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Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
IFAD has approved six loans to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for an approximate total of US$80.0 million. The organization also approved two technical assistance grants in 1991 and 1998 for the Regional Training Programme in Rural Development, implemented by the Foundation for Training and Applied Research in Agrarian Reform (CIARA), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land.
IFAD’s mandate to reduce poverty by improving the living conditions and incomes of poor rural people faces vigorous challenges and opportunities. IFAD works in partnership with the government and other donors, financing programmes and projects that target the poorest of the poor, particularly small farmers, landless people, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, and rural women in general. CIARA, one of IFAD’s principal partners in recent rural development projects, plays an important role as administrator of decentralized development programmes for the country's Ministry of
Popular Power for Agriculture and Land.
Land grab or development opportunity? Agricultural investment and international land deals in Africa
media reports across the world. Lands that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest are now being sought by international investors to the tune of
hundreds of thousands of hectares. And while a failed attempt to lease 1.3 million ha in Madagascar has attracted much media attention, deals
reported in the international press constitute the tip of the iceberg. This is rightly a hot issue because land is so central to identity, livelihoods and food security.
IFAD and rural water investments
IFAD is currently engaged in over 230 loan operations in 85 countries. About two thirds of that portfolio is related to community-based natural resource management.
Poor rural people and their institutions are at the core of this approach. Water is critical to these men and women pastoralists, fishers, farmers, young and old, part- or full-time, urban or rural, indigenous, tribal or otherwise often marginalized people. It is the key entry point for improving their livelihoods.
Interventions for improving livelihoods
Climate change represents an additional challenge to rural people in SSA – and a further reason for investment in water control. Smallholder farmers, pastoralists and artisanal fishers are among the most vulnerable to this threat.
While projections of changes in annual rainfall vary across Africa, these groups will experience the negative effects of increased temperature and
extreme events. For them, enhanced control of water will become critical in building resilience to increased climate variability.
Guidance Notes for institutional analysis in rural development programmes: an overview
Guidance notes for institutional analysis in rural development programmes provides a synthesis of the training materials developed as part of the Institutional Analysis (IA) methodology. They propose that we rethink how we conceptualize and promote institutional change, particularly for pro-poor service delivery.
They provide a framework and the analytical tools for designing programmes and projects that feature implementation modalities based on some of the core principles of good governance, focusing on “pro-poor governance” and systemic sustainability at the micro and meso levels.
Reinforcing gender equity
IFAD and the League of Arab States
Poverty poses a constant threat to economic growth, trade reform, private sector development, knowledge, governance and gender equality.
Poverty among the 22 members of the League of Arab States (LAS) is primarily a rural phenomenon. A quarter of the region’s population, or about 80 million people, live below national poverty lines. Between 60 and 70 percent of these poor people live in rural areas.
One of the most pressing challenges in the region is the high rate of unemployment, particularly among young people. Official unemployment rates average 13 per cent, and in some countries the jobless rate among young people is twice as high.
Annual report on investigative and anti-corruption activities 2008
The Investigation Section of the Office of Audit and Oversight (OA/IS) has a mandate 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, pursuant to the adoption by the Executive Board in December 2005 of the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1, paragraph 26). Implementation of this policy, along with the establishment of a Sanctions Committee, have aligned IFAD with best practices applied by other United Nations agencies and the major multilateral development banks (MDBs) in this area.
OA/IS was fully staffed in 2008, enabling it to pursue its dual role of conducting investigations and, more broadly, implementing the IFAD anticorruption agenda.
IFAD in the MERCOSUR area
Working to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty, IFAD operates in the MERCOSUR countries at two levels:
• at the subregional level, within the institutional framework of MERCOSUR, it promotes a platform for dialogue between governments and smallholder farmers’ associations, with the aim of increasing public investment in family farming
• at the national level, it provides funding and technical assistance to governments for the implementation of rural development programmes and projects that translate into action the agreements reached at subregional level.
La pobreza rural en Uruguay
El trabajo del FIDA en Uruguay se desarrolla en dos niveles distintos aunque complementarios:
• a nivel subregional, en el marco de las instituciones del MERCOSUR, promueve una plataforma de diálogo entre gobiernos y asociaciones de pequeños productores, con el fin de aumentar la relevancia política de la agricultura familiar y la inversión pública en su favor;
• a nivel nacional, proporciona financiación y asistencia técnica al gobierno para la ejecución de programas y proyectos que traduzcan en acciones las políticas públicas definidas en el ámbito de la subregión y adaptadas al contexto del país.
