appropriate for the most vulnerable rural inhabitants. It then builds a sustainable local supply chain for the irrigation equipment that makes the technology affordable and available, not just for the duration of the project but in the long term.

In just three years, the pilot project was able to dramatically change the lives of 30,000 farmers and their families (in total, around 150,000 poor rural people) on three continents.

The results of the studies highlighted the importance of agriculture as an economic activity to the reproduction of such units all over the continent, and showed that specialized family farmers are the largest group in relation to the total. Moreover, we verified the function of rural residency and the combination of activities and income sources as an important feature of all the countries studied.

Depuis 1981, le FIDA a financé 12 projets et programmes au Burkina Faso pour un montant total de 158,6 millions de dollars des États-Unis. 

The overall objective of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) is the 1.reduction of poverty and sustained improvement in the standard of living of the population in the Lower Usuthu Basin through commercialization and intensification of agriculture. The immediate objectives of LUSIP Phase I were: (a) the integration of smallholder farmers into the commercial economy through the provision of irrigation infrastructure, development of the policy and legal framework for smallholder irrigation, as well as the establishment of farmer-managed irrigation institutions; and (b) sustainable improvement in environmental health in the project area to ensure that the population derives the full benefits of agricultural commercialisation.

En la actualidad Latinoamérica presenta diferentes retos para promover el desarrollo rural de sus comunidades, combatir la escasez de agua y garantizar su seguridad alimentaria. En los últimos años, México ha sufrido una serie de eventos hidrometeorológicos que han generado graves daños sociales y económicos que requieren de importantes inversiones para permitir a las regiones afectadas regresar a su condición habitual. Esto ha hecho evidente la gran vulnerabilidad del país así como la importancia que juega la capacidad de adaptación de la nación o en otras palabras, la resiliencia del país.

IFAD has committed US$71.4 million in loans to Jordan since 1981 to support agricultural development and reduce rural poverty. The funds have been used in six agricultural development programmes and projects with a total value of US$189.3 million. 

The Government of Jordan and project participants have contributed US$63.2 million. The programmes and
projects are designed by IFAD in collaboration with rural people, the government and other partners. They address poverty through promotion of sustainable natural resource management, particularly water and soil conservation. A seventh project is being designed.

An IFAD Supervision Mission visited the project from 20th June to 5th July 2013. The main 1.objectives of the supervision mission are to ensure that the development objectives of the projects are being met and to satisfy IFAD‟s fiduciary responsibilities, with a focus on: (i) assessment of the implementation progress of the project, including assessment of the achievement of outputs by component and outcome as per the logframe of the project; (ii) assistance to identify and remove implementation bottlenecks and constraints; and (iii) agree on a set of actions to be implemented by the project in the next six to twelve months period.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries. 

What can information and communication technologies (ICTs) do for the world's 900 million extremely poor people who live in rural area?

The question is crucial to the fight to enable rural poor people to overcome poverty.

Méthodes innovantes d’amélioration sylvo-pastorale: Le cas du projet de lutte participative contre la désertification et de réduction de la pauvreté dans les écosystèmes arides et semi-arides des hauts plateaux de l’Oriental au Maroc.

IFAD’s experience shows that, with the right support, rural communities can transform their existence in a sustainable way. Supporting the development and ownership of a viable private sector in rural areas plays a fundamental part.

We have always supported the rural private sector, providing primarily small- scale operators with financial and technical assistance to help them
improve their livelihoods.

IFAD and the Government of Mauritius are moving towards a new form of partnership that differs from the standard model for low-income countries, which was followed in Mauritius until 2005. 

IFAD recognizes that the country now has sufficient national resources to address rural poverty, so the focus of interventions has shifted from financing projects towards developing a collaborative approach with the government to reduce the incidence of poverty.

This approach includes policy dialogue, knowledge management and sharing, and partnership-building.

IFAD first worked in Seychelles in 1991, when it began financing the Employment Generation Project, which was completed six years later.
More recently, stakeholders from Seychelles have participated in activities funded by an ongoing IFAD grant, which supports the Regional Initiative for Smallholder Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in the Indian Ocean Islands. This initiative is creating a regional knowledge-management platform on adaptation strategies for small-scale farmers.

The platform actively disseminates information on conservation agriculture practices such as farming with low or zero tillage, as well as composting, integrating livestock and farming activities, and other environmentally sustainable measures.

