Knowledge

Land degradation – often caused by human activities such as overcultivation of soil, deforestation, overgrazing and population growth – affects more than one billion people and 40 per cent of the Earth’s
surface.When this degradation occurs in the drylands where the earth is particularly fragile, rainfall is minimal and weather is harsh, desertification results.

Desertification directly affects the lives of more than 650 million people in 110 countries. Contrary to popular belief, desertification is a process that can often be reversed.There are many ways of combating desertification, including applying appropriate land-use technologies and water-use strategies. However, one of the most effective methods of combating desertification is by eradicating poverty.

Learn more about IFAD’s work to promote rural transformation in our 2003 Annual Report. Discover how our investments are empowering rural women and men, and review the facts and figures we share with our Member States and partners. You can also find out more about our advocacy work on behalf of rural communities worldwide.

 

A pesar de que las personas pobres que viven en las zonas rurales son los principales productores agrícolas del mundo, en muchos casos no tienen acceso a sus tierras y no ejercen control sobre los recursos naturales de los que depende su subsistencia.

In 2003, IFAD celebrated its 25th anniversary. The Governing Council and other events during the year highlighted IFAD’s growth over the past quarter century into
a mature development institution focused on eradicating rural poverty. The timely and successful completion of the Sixth Replenishment at the 2003 Council
underlined the commitment of Member States to IFAD’s mission. The Governing Council also agreed to initiatives to strengthen the institution in the coming years.

IFAD’s current investment policy was adopted in December 2001. The policy allocates five per cent of investments in cash, 44 per cent in government bonds, 23 per cent in diversified fixed-interest instruments, 18 per cent in inflation-indexed bonds and ten per cent in equities. These allocations were implemented with the exception of the asset class for inflation-indexed bonds until June 2003, when two such investments were made, bringing the class to some ten per cent of the overall portfolio. The remaining unfunded amount was held in the government bonds portfolio and, to a lesser extent, in the internally managed portfolio.

The Fund’s ongoing change process aims to strengthen teamwork, management capabilities and accountability while ensuring alignment with its corporate strategy and objectives. In 2002 the Fund adjusted its structure to create a more focused and consolidated organization – one that delivers positive change in the context of the strategic framework. The Offices of the President and Vice-President were integrated so as to consistently function as a team. The Office of the Vice-President is charged with cross-departmental responsibilities, thus enabling this office to better assist the President on a wide range of business and management issues. This, in turn, has enabled the President to increase leadership and management capacity, which allows for greater flexibility in addressing key internal and external needs and, at the same time, provides greater scope for staff communication and interaction. Crossdepartmental responsibilities have also enabled the Vice-President to concentrate more on implementation and follow-up. In addition, a Finance and Administration Department has been created and consists of the Offices of the Controller, Treasurer and Human Resources, the Management Information Systems Division, and Administrative Services. The new External Affairs Department consolidates the main externally oriented functions – Communications Division, Office of the Secretary, Resource Mobilization, and Policy Division – into one department. Communications includes publications, web coordination and media. The Protocol function, which was previously under Administrative Services, has moved to the Office of the Secretary. The Programme Management Department remains unchanged. The chart below illustrates the new organizational structure.

Strengthening the capacity of the rural poor and their organizations is a central element in all projects approved in 2002 for the region. The Cameroon Community
Development Support Project, for example, will help develop the social capital of the rural poor in an area covering both the forest and Sahelian zones of the country.
This will be done through support to grass-roots organizations and local development institutions, promotion of functional literacy, and establishment of participatory
planning processes for local development, in which traditionally marginalized groups can have an effective voice. The Niger Project for the Promotion of
Local Initiative for Development in Aguié, which is a second-phase operation, seeks to consolidate innovative first phase accomplishments by further strengthening
consultation and decentralized decision-making processes between rural communities and public and private service providers.

Learn more about IFAD’s work to promote rural transformation in our 2002 Annual Report. Discover how our investments are empowering rural women and men, and review the facts and figures we share with our Member States and partners. You can also find out more about our advocacy work on behalf of rural communities worldwide.

This paper outlines the social and environmental reasons why the international development community should give higher priority to helping poor people,
especially those in areas that are biophysically marginal or socio-economically marginalized. Sustainable rural development depends on successfully addressing the
twin challenges of poverty and environmental degradation. There are 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty, and of these, 900 million live in rural areas where they depend directly or indirectly on agriculture to survive. The paper gives a brief overview of rural development in the context of the Millennium Development Goals and AGENDA 21, which call for concerted action to address the problems of the rural poor and the limitations of their natural resource base.