Knowledge

The Forum for Agricultural Risk Management in Development (FARM-D) is a Community of Practice managed by the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) for knowledge exchange on agricultural risk management in developing countries.

The overall objective of the FO4ACP programme is to increase income and to improve livelihoods, food and nutrition security and safety of organized smallholder and family farmers in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

The Gender Network, with more than 2,000 members, has the goal of increasing IFAD’s impact on gender equality and strengthen women’s empowerment in poor rural areas. 

This HTDN complements the IFAD Toolkit along with the 2018 HTDN on Pastoralism, which highlights the importance of gender in pastoral production systems.

Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets.

This report offers practical guidance on how IFAD can support the engagement of marginalized young people, paying specific attention to their diverse and complex needs and addressing the real causes of their discrimination.

This set of three working papers explores ways to maximize the impact of remittances delivered through post offices.

For SAFIN, the year 2019 was a time of learning from experience and from dialogue.

Rice farmers in the mid-hills region of Nepal are vulnerable to drought, which can drastically reduce yields. Stress-tolerant rice varieties can mitigate this vulnerability, as can having a high seed replacement rate and using best management practices in rice cultivation.

The Russian Federation and IFAD share a common commitment to reducing poverty, improving food security and achieving more sustainable economic growth for small-scale farmers and other vulnerable rural populations.

The Rural Communities Development in the Poorest Areas of the State of Bahia (Project Gente de Valor) was designed to strengthen the capacity of rural communities to thrive in the drought-prone environment of Brazil's north-east region through improved access to water, increased productive capacity, and empowerment of participating communities. 

This document presents an approach for mainstreaming renewable energy technologies in IFAD's operations as a way to speed up rural poverty alleviation efforts. 

L’objectif principal du PROPA-O est d’accélérer les progrès vers la réalisation des OMD-1c; en l’occurrence réduire de moitié la proportion des personnes qui souffrent de la faim à l’horizon 2015 au Burundi.

 

 

This report explores food systems in the Arab States and the policies that support them. 

This is a baseline report for the impact assessment of the Yield Uganda Investment Fund (YUIF), an investment fund that provides targeted financing to small and medium agribusinesses (SMAs) to help them overcome barriers to accessing capital.

Baseline report for the impact assessment of the Yield Investment Uganda Fund (YUF), an investment fund that provides targeted financing to small and medium agribusinesses (SMAs) to help them overcome barriers to accessing capital.

The Agri-Business Capital Fund (ABC Fund) invests in smallholder farmers and rural small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries to support sustainable and inclusive agricultural value chains. 

IFAD remains one of the most important technical and financial partners in Sao Tome and Principe's rural sector, and its work has sparked the development of strategies and mechanisms to support poor rural populations, especially women, and their effective inclusion in relevant development interventions.

This course aims to provide IFAD grant recipients with clear guidance on financial management requirements during project implementation.

Unlocking opportunities for rural entrepreneurs and farmers in the sub-Mekong region.

This brief highlights a project in Niger that is tackling climate change and land degradation and scaling up sustainable natural resource management for family farming.

Discover how the Resilient Food Systems programme is enhancing long-term sustainability and resilience for food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers great potential for international financial institutions to accelerate knowledge generation and strengthen data-driven decision making. 

This study reviews evidence on initiatives that invest in climate-resilient infrastructure to support smallholder farmer organizations and agribusinesses in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) category and, ultimately, to foster inclusive and sustainable agricultural value chains. Case studies from the BRACED and ASAP programmes across sub-Saharan Africa are presented.

Las desigualdades de género todavía están muy marcadas en los países andinos a pesar de la mayor atención que se está dando a la igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de la mujer. 

This report summarizes the key facts about, and current observations on, the status of gender and social inclusion within the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region.

Today we stand at a critical juncture – historic progress in reducing hunger has stalled and the successes of recent decades are being reversed.

Established in February 2018 and entirely devoted to smallholder agriculture and rural development, the China-IFAD SSTC Facility is taking concrete actions to alleviate rural poverty, enhance rural productivity, advance rural transformation and promote investments among developing countries. 

Report to the seventh global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum, in conjunction with the forty-third session of IFAD’s Governing Council. 

Evidence suggests that smallholder family farms are more sustainable, better at protecting biodiversity, more inclusive and more productive per unit of land than other kinds of farms.

IFAD is the only multilateral development institution that focuses exclusively on transforming rural economies and food systems.

This photo essay describes the different types of changes in the life of women that are participating in the JP RWEE.