Indigenous peoples have rich and ancient cultures and view
their social, economic, environmental and spiritual
systems as interdependent. They make valuable
contributions to the world’s heritage thanks to their
traditional knowledge and their understanding of
ecosystem management.
But indigenous peoples are also among the world’s most
vulnerable, marginalized and disadvantaged groups.
We must ensure that their voices are heard, their
rights respected, and their well-being improved.

In parts of Kenya, local communities have been empowered to take control of their own development. The success of the project rests on community involvement
and mobilization of local financial, natural and human resources.

Strong links to markets for poor rural producers are essential to increasing agricultural production, generating economic growth in rural areas and reducing hunger and poverty. Improving these links creates a virtuous circle by boosting productivity, increasing incomes and strengthening food security.

Agriculture is a thirsty business, with irrigation alone accounting for about 70 per cent of freshwater withdrawals. 

Meeting demand from a world population expected to top 9 billion people by 2050 will require a 10 per cent increase in water for agricultural use. 

Enormous efforts will be needed to reduce water demand and improve water use efficiency.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)’.

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries.

Rural people generally need both secure individual rights to farm plots and secure collective rights to common pool resources on which whole villages depend. 

IFAD-supported projects and programmes have supported the recognition and documenting of group rights, focusing on range/grazing lands, forests and artisanal fishing communities. 

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)’. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries. 

This report provides an overview of the achievements and learning from the Phase 1 of the Tenure Security Learning Initiative - East & Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA) Project. 

It also looks ahead to strategies for scaling up initiatives, and to the second phase of the TSLI-ESA project.

Participatory mapping uses a range of tools including data collection tools, such as mental mapping, ground mapping, participatory sketch mapping, transect mapping and participatory 3-dimensional modelling. 

Recently participatory mapping initiatives have begun to use more technically advanced geographic information technologies, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), aerial photos and use of remote-sensing images, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other digital computer-based technologies. 

IFAD supported projects and programmes are increasingly making use of these technologies for mapping land and natural resource rights, use and management.

IFAD has supported rural poverty reduction and agricultural development initiatives in the Republic of Guatemala since 1986. During its first decade in the country, IFAD’s work was oriented towards supporting the government in consolidating the peace process and rebuilding the social fabric in zones that were affected by Guatemala’s 36-year armed conflict. 

It also focused on constructing an economic and institutional platform for the development of marginalized rural and indigenous communities.
Over the years, IFAD operations have evolved from localized rural development.

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.

Over the past five years, the world has been hit by a series of
economic, financial and food crises that have slowed down,
and at times reversed, global efforts to reduce poverty and
hunger. Today, price volatility and weather shocks – such as the
recent devastating drought in the Horn of Africa – continue to
severely undermine such efforts.
In this context, promoting livelihood resilience and food and
nutrition security has become central to the policy agendas of
governments. Smallholder farmers need to be at the centre
of this agenda, and to play a leading role in the investment
efforts needed to achieve it.

IFAD has funded nine programmes and projects in Burundi for a total investment of US$141 million. IFAD’s experience in the country confirms that even under adverse circumstances programmes and projects conceived and designed on the basis of adequate consultations with incentives to rural communities can help improve household food security.

During more than a decade of open conflict in Burundi, IFAD continued to implement programme and project activities. In keeping with its mandate for rural and agricultural development, the organization supported participation in social development and the cohesion of rural communities that were directly or indirectly affected by massacres and combat. By continuing activities in the face of insecurity and within the constraints of an international embargo on Burundi, IFAD helped communities maintain a sense of normalcy.
 

IFAD is currently one of the two largest donors supporting Yemen’s rural agricultural sector. IFAD has worked in Yemen since the Fund’s creation, and has acquired a wealth of experience and knowledge of the economy and society, and developed a wide network of partners in the country. IFAD’s goal in Yemen is to achieve improved, diversified and sustainable livelihoods for poor rural women, men and young people, especially those who depend on rainfed agriculture and livestock production systems in the poorest areas. 

IFAD has three main strategic objectives in Yemen:
• empowering rural communities by strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations and using community-driven approaches so that poor rural people can manage local community development activities;
• promoting sustainable rural financial services and pro-poor rural enterprises by developing savings and credit associations for disadvantaged groups in remote rural areas and developing rural enterprises that provide jobs for the unemployed, especially young people and women;
• enhancing food security for poor households by restoring the productive agricultural base and improving productivity so that poor households can produce enough for household needs and a surplus that can be sold.