IFAD and GEF partnership on climate change - Fighting a global challenge at the local level
There is a general consensus that rural areas and rural livelihood systems
will bear the brunt of climate change across the globe. More frequent
extreme weather events such as heat waves and intense precipitation are
likely to place the livelihoods of many rural people at risk. Africa is
expected to be the most vulnerable continent to climate change, and will
face a decline in both food security and agricultural activity, particularly
in relation to subsistence farming.
The impact of climate change on agriculture is expected to be
devastating in many parts of the developing world. Especially in the
least developed countries, declining crop productivity and livestock deaths
associated with further global warming pose a serious threat to food
security and national economies.
Nonetheless, vulnerability to climate change can be exacerbated by poverty,
marginality and low adaptive capacity. An integrated approach is
therefore needed to bridge the gap between local development and the
global challenge of climate change.
Custodians of culture and biodiversity: Indigenous peoples take charge of their challenges and opportunities
MfDR at IFAD - an integrated system
IFAD Annual Report 2007
Institutional and organizational analysis for pro-poor change: meeting IFAD's millennium challenge - A sourcebook
As part of its obligations undertaken to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, IFAD committed itself to enabling the rural poor to help themselves out of poverty by increasing theirorganizational capacity to influence institutions of relevance to rural poverty reduction (policies, laws and regulations).
As a result, IFAD has embarked upon a process to strengthen its own organizational competencies in institutional analysis and dialogue.
This sourcebook is an attempt to complement and further this process. It has been written keeping in mind the needs of country programme managers, as well as consultants working with IFAD.
From subsistence farming to profit: the benefits of agro-wells in Sri Lanka
Large, well-constructed ‘agro-wells’ are making farming profitable for farmers living in dry areas of Sri Lanka. Farmers in the dry areas of the district of Matale benefited from the Regional Economic Advancement Project (REAP) from 1999 to 2007.
REAP was mostly funded by a loan of US$11.7 million from IFAD to the Government of Sri Lanka. The project had a total budget of US$14.5 million,
and benefited some 30,000 households.
A major activity of REAP’s subcomponent on soil conservation and water management was assistance to the poorest farmers to enable them to
construct agro-wells for irrigation purposes. This activity was started in 2001.
IFAD, the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development
Development (NEPAD) since they were established in July 2001, seeking new ways to combat rural
poverty across the continent. African leaders created NEPAD to promote sustainable development
and strengthen efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the international
community’s time-bound targets to meet the needs of the world’s poorest people. Within the
framework of NEPAD, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was
prepared in June 2002.
Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty in Lesotho
The main objectives of IFAD’s operations in the country are to improve food security and family nutrition. Since 1980, IFAD has supported agricultural development by investing a total of US$64.3 million in seven programmes and projects to reduce poverty in the country’s rural areas.
Normally, Lesotho is not in a position to grow enough food to feed its growing population.
Offsetting the effects on poor households of declining agricultural production, IFAD investments support the efforts of small-scale farmers to ensure food security for their families and improve their incomes. Increased productivity is a key to achieving these aims and to reducing poverty in rural areas. IFAD finances programmes and projects that encourage poor people’s participation in the planning and development of income-generating activities, including microenterprises.
IFAD' s Action Plan for Improving its Development Effectiveness
Annual report on investigative and anti-corruption activities 2007
The Investigation Section of the Office of Audit and Oversight (OA-IS) was set up in 2006 with a mandate to investigate alleged irregular practices, namely (i) fraud and corruption, when applied to entities, contractors and non-staff individuals applying for or participating in IFAD-financed activities, and (ii) staff misconduct. This was pursuant to the adoption by the Executive Board in December 2005 of the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1, paragraph 26). The establishment of a Sanctions Committee and the development of debarment procedures in February 2007 further bolstered the effectiveness of the IFAD investigative and sanctions process. These changes aligned IFAD with best practices applied by other United Nations agencies and the major multilateral development banks (MDBs) in this area.