This paper reviews the narrative on rural youth and economic opportunities in Africa, using a set of policy documents from various African countries and regional and international organizations. 

This study reviews the opportunities and challenges facing rural youth in the Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia region.

This study offers a general picture of the situation of rural youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

This study characterizes the structural and rural transformation of the Asia and the Pacific region.

This study presents a framework to analyse the political economy of rural youth policy and institutions’ opportunity space with a quadrant that measures the extent to which rural youth are a priority in policies and institutions versus the extent that governments have to effectively implement rural youth policies.

This study analyses how migrants positively contribute to the sustainable economic development of rural youth in their countries of origin.

This study takes a unique look at the determinants of youth migration across seven different countries using recently collected data.

While conflicts are often defined as “development in reverse”, there is a general lack of research focusing specifically on young people living in rural areas. 

This study examines the intersections between youth access to land, migration decisions and employment opportunities in various African countries.

This analysis reviews existing research on the impact of digital initiatives on youth in the education, agriculture, financial and employment sectors.

This study analyses inclusive finance and rural youth through cutting-age research with new insights and approaches that have emerged over the years in the field. 

In this study, we show that rural transformation processes are associated with improvements in rural youth nutrition – malnutrition and underweight – in nearly all regions, although the pace of change varies considerably across countries.

Climate change matters for all young people, especially for those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture. This study shows that adaptation to climate change is feasible and options increase as new technologies and management approaches come on-stream. 

Research on rural youth aspirations suggests that many young people are not averse to agriculture as such, but to agriculture’s current neglected condition

This study is motivated by the consistent portrayal of agriculture and the broader rural economy in Africa as domains of opportunity for rural youth. 

A key lesson is that lack of technical skills does not seem to be the biggest obstacle youth face in entering the labour force. Evidence on agricultural extension programmes suggests that peer-to-peer learning works best.

This exploratory study focuses on participation in decision-making processes and how rural youth could benefit from its findings in development projects and initiatives. 

This study analyses sex-disaggregated data from various countries to characterize rural youths’ transition to adulthood by gender. 

Little is known about the economic activities of rural youth. This study provides empirical evidence on this gap in literature. 

This study uses the concept of the Rural Opportunity Space from economic geography literature to shed light on these questions. 

Building on United Nations data, this study analyses how past growth of the youth population was dramatic in Asia and the Pacific, while projections suggest a sharp rise in the youth population of sub-Saharan Africa until 2050.  

To hold itself accountable on progress made in achieving this goal and these three strategic objectives, IFAD has adopted a unique approach to reporting impact at the corporate level, building on rigorous project-level evaluations. This report provides the results of these efforts to assess the corporate impact of IFAD investments for the Tenth Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources (IFAD10) period of 2016-2018.

Read this final programme report for more information on the PARM processes and achievements in each country.

Since IFAD began its operations in Pakistan in 1978, the focus has been on combating rural poverty by promoting integrated participatory rural development.

The RLMA guide seeks to facilitate livestock market assessments in order to support those operating in the livestock sector, such as multilateral financial institutions, international development organizations, governments, research organizations, NGOs, community-based organizations, service providers and input suppliers.

Nepal was one of the first countries to benefit from IFAD loans, beginning in 1978.

The Climate Action Report 2019 provides an overview of IFAD’s work on climate change and reports on progress, challenges and achievements.

Development projects that integrate investments in rural indigenous people, youth and women with measures to adapt to climate change are more likely to be successful in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new report launched today by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

This manual discusses the strategy, lessons learned and recommendations of Atikha in scaling up initiatives in mobilizing migrant resources towards agriculture development in the country. 

A new report from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) shows that by working with women, men, young people and indigenous peoples as change agents we are best placed to beat back the impact of climate change on rural communities in West and Central Africa (WCA).

This report presents selected achievements and lessons from the growing portfolio of fisheries and aquaculture investments supported by IFAD.

Depuis 1984, le FIDA a investi 174,65 millions d’USD dans 11 programmes et projets en Côte d’Ivoire, pour un financement total de 384,37 millions d’USD.

Brazil and Africa share similar environmental, climate and social conditions, and both face similar development challenges. This creates interesting opportunities for South-South collaboration through technology transfer in several areas, including agriculture, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and value chains development.

This briefing note is intended as a primer on blockchain and a spur to begin considering how best to capitalize on blockchain technology to achieve IFAD’s objectives. 

The involvement of indigenous peoples is key to achieving the ambitions of the SDGs.

