Introduction to IFAD's monthly podcast - It's all about Farms. Food. Future.

Welcome to Farms. Food. Future. A podcast that’s good for you, good for the planet and good for farmers - brought to you by the International Fund for Agricultural Development - and your host, Brian Thomson.

Every month we’re asking you to pull up a chair, sit down and tune in to the the challenges smallholder farmers in developing countries are facing around food security. We’ll be highlighting the need to invest more in climate, environment, gender, nutrition and youth friendly solutions.

In this introductory episode, we will talk about what you can expect from this podcast.

An occasional dose of celebrity

Farms. Food. Future. includes interviews with the experts plus a dose of celebrity. For example, in episode one we speak to Italian celebrity chef Crisitina Bowerman about why she thinks farmers will save the world.

IFAD partners and farmers across the world

In Farms. Food. Future. we’ll talk to IFAD partners across the world, donors who see the need to act and of course – let’s not forget the people who make it happen - the farmers themselves.

Three quarters of the poorest people in the world live in rural areas of developing countries. For their bread and butter, most of them depend on agriculture.

Climate change, a growing global population, and volatile food and energy prices have the potential to push millions more into extreme poverty and hunger by 2030.

Innovative solutions from dynamic people

But fear not – it’s not all doom and gloom – we have the solution at hand and that’s what I want to talk about in Farms Food Future. We have innovative solutions, dynamic people. You’ll be hearing about them all.

Solutions that are as we like to say Good For You Good For the Planet and Good for the Farmer.

IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes. It helps them build resilience, expand their businesses and take charge of their own development.

And that’s what Farms. Food. Future. is all about – we bring to you the issues and the solutions facing smallholder farmers across the world.

Addressing climate change

In episode one we talk about why climate change is such a huge issue, particularly for smallholders in developing countries.

We hear more from farming communities in the Himalayan foothills of Bhutan and from a project in Malawi where women are leading the development efforts.

About IFAD

IFAD is an international financial institution and specialized United Nations agency based in Rome, the UN’s food and agriculture hub. Since 1978 it’s provided over 21 billion dollars to projects that have reached about 491 million people.

Farms. Food. Future. deals with the reality of a growing global population that will exceed 9 billion by 2050. We face up and square off to the widening gap between rich and poor and growing competition for resources.

We do not shy away from the major issues facing humanity. Farms. Food. Future. looks at where poverty and hunger are deepest. We will go to the most remote regions of developing countries where few podcasts dare to tread.

We will bring to you stories about cost-effective, people-centred and partnership-oriented approaches to development that delivers results.

• Small-scale agriculture is central to development. We need to connect farmers, women and men, to markets and services so they can grow more and earn more.
• Agriculture is a proven engine for poverty reduction. Economic growth generated by agriculture is more effective in reducing poverty than growth in any other sector. In sub-Saharan Africa, growth in agriculture reduces poverty up to 11 times faster than growth in other sectors.
• IFAD-supported projects have shown that. With access to finance, markets, technology and information − rural people can lift themselves out of poverty.

Helping rural people grow and earn more

But it’s also about more than helping rural people grow and earn more.

We also have to promote gender equality, build the capacity of local organizations and communities, and strengthen resilience to climate change.

Advocating for smallholders in developing countries and financing projects that transform these areas are critical to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Farms. Food. Future. promotes the power of smallholder farmers as a force for change.

This podcast captures the exciting work IFAD is doing working on the front line of farming for development - dealing everyday with climate change, environmental sustainability, gender, youth, nutrition and indigenous peoples’ issues.

Thanks to our production team but most of all thanks to you for listening to this episode brought to you by the International Fund for Agricultural Development. And once again we’ll be trying to be good for you, good for the planet and good for the farmers.