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Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in Mauritius

February 2013

IFAD and the Government of Mauritius are moving towards a new form of partnership that differs from the standard model for low-income countries, which was followed in Mauritius until 2005. 

IFAD recognizes that the country now has sufficient national resources to address rural poverty, so the focus of interventions has shifted from financing projects towards developing a collaborative approach with the government to reduce the incidence of poverty.

This approach includes policy dialogue, knowledge management and sharing, and partnership-building.

Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in Seychelles

February 2013

IFAD first worked in Seychelles in 1991, when it began financing the Employment Generation Project, which was completed six years later.
More recently, stakeholders from Seychelles have participated in activities funded by an ongoing IFAD grant, which supports the Regional Initiative for Smallholder Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in the Indian Ocean Islands. This initiative is creating a regional knowledge-management platform on adaptation strategies for small-scale farmers.

The platform actively disseminates information on conservation agriculture practices such as farming with low or zero tillage, as well as composting, integrating livestock and farming activities, and other environmentally sustainable measures.

Farmers’ Africa - Complementary actions for the benefit of African producers

February 2013

Farmers’ Africa is a capacity-building programme that aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of rural producers in Africa. It works with farmers’ organizations (FOs) to help them evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises. 

The programme supports the main functions of FOs, promotes their engagement in policy processes and contributes to their professionalization. It also supports the efforts of FOs to provide economic services to their members. The total cost of the programme is estimated at EUR 40 million over five years and includes an overall contribution of EUR 26.9 million from the European Union (EU). 

Documento de Síntesi buenas prácticas en proyectos enfocados a pueblos indígenas y afro-decendientes del FIDA el América Latina

January 2013

El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), ha definido como misión el diseño de herramientas que aporten a la construcción de capacidades para el empoderamiento de la población rural como ruta para mejorar su calidad de vida, a través de procesos de autodesarrollo.

Dentro de la población rural los pueblos indígenas, se identifican en contexto con más desventajas en relación a acceso a servicios básicos y recursos necesarios para salir de la pobreza, sumado a la situación de exclusión histórica y negación de sus derechos a la cual han estado enfrentados.

Como respuesta a esto, se define la Política de Actuación en relación a Pueblos Indígenas, que tienen como fin que los procesos de desarrollo impulsados desde el FIDA tengan mayor efectividad, la cual cuenta con procedimientos, instrumentos y mecanismos para su aplicación.

Política de Actuación en relación con Pueblos Indígenas - FIDA Caso Guatemala_PRODENORTE 2012

January 2013

La Sistematización de Buenas Practicas del Programa Desarrollo Rural Sustentable para la Región del Norte -PRODENORTE- se constituye en un aprendizaje colectivo y de beneficio para la población indígena de los pueblos mayas Q´eqchi´, Pocomchi´, Achi y Ki´che´.

El programa se desarrolla bajo los lineamientos descritos en el Programa Sobre Oportunidades Estratégicas Nacionales del FIDA, COSOP 2008-2013. 

Annual report on investigative and anti-corruption activities 2012

January 2013

FAD’s investigative and anticorruption activities aim to ensure that development funds reach intended beneficiaries in the most efficient, effective and transparent manner possible. Fraud and corruption divert resources away from the people who need them most. The goal of the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1) is the prevention of fraud and corruption within the Fund itself and in activities financed by IFAD at local, national, regional and international levels.

The Office of Audit and Oversight (AUO) and its Investigation Section (IS) have been mandated to investigate alleged irregular practices, namely: (i) fraud and corruption, in relation to entities, contractors and non-staff individuals applying for or participating in an IFAD-financed project or headquarters-related contract; and (ii) staff misconduct. 

Supporting Small-Scale Producers of Certified Sustainable Products

January 2013

The rapid growth in consumer demand for sustainable agricultural products represents an enormous opportunity for small-scale farmers and producers in developing countries.

To help them seize this and other opportunities, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funds a range of projects in rural areas. A growing number of projects support smallholder production of commodities that are certified under programmes such as Fairtrade, Organic, UTZ Certified and Rainforest Alliance, including:

• Cocoa and coffee in Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone

• Fruits in the South Pacific and Madagascar

• Cosmetic and medicinal plants in India and Southern Africa.

Agricultural value chain finance strategy and design

November 2012

This technical note serves as a guide to the design of appropriate programme interventions that apply value chain financing approaches to the development of competitive agricultural value chains. 

It emphasizes interventions that promote financial inclusiveness and the overall development goals of governments, as well as those of technical and funding agencies.

Gender and Water - Security water for rural livelihoods - The multiple-uses system approach

November 2012
This review examines the impact of water-related projects on women, women’s role in managing water resources and the constraints women face in gaining access to water. It highlights the innovative activities and catalysts that have helped to address gender issues in water programmes and projects. 

Flexi Biogas systems: inexpensive, renewable energy for developing countries

November 2012

The most common type of biogas system, and the most widely adopted in China and India, is a fixed dome system. Its construction requires skilled technical expertise and complex logistics, making installation expensive and time-consuming. Fixed dome systems are permanent installations, so secure land tenure is a prerequisite. These challenges make it difficult to adopt fixed dome systems in developing countries, particularly in Africa. As a result, many systems have failed and adoption rates have been low.