This How-to-do Note is a practical step by step operational guidance on mainstreaming nutrition in IFAD-supported country strategies and investment projects for use by IFAD staff, consultants and partners.

This is the first study to quantify the general equilibrium impacts of introducing a new cash crop into a poor isolated economy, including impacts on environmentally sensitive fishing activities.

Around one third of the food globally produced is estimated to be lost or wasted along the supply chain. These losses affect disproportionally developing countries.

The objective of these studies is to estimate the qualitative and quantitative losses, to highlight the critical points of loss and to identify the main causes of the losses.

This report illustrates the food loss assessment studies undertaken along the maize, sunflower and beans supply chains in Uganda in 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

The objective of this study is to estimate the qualitative and quantitative losses along the sorghum, maize and cowpea supply chains, to highlight the critical points of losses and to identify the main causes of the losses. 

There are different views around the future of smallholder agriculture and its potential to contribute to the needed transformations of agriculture and rural economies. 

Gender inequality is one of the most pervasive threats to sustainable development. It has negative impacts on access to, use of and control over a wide range of resources, and on the ability to fulfil human rights.

IFAD’s support for the better use of agrobiodiversity with specific reference to neglected and underutilized species (NUS) and a greater recognition of the traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples are important for fighting food and nutrition insecurity

After years of decline in hunger, the number of undernourished people has been on the rise for several years in a row. 

This collection of sustainable land management (SLM) technologies and approaches was compiled as part of the Scaling-up SLM practices by smallholder farmers project funded by IFAD. 

This collection of sustainable land management (SLM) technologies and approaches was compiled as part of the Scaling-up SLM practices by smallholder farmers project funded by IFAD.

The Coastal Community Development Project (CCDP), implemented between 2013 and 2017, was designed to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth in 12 coastal districts of Indonesia.

To reduce the amount of foreign currency spent on importing wheat, it is essential to use improved varieties and practices to increase Africa’s domestic production quickly.

On 22-23 October 2018 IFAD and Save the Children Italy, with the support of the Government of Canada organized the International Conference “Leaving no one behind: making the case for adolescent girls”. 

Since 2013, PARM has collaborated with partners across eight sub-Saharan African countries in a joint process to make agricultural risk management (ARM) an integral part of policy planning. The process led to the implementation of a number of activities at the country, regional and global level including risk assessments, feasibility studies, capacity development training, knowledge sharing and policy dialogue. This report presents these outcomes and achievements from these activities for the year 2018 looking back to the commencement of the process.

L’objectif global du PAIVA‑B était principalement l’augmentation de la production agricole des ménages pauvres, une production commerciale, rentable pour que les bénéficiaires puissent avoir des revenus et améliorer leurs conditions de vie.

This year’s report presents evidence that the absolute number of people who suffer from hunger continues to slowly increase. The report also highlights that food insecurity is more than just hunger.

For millions of poor people in East and Southern Africa, bamboo has huge potential to alleviate poverty, protect the environment and help achieve the SDGs. 

This completion report is a compilation of activities and achievements of the Support to Farmers’ Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP).

Learn about IFAD's work, investments and results in our 2018 Annual Report.

This report presents the findings from a desk-based review of household methodologies (HHM) activities and results in the IFAD loan portfolio and a consultation with individuals with first-hand experience of HHM. 

IFAD’s RDR 2019 finds that this enormous rural youth population can pay a rich dividend in terms of social and economic growth – but only if they are given the right opportunities.

If the success of Asian countries in transforming their rural economy is measured by the extent to which poverty has declined over the past 20 years, there is no question that their transformation can be regarded as one of the major achievements in human history. However, new problems are overtaking the older ones and Asia is now entering a critical part of its history. 

Since 1982, IFAD has supported 10 programmes and projects in The Gambia totalling US$93 million and directly benefiting more than 155,000 rural households. 

The current IFAD country strategy note for Guinea-Bissau is based on the political priorities defined by Terra Ranka, as well as the sectoral priorities and programmes of the National Agricultural Investment Programme.

The purpose of this note is to support dialogue to consider the gender equality approach and the cultural approach in policies for food security, productivity, and rural development. 

IFAD began operations in Guinea in 1980. Since then, it has invested US$244 million in 14 projects for a total cost of US$469.6 million, directly benefiting 651,450 rural households. 

Agriculture and rural development research will play a critical role in meeting the ambitious targets under SDGs 1 and 2. 

International Day of Family Remittances booklet for 2019

Depuis 1980, le FIDA a financé 14 projets et programmes en Mauritanie pour un coût total de 342,3 millions d’USD, dont 136,2 millions d’USD octroyés sous la forme de dons ou de prêts concessionnels.

