Delegates sitting at tables facing a large screen and podium at the IFAD Governing Council 2024

Governing Bodies

©IFAD/Daniele Bianchi

 

Transparent decision-making is at the heart of IFAD’s governance as embodied in our two main governing bodies: the Governing Council and the Executive Board. 

Governing Council 

The Governing Council is IFAD’s main decision-making body and consists of all Member States. The Council meets annually to decide on issues such as new members, appointing IFAD’s President, approving budgets, and adopting policies, criteria and regulations. 

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Representatives from multiple IFAD Member States seated at IFAD's 47th Governing Council

Executive Board

The Executive Board oversees the general operations of IFAD and approves its programme of work. Members serve a three-year term and are determined by the Governing Council. 

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IFAD Member Representatives pose for a group picture with farmers in Uganda

Decision-making within the governing bodies 

The voting rights of IFAD Member States are set out in the Agreement Establishing IFAD. To ensure that the voice of developing countries is adequately represented in IFAD's governance, the Agreement Establishing IFAD mandates that one-third of votes created is allocated to List C countries as Membership votes. 

IFAD’s two main governing bodies make decisions in one of four ways:

Voting rights at IFAD

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