IFAD loans and grants have supported the government’s investments in poverty reduction programmes since 1979. Before 1998, when Hurricane Mitch devastated the country,IFAD was almost the only institution investing in rural development and poverty alleviation in Honduras.

IFAD also designed one of the first projects to be implemented after the disastrous hurricane: the National Fund for Sustainable Rural Development Project (FONADERS).

Climate variability and change are expected to compromise agricultural production and food security severely in many African countries. 

Fragile states are home to nearly 30 per cent of the
world’s poor people. Though measures of fragility
vary, such countries typically lack some of the
basic tools of nationbuilding: good governance,
strong policies, skilled personnel, functional
infrastructure and services, educated citizens, an active
civil society and a competitive private sector.
Civil and border conflict is an all-too frequent reality.
Poor people living in rural areas of fragile states are
particularly vulnerable as they have very limited
means to cope with the situation created by fragility.

The country’s challenge now is to create the conditions for economic growth – and the Government of Togo believes that the best way to achieve lasting growth is through increased production and productivity in the agriculture sector.

For these reasons, after more than a decade out of the country, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is working closely with the Republic of Togo to put agricultural and rural development on track.

There is a growing need to investigate different crop production systems that prevent soil degradation while increasing productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA) offers a promising solution. Conservation agriculture is a climate resilient technology and management system that has demonstrable potential to secure sustained productivity and livelihood improvements for millions of climate-dependent farmers working in semi-arid areas around the world. Success stories are recorded for some countries in Asia, and in Australia and Brazil. However, for sub-Saharan Africa adoption of the technology has lagged behind these other countries, and concerns have been raised as to the suitability of the technology within the smallholder farming context.

The already vulnerable Sahel area is highly exposed to climate change impacts due to the strong dependence of its population on rainfed agriculture and livestock. Rainfall variability, land degradation and desertification are some of the key factors that are heavily impacting on local livelihoods. Droughts with varying degrees
of severity occur in two out of every five years, making harvests of the major food and cash crops highly uncertain. The recurrent droughts of the 1970s and 1980s caused huge losses of agricultural production and livestock, the loss of human lives to hunger and malnutrition, and the massive displacement of people and
shattered economies. Most climate models predict that the Sahel region will become even drier during this century.

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 conflictridden  situations, keeping in mind the goals of equity
and development.

Food price trends have a major impact on food security,
at both household and country levels. Many of the world’s
poorest people spend more than half their income on food.
Price hikes for cereals and other staples can force them
to cut back on the quantity or quality of their food.
This may result in food insecurity and malnutrition,
with tragic implications in both the short and long term.
Undernourishment increases disease and mortality, lowers
productivity and can have severe lifelong effects, particularly
for children. Price spikes can also limit the ability of poor
households to meet important non-food expenses, such
as education and health care. When they occur globally,
price hikes can affect low-income, food importing
countries, putting pressure on their limited financial
resources. Higher food prices have a particularly negative
impact on food security when prices spike suddenly or
reach extremely high levels.

Smallholder farmers are the backbone of the
rural economy – but they are bearing the brunt
of climate change. Worldwide, there are
500 million smallholder farms supporting some
2 billion people. These farmers inhabit
some of the most at-risk landscapes, including
hillsides, deserts and floodplains. Climate change
multiplies the threats facing smallholders, endangering
the natural assets they depend on and accelerating
environmental degradation.

Food price trends have a major impact on food security,
at both household and country levels. Many of the world’s
poorest people spend more than half their income on food.
Price hikes for cereals and other staples can force them
to cut back on the quantity or quality of their food.
This may result in food insecurity and malnutrition,
with tragic implications in both the short and long term.
Undernourishment increases disease and mortality, lowers
productivity and can have severe lifelong effects, particularly
for children. Price spikes can also limit the ability of poor
households to meet important non-food expenses, such
as education and health care. When they occur globally,
price hikes can affect low-income, food importing
countries, putting pressure on their limited financial
resources. Higher food prices have a particularly negative
impact on food security when prices spike suddenly or
reach extremely high levels.

