Cabo Verde is small in size but not in ambition

Despite its name, Cabo Verde is arid and water starved. IFAD AVP, Jo Puri, visited the archipelago to discuss its future with the country’s leadership and hear from the rural people IFAD supports about how we can improve their lives.

Mind the Gap: Climate adaptation is falling far short of needs

To respond to the impacts of climate change that are already happening around us every day, we urgently need to invest in climate adaptation. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report identifies the gap between where we are and where we need to be. Jo Puri shares her impressions on what this year’s report reveals.

The proof is in the pudding: 3 ways to enhance evidence-based policymaking to sustainably transform food systems

As the world experiences new and complex crises at an ever-increasing pace, we must back up decision-making with rigorous research and data. Here are three principles to bridge the divide between research and policy.

Why COP26 matters for the world’s rural dwellers: A conversation with Jo Puri

In early November, top experts from around the world will meet in Glasgow for COP26, the biggest climate change conference since the Paris Accords. We caught up with climate scientist and IFAD Associate Vice-President Dr Jo Puri to ask her what COP26 is all about and what she hopes will emerge from it.

Building a Great Green Wall: Four lessons learned from the World Bank assessment

Helping the people of the Sahel prosper requires a Great Green Wall stretching across Africa. IFAD is embarking on a series of projects to help build this “wall.” We recently sat down with the World Bank to learn from their successes and challenges across a decade of their own project implementations in this region.

Greening the Sahara: the Great Green Wall Initiative

In 2009, I travelled by road to Timbuktu, Mali on a short field trip. As we made our way down the dusty roads, I remember wondering what could possibly pull this arid, sparsely populated land into relative prosperity.