Factsheets

Climate change and sustainable development are the central challenges of our time. They are inseparably linked and need to be addressed together. Action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate impacts is essential for ensuring sustainable development. At the same time, only sustainable development can provide the stable political, economic, social and environmental conditions that all countries need to address climate change successfully and
build carbon-neutral economies. This is why the UN system is fully committed to supporting the international community as it confronts climate change while working to build a sustainable world for the twenty-first century.

IFAD is committed to gender equality. Women embody half the talent and energy at any country’s disposal. That’s why greater gender equality leads to higher economic growth and better lives.

This note provides an overview on lines of credit illustrating the the key issues and the main challenges, opportunities and benefits.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries affected by climate
change. During the monsoon period, the Haor region of Bangladesh becomes
completely inundated with 4-8 metres of water for around 6-7 months of the year.
Flash fl oods are common, and in some years 80-90 per cent of crops are lost
because of extreme weather events. The situation is expected to worsen as a climate
change-related shift towards pre-monsoon rainfall is coinciding with the paddy rice
pre-harvest period. This severely affects food output in the Haor, which provides up
to 16 per cent of national rice production.
 

The agricultural sector in Rwanda has been hit hard by climate change. Agricultural
production is increasingly exposed to drought, intense and erratic rainfall, high winds
and emerging seasonal and temperature shifts. If not addressed, climate variability
will mean signifi cant economic costs – estimated at up to US$300 million annually
by 2030.

The northern part of Nigeria is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is reducing rural income as a result of decreased agricultural productivity – agricultural yields have declined by 20 per cent over the last 30 years in the north. ASAP interventions under CASP will strengthen the capacity of farmers to use climate information for the planning and promotion of climate-resilient farming techniques. It will also implement larger investments to reduce the impact of climate hazards on rural infrastructure, farms and livelihoods.

The project will increase the availability of adaptation assets and knowledge, which will enable target households to cope with the changing climate situation. 

The programme will support institutional capacity-building and greater public awareness on topics related to climate change resilience. Water users’ associations and farmer organizations, among other
members of the selected value chains, will benefit from activities such as the dissemination of climate change adaptation toolkits, national and international exchange visits, the dissemination of good practices
and training.

NICADAPTA will improve incomes and quality of life for rural families – and reduce their vulnerability to the impact of climate change – by facilitating access to markets for valueadded coffee and cocoa. It will introduce water efficiency and crop diversification measures such as coffee-cocoa intercropping in coffee plantations to buffer the effects of rising temperatures.

Kyrgyzstan is a food-deficit and low-income country, with a geographical position and topographical make-up that contribute to making it one of the most vulnerable
countries to the impacts of climate change in Central Asia. The country suffers from drought, land and mudslides. Flooding events and river erosion are set to increase in frequency and intensity. The mountainous nature of the country renders 45 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s land inhospitable. The majority of the population live in valleys and at the foothills of the mountains, where vulnerability to climate-related hazards is highest.

Viet Nam is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and among the countries hardest hit by climate change. Rising sea levels (between 75 and
100 centimetres by the end of this century) are expected to affect 20-50 per cent of the low-lying Mekong Delta. Changes in rainfall and temperatures are increasing the risk of fl oods, typhoons and droughts. Climate change has serious implications for Viet Nam’s socio-economic development, especially in the densely populated and productive Mekong Delta.  

The programme will support the design and implementation of participatory management plans for ecosystem conservation to alleviate stresses and increase the resilience of fragile habitats.

The programme will stimulate more sustainable economic growth for women and men in
rural communities. This includes increasing their resilience to climate change impacts by
helping communities to diversify their livelihoods options and improving the management
of natural resources. Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure will also support
agricultural development.

ASAP resources are complementing the first component (natural resource management, investment in assets and enterprise development) of ACCESOS. 

Between 2009 and 2012, the IFAD-supported Scaling up Micro-irrigation Systems (SCAMPIS) project developed a market approach for the dissemination of locally adapted drip irrigation kits. 

The approach identifies the technology that is best suited to the local context and appropriate for the most vulnerable rural inhabitants. It then builds a sustainable local supply chain for the irrigation equipment that makes the technology affordable and available, not just for the duration of the project but in the long term.

In just three years, the pilot project was able to dramatically change the lives of 30,000 farmers and their families (in total, around 150,000 poor rural people) on three continents.

The results of the studies highlighted the importance of agriculture as an economic activity to the reproduction of such units all over the continent, and showed that specialized family farmers are the largest group in relation to the total. Moreover, we verified the function of rural residency and the combination of activities and income sources as an important feature of all the countries studied.

Depuis 1981, le FIDA a financé 12 projets et programmes au Burkina Faso pour un montant total de 158,6 millions de dollars des États-Unis. 

The overall objective of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) is the 1.reduction of poverty and sustained improvement in the standard of living of the population in the Lower Usuthu Basin through commercialization and intensification of agriculture. The immediate objectives of LUSIP Phase I were: (a) the integration of smallholder farmers into the commercial economy through the provision of irrigation infrastructure, development of the policy and legal framework for smallholder irrigation, as well as the establishment of farmer-managed irrigation institutions; and (b) sustainable improvement in environmental health in the project area to ensure that the population derives the full benefits of agricultural commercialisation.

En la actualidad Latinoamérica presenta diferentes retos para promover el desarrollo rural de sus comunidades, combatir la escasez de agua y garantizar su seguridad alimentaria. En los últimos años, México ha sufrido una serie de eventos hidrometeorológicos que han generado graves daños sociales y económicos que requieren de importantes inversiones para permitir a las regiones afectadas regresar a su condición habitual. Esto ha hecho evidente la gran vulnerabilidad del país así como la importancia que juega la capacidad de adaptación de la nación o en otras palabras, la resiliencia del país.

IFAD has committed US$71.4 million in loans to Jordan since 1981 to support agricultural development and reduce rural poverty. The funds have been used in six agricultural development programmes and projects with a total value of US$189.3 million. 

The Government of Jordan and project participants have contributed US$63.2 million. The programmes and
projects are designed by IFAD in collaboration with rural people, the government and other partners. They address poverty through promotion of sustainable natural resource management, particularly water and soil conservation. A seventh project is being designed.