One of IFAD’s most significant
partnerships is with the Member States
of the OPEC and the OIC.1 These
countries, spread over three geographic
regions – the Near East and North
Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia –
have been active partners and strong
supporters of IFAD, both as
contributing countries and as recipients
of financing for development projects.
IFAD also works in close partnership
with many Arab and Islamic
development institutions and funds in
the financing, design, implementation
and monitoring of its rural
development projects.
The long-term partnership between
IFAD and OIC Member States and
institutions has, in recent years, taken
on greater significance than ever
before. The challenges are greater than
they were three decades ago when
IFAD was first established. But the
opportunities for making an even
bigger impact on the lives of the poor
rural people are well within our grasp.

When women are economically and socially
empowered, they become a potent force for change.
In rural areas of the developing world, women play
a key role in running households and make major
contributions to agricultural production. But the
inequalities that exist between women and men make it
difficult for women to fulfil their potential.

The global population is projected to rise from its present level of 6.9 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. An estimated 1 billion people already are going hungry, and young rural people are increasingly disillusioned about working in the agricultural sector, which in many countries is stagnant and unproductive. So the question must be asked: Who is going to feed this growing world population?

Nearly 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25 a day. Seventy per cent live in rural areas where they depend on agriculture, but where they are also at risk from recurrent natural disasters such as drought and flooding. Natural disasters have a devastating impact on the food security and overall social and economic development of poor rural households. 

According to data from Munich Re’s NatCatSERVICE, natural disasters account for losses, on average, of US$51 billion in developing countries every year. Unless well managed, weather risks in agriculture slow development and hinder poverty reduction, ultimately resulting in humanitarian crises. Poor farmers have few options for coping with significant losses, and in order to reduce their exposure to risk, they often forgo opportunities to increase their productivity. 

 

Young women and men who live in rural areas are the world’s future farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders. The challenges of meeting future food demand, developing vibrant rural centres and promoting broad-based economic growth in developing countries depend on them. These are compelling reasons to place rural young people and smallholder agriculture at the forefront of global strategies for food security, poverty reduction and income growth.

IFAD works for and with the poorest people in Viet Nam, including ethnic minorities, small-scale farmers and households headed by women. Strategies to reduce poverty and improve living conditions include building partnerships, strengthening institutional capacity and promoting participation. IFAD works with the government and other partners to empower poor rural people so they can have a role in decisionmaking.

To do this, IFAD finances programmes and projects that focus on developing and testing innovative approaches to poverty reduction that can be replicated and scaled up by the government and other agencies. Interventions are area-based and multisectoral. They target regions where poverty reduction is a priority.

Desertification occurs when the tree and plant cover that binds the soil is removed. It occurs when trees and bushes are stripped away for fuelwood and timber, or to clear land for cultivation. It occurs when animals eat away grasses and erode topsoil with their hooves. It occurs when intensive farming depletes the nutrients in the soil.

Wind and water erosion aggravate the damage, carrying away topsoil and leaving behind a highly infertile mix of dust and sand. It is the combination of these factors
that transforms degraded land into desert.

As a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries, IFAD supports programmes and projects with strong natural resource management components. In particular, efforts to combat deforestation, soil degradation and desertification are central to IFAD’s operations. All country strategic opportunities papers, which guide IFAD’s lending and grant activities in each
country, give attention to an integrated approach to improving livelihoods through better access to natural resources and their sustainable management.

This report was prepared for informing IFAD‘s Country Strategic Opportunities Program (COSOP) 2012 – 2017 for Viet Nam. In preparation of this report a brainstorming workshop was held on 9 May 2011 in Hanoi bringing together key national research institutes working on climate change (CC) and environment related issues, ministries of agriculture and environment and bilateral and multilateral donors.

A severe food crisis currently threatens southern Sudan. In East Africa, where millions of people already are dependent on food aid, a sharp rise in the cost of staple crops looms. These are just the latest sources of concern in a turbulent period that began two years ago when food shortages hit many countries in Africa and Asia due to a worldwide spike in prices. Higher food prices meant that poor people, already struggling to meet basic human needs, were pushed deeper into poverty. On its heels came the global financial crisis, which also hit the poorest the hardest. Agriculture is the main employer, job creator and export in most developing countries. Historically, agriculture has driven economic performance in many countries, generating growth that has been shown to be at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Investment in agricultural and rural development is therefore vital to food security and sustainable economic development.