Au Sénégal, le FIDA suscite et accompagne les initiatives locales qui visent à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire, à augmenter les revenus des ruraux pauvres, à créer des emplois pour les jeunes et les femmes notamment et à améliorer leurs conditions de vie.

La historia de Gaby Quispe es la historia de lo que buscaba el proyecto FIDA-CIP-Andes. Su historia de cambio fue calificada entre sus pares de la organización de productores y por los socios y aliados del proyecto como la que mejor representa lo que buscaba la intervención. 

The E-Project for Agricultural Development and Economic Empowerment (E-PADEE) is a US$380,000 programme implemented in Cambodia with
funding from the Republic of Korea in partnership with IFAD. 

Depuis 1978, le FIDA a financé 5 projets et programmes de développement rural au Cabo Verde, pour un montant total de 49,9 millions d’USD.

Depuis 1982, le FIDA a financé 13 projets au Mali pour un coût total de 537 millions USD, dont 229 millions sous forme de prêts à conditions particulièrement favorables.

This study is an analysis of what drives cofinancing in IFAD-supported programmes/projects, covering 20 years of data from 559 projects in 109 countries.

The Participatory Smallholder Agriculture and Artisanal Fisheries Development Programme (PAPAFPA) and the Smallholder Commercial Agriculture Project (PAPAC) are complementary projects designed to improve the livelihoods of smallholders in Sao Tomé and Príncipe. PAPAFPA, which has now closed, created farmers’ cooperatives to improve the development of organic cacao, coffee, and pepper value chains through increased commercialization in domestic and niche export markets.

The overall objective of the Guidelines for Impact Evaluation of Land Tenure and Governance Interventions is to inform and strengthen the design and implementation of future land tenure and governance interventions to best support lasting tenure security and achieve related impacts on poverty, food security, gender equality, environmental sustainability and security. 

Understanding risk and its management play a central role in boosting the agricultural sector, food security, and the broader economy of developing countries.

This analysis examines the dynamics of youth employment in agriculture and the agri-food system in Tanzania and Malawi.

Food loss is a complex issue, often with multiple and interrelated causes operating at different levels. This e-learning course introduces the FAO case study methodology for the analysis of critical food loss points.

Farmers in southwestern Bangladesh, an area prone to natural disasters, are sometimes unable to reach community markets in the monsoon season. 

This paper is a contribution to the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (TCDC) (UN, 1978), which gave birth to what is known today, in the UN system and beyond, as “South-South and Triangular Cooperation" (SSTC). 

Learn about scaling up, its basic concepts and why it is important for organisations like IFAD working in agriculture and rural development.

The Climate Adaptation in Rural Development – Assessment Tool (CARD) is a platform to explore the effects of climate change on the yield of major crops. 

From 2011 to 2016, the Plan VIDA project in Bolivia was implemented to address extreme poverty in rural areas by increasing the incomes and assets of rural people in the departments of Potosí and Cochabamba of the Plurinational State of Bolivia

The African Agriculture Fund (AAF) Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) officially closed on 31 October 2018 after seven years of implementation. The TAF had a mandate to increase economic and physical access to food for low-income Africans by providing technical assistance to the portfolio companies of the AAF. 

This study estimates the mitigation potential of agricultural practices supported by IFAD’s current investments in order to provide guidance for the design of future investments. 

This Guidebook compiles the lessons learned from the implementation of the IFAD-funded Remittances and Diaspora Investment for Rural Development (2014-2018).

This report presents the highlights and key outcomes of the first country-led Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development, hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia in collaboration with IFAD and the World Bank Group.

Indigenous and tribal peoples and ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented among the rural poor. Many of the poorest communities of indigenous peoples are difficult to reach through mainstream development programmes.

In 2017 IFAD commissioned an assessment of the fourth IPAF cycle with the aim to review and analyse the performance of regional partners in implementing the Facility and the results achieved in the execution of IPAF-funded projects between 2015 and 2018.

This paper considers the relationship between farm size and productivity patterns across countries and within countries. 

This issue presents and analyses experiences from the following IFAD-funded projects and programmes...

Despite decades of research and development of technologies and innovations which improve farming practices and productivity, small farmers in Tanzania continue to use technologies and practices which do not favour high yields and economic returns. 

This paper examines the impact of agricultural research on poverty and welfare by conducting a systematic review of experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluations of improved varieties disseminated by CGIAR between 2007 and 2015.