Sending Money Home - Worldwide Remittance Flows to Developing and Transition Countries
Initiative de développement agricole et rural pour le Sahel (SARDI)
Le SARDI est une réponse concertée, à la fois à court et à long termes, aux causes structurelles profondes des crises alimentaires dans la sous-région sahélienne, traduisant un engagement à en finir avec le spectre de la famine et la résurgence des crises.
L’initiative contribuera à réduire la pauvreté des ménages et à prévenir l’insécurité alimentaire conjoncturelle et la malnutrition à travers :
• l’accroissement de la production agricole, de la productivité et l’amélioration de l’accès des producteurs au marché
• l’amélioration des systèmes d’alerte précoce des Etats et le développement de systèmes de gestion des crises
Irriguer pour mieux cultiver : la réussite du Haut Bassin du Mandrare. L’expérience de 12 années d’intervention du PHBM (1996-2008)
Le potentiel irrigable du Haut Bassin du Mandrare est connu depuis très longtemps.
La zone du Haut Bassin du Mandrare divisée en six sous-bassins versants qui alimentent le Mandrare bénéficie d’une bonne pluviométrie (normalement comprise entre 800 et 1100 mm) par rapport aux autres zones de l’extrême Sud de Madagascar.
Les sols des vallées sont fertiles et se prêtent à la riziculture irriguée, activité agricole pratiquée par 60 % des habitants de la zone.
Enabling the rural poor to overcome poverty in Swaziland
IFAD’s intention is to help poor rural households by creating sustainable jobs, reducing poverty and guaranteeing food security. To meet this goal IFAD places emphasis on intensifying agricultural output and supporting smallholders within irrigation schemes, as well as helping develop small rural businesses. In particular, IFAD works to improve linkages to financial services and markets, to support providers of financial and marketing services and to strengthen the capacity of poor rural communities and their institutions.
The Government of Swaziland, key stakeholders and IFAD are jointly designing a new investment focusing on rural finance and enterprise development.
Investing in rural people in Comoros
Le FIDA prend appui sur les communautés et leurs organisations pour développer des activités génératrices d’emploi, agricole ou non, et de revenus. Les cultures vivrières, la production laitière et la recherche de débouchés commerciaux pour ces produits dans les quatre îles de l’archipel feront l’objet d’une attention particulière, ainsi que la conservation et la transformation locale des produits.
En ce qui concerne les cultures de rente, le FIDA financera sous forme de don la mise en relation des producteurs avec les marchés équitables.
IFAD Annual Report 2006
Improving marketing strategies in Western and Central Africa
IFAD in the Near East and North Africa region
IFAD’s work in the region is guided by the organization’s Strategic Framework, its four thematic priorities for the region and by individual country strategic opportunities papers (COSOPs), reflecting governments’ own priorities in rural development and prepared in consultation with governments, donors and other partners.
Annual report on investigative and anti-corruption activities 2006
The Oversight Committee (OVC) was established in May 2000 with a mandate to coordinate investigations into alleged irregular practices, namely (i) fraud and corruption, when applied to entities, contractors and non-staff individuals applying for or participating in IFAD-financed activities, and (ii) staff misconduct. The efforts of the Fund to prevent the incidence of fraud and corruption in its activities and operations were further boosted through the adoption of an anticorruption policy by the Executive Board in November 2005. Throughout 2006, IFAD worked towards introducing the structures and tools required for implementing its anticorruption policy. In 2006, the investigative capacity of the OVC was considerably reinforced with the establishment of the Investigation Section within the Office of Internal Audit. The OVC took specific actions to model its operating procedures and practices according to quality standards and best practices. It also took the lead in other activities related to implementation of the IFAD anticorruption policy, which included organizing an external review of the Fund’s investigation and sanction processes. The review prompted a major institutional reform of IFAD’s legal framework and procedures for conducting investigations and imposing sanctions, including the disbanding of the OVC, redefinition of the role of the Office of Internal Audit (renamed the Office of Audit and Oversight), establishment of a sanctions committee, and development of debarment procedures. These changes were introduced in early 2007, aligning IFAD with best practices applied by other United Nations agencies and the major multilateral development banks in this area.
Linking land and water governance
Secure access by rural poor people to both land and water is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target of reducing by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
Most of these people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.
However, international debate continues to address land and water issues separately, and to view the significant use of water in agriculture as problematic.