There are 1.4 billion extremely poor people in the world, living on
less than US$1.25 a day. About 1 billion of these men, women and
children live in the rural areas of developing countries.
Nearly 2 billion rural people live on less than US$2 a day. Most are
smallholder farmers and their families, who depend on agriculture for
their livelihoods.
Today, they must cope with rapid and unprecedented changes. Climate
change, a growing world population, and volatile food and energy
prices are pushing more people into extreme poverty and hunger.
For the first time in human history, the number of hungry people has
passed 1 billion. On top of this, tens of millions more people are
expected to go hungry by 2020 as a result of climate change.
 

 Since 1982, IFAD has supported seven projects in Syria with loans totalling US$126.2 million for projects with a total value of US$474 million. The organization has also provided a number of grants, including technical assistance grants to support women’s empowerment.

IFAD works in partnership with the government, other donors, NGOs, local institutions and civil society organizations. It finances initiatives which enable poor rural people in Syria’s agricultural settlement areas to improve their incomes and living conditions.

IFAD is working towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and its interventions endeavour to reduce poverty and promote gender equality and environmental sustainability.

The project will reverse the decline in productivity of Eritrea’s soil resources;
restore vegetative cover and habitat diversity in areas of degraded rangelands,
forests and woodlands; and increase biodiversity within crop, livestock and
forest production landscapes.

The GEF-funded Agricultural and Rural Rehabilitation and Development
Initiative, which will complement the ongoing IFAD-financed Agricultural and
Rural Rehabilitation and Development Initiative Project (ARRDI), will similarly
focus on southern Niger’s Maradi region – home to 20 per cent of the nation’s
population – targeting poor and extremely poor communities vulnerable to
environmental risk, with special emphasis on women and youth.

Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest countries, with an annual per capita income of only US$174. Nearly half of the population lives under the poverty line, and more than 12 million people are
chronically or periodically food insecure. Agriculture generates approximately 50 per cent of the GDP and 90 per cent of export earnings. Despite its importance, agricultural performance has improved little over the past 50 years and food security has deteriorated. Low agricultural productivity and chronic food insecurity are direct results of the ongoing degradation of natural resources in the
Ethiopian highlands.

This Decision Tools document is  the final outcome of five years of studies, debates and workshop discussions. These Tools will prove useful to Governments, development practitioners and field technical staff that are financing, designing or implementing CDD projects for rural poverty reduction.

Mobile signal coverage is expanding fast. More and more people own and use mobile phones and some are finding innovative ways to use them to enhance their earning potential. In the Republic of Tanzania, Internet connectivity is evolving rapidly, but few people in rural areas have access to the technology. The use of mobile phones and text messages, or SMS, is still far more widespread than e-mail. Yet the speed of change is dramatic. Communication technologies that allow wireless access within a 30-km radius are being extended throughout Tanzania and tests are verifying the feasibility of using GPRS modems in remote districts.

“It was important that we adapt quickly, looking for ways to ensure that everybody benefits
from these changes,” says Clive Lightfoot, technical advisor of the First Mile Project. “We want
to make certain that groups of people are not left behind and that the revolution is also
directed towards reducing rural poverty.”

The Arab countries account for more than 5 per cent of the world’s population, but less than 1 per cent of global water resources. And as a consequence of the phenomena associated with climate change, the region is facing an even greater water shortage.

For 30 years now, IFAD and its partners in the region have worked to develop effective, replicable solutions to help poor rural communities manage their scarce water resources. More than half of IFAD’s programmes and projects in the region include a focus on water. 

IFAD has approved six loans to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for an approximate total of US$80.0 million. The organization also approved two technical assistance grants in 1991 and 1998 for the Regional Training Programme in Rural Development, implemented by the Foundation for Training and Applied Research in Agrarian Reform (CIARA), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land.

IFAD’s mandate to reduce poverty by improving the living conditions and incomes of poor rural people faces vigorous challenges and opportunities. IFAD works in partnership with the government and other donors, financing programmes and projects that target the poorest of the poor, particularly small farmers, landless people, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, and rural women in general. CIARA, one of IFAD’s principal partners in recent rural development projects, plays an important role as administrator of decentralized development programmes for the country's Ministry of
Popular Power for Agriculture and Land.

IFAD is currently engaged in over 230 loan operations in 85 countries. About two thirds of that portfolio is related to community-based natural resource management.

Poor rural people and their institutions are at the core of this approach. Water is critical to these men and women pastoralists, fishers, farmers, young and old, part- or full-time, urban or rural, indigenous, tribal or otherwise often marginalized people. It is the key entry point for improving their livelihoods.

