المعرفة

Learn more about IFAD’s work to promote rural transformation in our 2002 Annual Report. Discover how our investments are empowering rural women and men, and review the facts and figures we share with our Member States and partners. You can also find out more about our advocacy work on behalf of rural communities worldwide.

This paper outlines the social and environmental reasons why the international development community should give higher priority to helping poor people,
especially those in areas that are biophysically marginal or socio-economically marginalized. Sustainable rural development depends on successfully addressing the
twin challenges of poverty and environmental degradation. There are 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty, and of these, 900 million live in rural areas where they depend directly or indirectly on agriculture to survive. The paper gives a brief overview of rural development in the context of the Millennium Development Goals and AGENDA 21, which call for concerted action to address the problems of the rural poor and the limitations of their natural resource base.

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.

Learn more about IFAD’s work to promote rural transformation in our 2001 Annual Report. Discover how our investments are empowering rural women and men, and review the facts and figures we share with our Member States and partners. You can also find out more about our advocacy work on behalf of rural communities worldwide.

At its Twenty-Fourth Session in February 2001 the Governing Council approved a document entitled Partnerships for Eradicating Rural Poverty – Report of
the Consultation to Review the Adequacy of the Resources Available to IFAD 2000-2002. The document contains a plan of action for improvement of the
Fund’s operations with respect to project portfolio performance and impact assessment, knowledge management, policy and institutional environment and strategic
partnerships.

IFAD overall staffing levels for 2001 increased by approximately 9% from those of 2000, with 132 professional and higher-category positions (excluding the
positions of President and Vice President) and 181 general service positions. The increase in staffing levels results from the regularization of long-term temporary
general service staff into fixed-term positions (from 158 in 2000 to 181 in 2001). As at 31 December 2001, the number of filled positions totaled 283.5; of these
positions, 113 were in the professional category and above, and 170.5 in the general service category. Staff in the professional and higher categories comprised
nationals of 49 Member States, reflecting the Fund’s adherence to the principle of geographical distribution, and the proportion of women stood at 33%.