Poor rural people live and work amid some of the world’s most fragile landscapes – ranging from arid and desert zones to tropical grasslands and forests, from low-lying coastal belts to high mountains.

Their small-scale farms are reliant upon local climates and weather, and can be dramatically affected by changing climatic conditions. That’s why investing to help rural people adapt to climate change and strengthen their resilience is a priority for IFAD. We also work to mitigate the build-up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are causing climate change.

Our climate adaptation programmes draw upon the local and traditional knowledge of rural and indigenous people, and 30 per cent of IFAD’s climate finance is committed to nature-based solutions.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW IFAD PROGRAMMES ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE, CLICK HERE.

During more than 40 years of operations, IFAD has focused on helping the poorest rural communities. We have been continuously re-evaluating the kind of support they need, and how best to provide it. Our technical knowledge in areas such as rural finance, markets and biodiversity helps us provide real, value-for-money benefits to those we assist.

We are constantly alert for new ways to channel funds to rural people and for ways that new technologies can help them achieve the development they desire.

Our Financing Facility for Remittances, for example, helps migrants and their families channel remittances into economic development that benefits their families and communities of origin.

And the Insurance for Rural Resilience and Economic Development (INSURED) programme is helping to pioneer agricultural insurance against climate risk for small-scale farmers.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE AND OTHER GROUND-BREAKING INITIATIVES, CLICK HERE.

IFAD is the only international financial institution that systematically reviews a substantial proportion of its completed projects to measure their impacts and effectiveness.

In 2022, IFAD released the IFAD11 Impact Assessment Report, showing the impact of our work between 2019 and 2021. Despite assessment challenges created by COVID-19, the study found that by most measures IFAD amply exceeded its targets.

The report highlighted lessons that can help IFAD enhance its future effectiveness. It recommended that we invest more in food processing, transformation and marketing, and pinpointed the value of targeted strategies to enhance nutrition and women’s empowerment.
IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation has developed a new manual and strategy for even better evaluations during 2022-2027.

We have also been working to promote South-South and Triangular Cooperation and sharing of development knowledge and experiences between countries and regions with similar problems, even when they are far apart.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT – AND FROM – OUR EVALUATION AND KNOWLEDGE-SHARING INITIATIVES, CLICK HERE.

Uniquely among United Nations agencies, IFAD’s mandate is to focus on helping the world’s most vulnerable people, those whose needs are greatest. Our projects seek to help rural people overcome the causes of their poverty and vulnerability.

Our approach is to listen to poor rural people and to their suggestions for changes needed to improve their lives. Then we work with them to make these changes reality, providing expertise and funding where appropriate.

Our Rural Poor Stimulus Facility, launched to help communities recover economically from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a perfect example.

We pay careful attention to the most vulnerable in communities, such as indigenous people, women, youth and people with disabilities. We overhauled our policies on indigenous people and people with disabilities in 2022 and seek to ensure, across our programmes, that no group is left behind.

FOR MORE DETAILS OF HOW WE WORK WITH OUR BENEFICIARIES, CLICK HERE.

The world has fallen off track in its ambition to end poverty and hunger by 2030, as set out in the Sustainable Development Goals framed in 2015. The challenge of getting back on track is compounded by disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

In response, IFAD is seeking to raise more money and leverage its own funds in new ways so that more resources are available to us to help poor rural communities.

IFAD’s 12th funding replenishment cycle, to fund its work during the three years 2022-2024, has secured pledges from 107 Member States totalling US$1.28 billion.

By the end of 2022, IFAD had secured US$675 million, 56 per cent of the borrowing required. Of this, a total of US$150 million was raised through two first-ever private placings of bonds with capital market investors, underpinned by an AA+/stable outlook rating from agencies Fitch and S&P Global.

TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW WE FINANCE OUR WORK, CLICK HERE.

The world’s poorest rural people depend upon IFAD to help them develop their businesses, communities and lives. We need to make sure we don’t let them down.

This means we must manage every aspect of our operations to the best of our ability, and ensure that we can adapt to unforeseen events, ranging from pandemics to conflict and market upsets, and continue delivering our programmes in the field. We call this risk management.

Our approach is to seek to identify what could go wrong, and then put in place policies and processes to minimize the danger. For example, we are decentralizing our operations, and realize that this makes us more vulnerable to online hackers, and fraudsters both on and offline. So we have put in place rigorous checks and processes to verify payments and minimize the risk of financial crime.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW WE MITIGATE RISKS TO OUR OPERATIONS AND PEOPLE, CLICK HERE.

We are working hard to build an organization that is more efficient in every way, and that devolves more decision-making power and budgetary responsibility to our people in the field.

We have streamlined our IT systems and simplified the way we disburse funds – while enhancing auditing – to speed up payments, ensuring our projects have the funds they need, when they need them, and that we pay our suppliers without delays.

We are also achieving cost savings in the way we support our staff in the field, and are increasingly sharing support services in the countries where we operate with other United Nations agencies.

Meantime, we have overhauled our human resources and recruitment policies. Today, over 42 per cent of our senior staff are women, and more than half of our staff are drawn from developing and recipient countries.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW WE ARE IMPROVING OUR MANAGEMENT AND PROCESSES, CLICK HERE.

IFAD’s staff are as diverse as the countries and cultures from which they are drawn. Yet we are determined that everyone we employ directly, or who works for the partners that deliver our programmes, upholds the irreproachable ethical standards expected of a United Nations organization.

A training programme is now in place to make sure our people have a common understanding about conflicts of interest, and the vital importance of integrity in our work. That fits with our determination to ensure IFAD offers a working environment where people can thrive professionally and personally.

By the end of 2022, 39 per cent of our people were working in the field, up from 34 per cent at the start of the year, and on course to reach 45 per cent by 2024. As we disperse our staff more widely, we are determined to ensure they continue to receive the support and training they need to do our work effectively and ethically.

TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT OUR EFFORTS TO BE AN EXEMPLARY ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYER, CLICK HERE.