Climate change represents an additional challenge to rural people in SSA – and a further reason for investment in water control. Smallholder farmers, pastoralists and artisanal fishers are among the most vulnerable to this threat. 

While projections of changes in annual rainfall vary across Africa, these groups will experience the negative effects of increased temperature and
extreme events. For them, enhanced control of water will become critical in building resilience to increased climate variability.

Women constitute two-thirds of the 1.2 billion poor people in the world. The great majority live in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions that are also home to most of the world’s ‘water poor’ – those with limited access to reliable, safe supplies of water for productive and domestic uses. The role women play in reducing food insecurity and poverty – through their knowledge of multiple uses of water, crop production, local biodiversity, soils and local water resources – is recognized internationally. However, despite this, they are often still excluded from decision-making processes in new water management approaches and other natural resource allocation projects and initiatives. Globalization, changing market dynamics and climate change are altering the rural context for most poor rural people, resulting in increased vulnerability to natural hazards and economic uncertainties, above all for women. 

El trabajo del FIDA en Uruguay se desarrolla en dos niveles distintos aunque complementarios:

• a nivel subregional, en el marco de las instituciones del MERCOSUR, promueve una plataforma de diálogo entre gobiernos y asociaciones de pequeños productores, con el fin de aumentar la relevancia política de la agricultura familiar y la inversión pública en su favor;
• a nivel nacional, proporciona financiación y asistencia técnica al gobierno para la ejecución de programas y proyectos que traduzcan en acciones las políticas públicas definidas en el ámbito de la subregión y adaptadas al contexto del país.

There is a general consensus that rural areas and rural livelihood systems
will bear the brunt of climate change across the globe. More frequent
extreme weather events such as heat waves and intense precipitation are
likely to place the livelihoods of many rural people at risk. Africa is
expected to be the most vulnerable continent to climate change, and will
face a decline in both food security and agricultural activity, particularly
in relation to subsistence farming.

The impact of climate change on agriculture is expected to be
devastating in many parts of the developing world. Especially in the
least developed countries, declining crop productivity and livestock deaths
associated with further global warming pose a serious threat to food
security and national economies.
Nonetheless, vulnerability to climate change can be exacerbated by poverty,
marginality and low adaptive capacity. An integrated approach is
therefore needed to bridge the gap between local development and the
global challenge of climate change.

As a signatory to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, IFAD is fully committed to management for development results (MfDR) as a means to improve development performance, not only in the programmes it supports, but also within IFAD itself: ‘focus on results’ is one of the organization’s core values.

IFAD has been working closely with the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) since they were established in July 2001, seeking new ways to combat rural
poverty across the continent. African leaders created NEPAD to promote sustainable development
and strengthen efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the international
community’s time-bound targets to meet the needs of the world’s poorest people. Within the
framework of NEPAD, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was
prepared in June 2002.

The main objectives of IFAD’s operations in the country are to improve food security and family nutrition. Since 1980, IFAD has supported agricultural development by investing a total of US$64.3 million in seven programmes and projects to reduce poverty in the country’s rural areas.
Normally, Lesotho is not in a position to grow enough food to feed its growing population. 

Offsetting the effects on poor households of declining agricultural production, IFAD investments support the efforts of small-scale farmers to ensure food security for their families and improve their incomes. Increased productivity is a key to achieving these aims and to reducing poverty in rural areas. IFAD finances programmes and projects that encourage poor people’s participation in the planning and development of income-generating activities, including microenterprises.

In 2004 and 2005, IFAD underwent a comprehensive Independent External Evaluation (IEE). The evaluation was conducted to determine IFAD’s contribution to rural poverty reduction, examine the relevance of its mission and objectives, assess its corporate learning and performance, and make recommendations on policy directions and steps to improve IFAD’s performance. It was, at the time, probably the most ambitious exercise of its kind for a United Nations agency, breaking new ground in addressing institutional performance in terms of impact. 

Le SARDI est une réponse concertée, à la fois à court et à long termes, aux causes structurelles profondes des crises alimentaires dans la sous-région sahélienne, traduisant un engagement à en finir avec le spectre de la famine et la résurgence des crises.

