Spain is a founding member of IFAD and has contributed a total of US$99.7 million to the Fund’s regular resources. In addition, Spain has provided a total of US$18.0 million in supplementary funds.

The Spain–IFAD partnership focuses on investing in smallholder agriculture to ensure food and nutrition security. In so doing, particular emphasis is given to gender equality, climate change adaptation, sustainable land use, financial inclusion and increasing the engagement of the private sector.

Spain’s commitment to its partnership with IFAD is best illustrated by its role as a pioneer in developing new financing instruments for the Fund. In 2010, Spain supported the establishment of the Spanish Food Security Cofinancing Facility Trust Fund. A concessional loan of €285.5 million and a grant of €14.5 million enabled IFAD to provide additional financing through ordinary and highly concessional loans to 24 countries. The Trust Fund has become a benchmark used by IFAD and like-minded international financial institutions to explore innovative modalities for mobilizing additional financial resources for development.

The Spanish Trust Fund experience enabled IFAD to subsequently develop the Sovereign Borrowing Framework, approved by the Executive Board in 2015. This has allowed IFAD to successfully negotiate loans from the German development bank KfW and the French Development Agency.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to eradicate poverty by 2030, calls for considerable additional resources from all stakeholders. Borrowing is proposed as a key feature of IFAD’s financial strategy for the Eleventh Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources and beyond, in order to expand the overall resources available to enable the Fund to respond to the demands of its Member States.