The IFAD-funded SWAZI BEEF project set out to increase the quality of livestock and meat products and to diversify farmers’ incomes in the sugar-cane-producing areas of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) through targeted support to farmers and other value chain actors (livestock producers, butchers/meat processors, financial institutions and input providers). 

The Guangxi Integrated Agricultural Development Project (GIADP) was implemented in 623 Administrative Villages in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China to increase income of smallholder farmers by developing community infrastructures

The Rural Development Support Programme in Guéra (PADER-G) was implemented to improve the food security and livelihoods of farmers living in remote areas of Guéra, a drought-prone and conflict-ridden region of Chad. 

The Project for Rural Income through Exports in Rwanda, known by its acronym PRICE, aims to increase returns to farmers through the development of export-driven value chains for coffee, tea, sericulture and horticulture.

The Irrigated Rice Production Enhancement Project (IRPEP) was implemented between 2010 and 2015 to improve the rice productivity and livelihoods of smallholder farmers who cultivate on Communal Irrigation Schemes in three regions (Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao) of the Philippines. 

The High-Value Agriculture Project in Hill and Mountain Areas (HVAP) integrated farmers living in the remote hill and mountain areas of Mid-Western Nepal into the local economy of goats and high-valued crops such as apples and Sichuan pepper (timur). 

Since 2006, IFAD and the European Union have partnered to invest over EUR 230 million in agricultural research programmes carried out through the CGIAR system.

Since 2006, IFAD and the European Union have partnered to invest over EUR 230 million in agricultural research programmes carried out through the CGIAR system. 

Since 2006, IFAD and the European Union have partnered to invest over EUR 230 million in agricultural research programmes carried out through the CGIAR system. 

Since 2006, IFAD and the European Union have partnered to invest over EUR 230 million in agricultural research programmes carried out through the CGIAR system. 

Since 1979, IFAD has worked with the Government of Sudan to develop structural reforms that tackle the roots of poverty. IFAD has continued to support rural people in Sudan through investment projects focusing on sustainable resource management, value-chain development and support to farmer organizations. 

Deforestation and unsustainable management practices have had a significant impact on the livelihoods of poor rural communities in the forest areas of Campeche, Chiapas and Oaxaca states in Mexico. 

In Khatlon Oblast, the poorest region of Tajikistan, decades of overgrazing has degraded pastoral land leading to low milk and meat  production, food insecurity and malnutrition in rural areas.

Inequality holds back national growth and prevents economic development. Poor rural people are among the most marginalized groups but can act as catalysts of economic growth across developing countries when infrastructure, services and institutions are in place to enable them to contribute to development processes.

This report describes the design, process, and results of the multidimensional socioeconomic survey
conducted in 2017 for the Wool and Mohair Promotion Project (as a baseline) and for the Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (as an end term) in the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Rural people in the Ethiopian highlands depend mainly on rain-fed subsistence farming for their livelihoods.

The Agricultural Value Chains Support Project (PAFA) aimed to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Senegal’s Groundnut Basin. 

This Climate Action Report aims to present an overview of how IFAD is working to put into action its climate change mainstreaming agenda. It is intended not as a comprehensive review of its portfolio, but rather to provide its stakeholders with an understanding of how IFAD is stepping up its efforts and ambitions to contribute to addressing one of the greatest challenges faced, most acutely, by the rural poor. This report focuses on recent progress in 2017 

This guide provides validated guidance for design of nutrition-sensitive value chain (NSVC) projects for smallholder farmers. The guide comprises two volumes.

The Climate and Commodity Hedging to Enable Transformation (CACHET) initiative supports smallholder farmers against price and climate volatility negatively affecting their revenues.

This paper aims to better understand the context in which smallholder farms operate. 

FAO, IFAD and WFP have developed joint actions in the Latin American and Caribbean region with the common goal of eradicating hunger and malnutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development.

In 2030, young people will make up around 15 per cent of the world’s population, and rural youth about 6 per cent. Some regions are even expected to see a “youth bulge” or a significantly higher proportion of young people.

The Asia and the Pacific region has made tremendous gains over the past decade, with substantial reductions in poverty. IFAD has been a trusted partner in the region and financed over 300 projects in the four decades of its engagement.

Canada is partnering with the United Nations Rome-based agencies (RBAs) – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) – to further test in the field their joint Conceptual framework for strengthening resilience for food security and nutrition. 

Investments in irrigation systems have been shown to substantially improve farmers’ productivity, and thus alleviate poverty. This study provides an example of such an investment: the Participatory Small-Scale Irrigation Development Programme.