Another type of biogas system, manufactured in Kenya, is Flexi Biogas, a flexible above- ground system that is simpler and less costly to build and operate. This system does not require agitation and the digester is not a sealed tank but simply a 6m x 3m plastic bag made of PVC tarpaulin.
For more information please click on the link below.

Indigenous peoples - valuing, respecting and supporting diversity

October 2012
Indigenous peoples have rich and ancient cultures and view their social, economic, environmental and spiritual systems as interdependent. They make valuable contributions to the world’s heritage thanks to their traditional knowledge and their understanding of ecosystem management. But indigenous peoples are also among the world’s most vulnerable, marginalized and disadvantaged groups. We must ensure that their voices are heard, their rights respected, and their well-being improved.

Manuel de suivi et d’entretien des petits barrages en Mauritanie

October 2012
Un des enjeux majeurs auquel l’humanité sera confrontée au cours de ce nouveau millénaire, est sans conteste la gestion durable des ressources en eau face aux demandes pressantes d’une population sans cesse croissante. 

Transforming Agricultural Development and Production in Africa. Closing Gender Gaps and Empowering Rural Women in Policy and Practice

October 2012

Over 50 experts from more than 20 countries convened in Salzburg, Austria, in November 2011 for a special Dialogue for Action meeting entitled Transforming Agricultural Development and Production in Africa: Closing Gender Gaps and Empowering Rural Women in Policy and Practice. Designed to accelerate rural and agricultural development in Africa, the meeting focused on investment in women.

It was organized by the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS) with support from the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)/Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFFS) Joint Programme. This report aims to reflect the complexity of the discussions that took place during the event and the outcome of those discussions.

Addressing poverty through mobilization of community resources

October 2012
In parts of Kenya, local communities have been empowered to take control of their own development. The success of the project rests on community involvement
and mobilization of local financial, natural and human resources.

Microinsurance Product Development for Microfinance Providers

October 2012

This document is intended to aid delivery channels, microfinance providers in particular, in working with insurance companies to develop successful microinsurance products for the low-income market. 

A systematic new-product development process is crucial to the success of microinsurance products for many reasons, including: Saving money – by maximizing the potential for product success; Saving management and staff time – by ensuring, within reason, that the product has market demand, and by working out staff and systems issues early in the process, when it is easier and cheaper to make changes; Generating goodwill in one’s market – by offering products that will not have to be withdrawn or substantially altered once they are offered throughout the market. The process outlined in this manual will help microinsurance developers create successful microinsurance products. ‘Success’ means meeting the needs of the three major parties in the microinsurance relationship: low-income policyholders, the insurer and delivery channels.

Process Mapping for Microinsurance Operations: A Toolkit for Understanding and Improving Business Processes and Client Value

October 2012

This manual is intended as an aid to microinsurance institutions. It presents a technique called ‘process mapping’ that can support institutions in self-analysis by assisting them in understanding, developing and improving business processes. Although the concepts presented may be used for many types of projects and processes, this manual was specifically developed as a supplement to Microinsurance product development for microfinance providers (McCord 2012).

The manual describes how a process map can be drawn, analysed and adapted for the microinsurance sector. It offers practical guidance about which processes to concentrate on, and guides the reader through the task of improving these processes, first on paper and then in practice. For more information please click on the link below.

Growing peace through development (2012)

October 2012
Development can nurture peace. The two go hand in hand. If we create programmes that help people overcome the barriers to their own development, we
give them a way to fight poverty and hunger instead of each other. We reduce the appeal of violent and destructive responses to conditions that are, admittedly,
intolerable. No one should go to sleep hungry. No one should see a child’s potential wither under malnutrition, illiteracy and hopelessness. No woman should be
denied access to resources just because she is not a man. No one should be denied a voice simply because it suits someone else to keep them silent.

Women and pastoralism

October 2012

The paper highlights the issues arising from the Global Gathering of Women Pastoralists (2010) which brought together over 100 women from herding communities across 32 different countries to discuss the challenges faced by pastoralist women and girls, and their potential opportunities.

It aims to support development practitioners in planning specific interventions and mainstreaming issues that potentially affect pastoralist women into the implementation stages of development initiatives. 

The paper is part of the IFAD Livestock Thematic Papers on Livestock and Pastoralists and Gender and Livestock, which offer an in-depth view of the broader context.

Livestock and Renewable Energy

October 2012

This Thematic Paper is part of a toolkit for development practitioners, created to support the design of appropriate livestock development interventions. It has been developed to assess existing synergies between livestock and the renewable energy sector and consider the potential benefits that could arise from their interactions, such as mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental preservation (soil restoration), and availability of clean, affordable and reliable energy sources (e.g. biogas). 

The paper is divided into two sections. The first part looks at the livestock’s potential as a renewable energy source. Through, for example, the use of cost-effective technologies such as biogas systems that can stem methane emissions from livestock manure by recovering the gas and using it as an energy source in alternative to wood/charcoal or fossil fuel. 

The second part, given the climate change scenario, considers viable applications of Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) addressed for small-scale farmers and livestock keepers at different levels of the value chain that can provide multifunctional benefits for households, community and environment. 

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