L’initiative contribuera à réduire la pauvreté des ménages et à prévenir l’insécurité alimentaire conjoncturelle et la malnutrition à travers :
• l’accroissement de la production agricole, de la productivité et l’amélioration de l’accès des producteurs au marché
• l’amélioration des systèmes d’alerte précoce des Etats et le développement de systèmes de gestion des crises

IFAD’s intention is to help poor rural households by creating sustainable jobs, reducing poverty and guaranteeing food security. To meet this goal IFAD places emphasis on intensifying agricultural output and supporting smallholders within irrigation schemes, as well as helping develop small rural businesses. In particular, IFAD works to improve linkages to financial services and markets, to support providers of financial and marketing services and to strengthen the capacity of poor rural communities and their institutions.

The Government of Swaziland, key stakeholders and IFAD are jointly designing a new investment focusing on rural finance and enterprise development.

Le FIDA prend appui sur les communautés et leurs organisations pour développer des activités génératrices d’emploi, agricole ou non, et de revenus. Les cultures vivrières, la production laitière et la recherche de débouchés commerciaux pour ces produits dans les quatre îles de l’archipel feront l’objet d’une attention particulière, ainsi que la conservation et la transformation locale des produits. 

En ce qui concerne les cultures de rente, le FIDA financera sous forme de don la mise en relation des producteurs avec les marchés équitables.

Many rural development efforts in Western and Central Africa have focused on how to improve poor farmers’ yields. But better yields have not always translated into greater incomes. As the use of cassava has grown, the role of efficient markets and a better coordinated cassava chain have become increasingly important to producers and processors who depend on a stable cassava sector for income.

Secure access by rural poor people to both land and water is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target of reducing by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

Most of these people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

However, international debate continues to address land and water issues separately, and to view the significant use of water in agriculture as problematic.

The First Mile Project is about how small farmers, traders, processors and others from poor
rural areas learn to build market chains linking producers to consumers. Good communication
is vital. The project encourages people in isolated rural communities to use mobile phones,
e-mail and the Internet to share their local experiences and good practices, learning from one
another. While communication technology is important, real success depends on building trust
and collaboration along the market chain. Ultimately farmers and others involved develop
relevant local knowledge and experience and share it – even with people in distant
communities – to come up with new ideas.

FAO, IFAD and WFP are accelerating their efforts to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). More than 1 billion people live in extreme poverty, suffering hunger or undernourishment. The vast majority – about 810 million women, men and children – live in rural areas, where they depend on agriculture and related activities for their survival. The three Rome-based agencies agree that none of the Goals can be achieved unless extremely poor people, especially those living in rural areas, are supported in their struggle to emerge from poverty and hunger. Consequently, the agencies are focusing their efforts on the targets of the first Goal, to reduce by half by 2015 the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and hunger.

Good communication is vital to small farmers who
need better access to markets and to reliable information about
prices, product quality and market conditions. Can new
information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially
the Internet, help? The First Mile is a two-year pilot project
supported by the Government of Switzerland. It is
implemented in collaboration with the Agricultural Marketing
Systems Development Programme of the Government of the
United Republic of Tanzania. Technical assistance is being
provided by the International Support Group.

Over the past 25 years, there have been at least 80 wars around the world. While the places may vary, today’s violent conflicts have some striking similarities: almost all are civil wars and the majority of victims are civilians, not combatants.
Most of these internal conflicts have taken place in poor countries, impeding their development. In fact, more than half the
countries where international development agencies currently operate are affected by war.
Unfortunately, the majority of these conflicts are ongoing events, not temporary emergencies.
Today’s average conflict lasts about eight years – twice as long as conflicts before 1980. And many
more people are killed in conflicts by hunger and disease than by actual fighting.

Land degradation – often caused by human activities such as overcultivation of soil, deforestation, overgrazing and population growth – affects more than one billion people and 40 per cent of the Earth’s
surface.When this degradation occurs in the drylands where the earth is particularly fragile, rainfall is minimal and weather is harsh, desertification results.

Desertification directly affects the lives of more than 650 million people in 110 countries. Contrary to popular belief, desertification is a process that can often be reversed.There are many ways of combating desertification, including applying appropriate land-use technologies and water-use strategies. However, one of the most effective methods of combating desertification is by eradicating poverty.

A pesar de que las personas pobres que viven en las zonas rurales son los principales productores agrícolas del mundo, en muchos casos no tienen acceso a sus tierras y no ejercen control sobre los recursos naturales de los que depende su subsistencia.

IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances programmes and projects that enable poor rural people to overcome poverty themselves.

IFAD’s collaboration with NGOs began shortly after the creation of the Fund, when it supported the Small Farmer Agricultural Credit Project in Bangladesh.