Knowledge

This country fact sheet outlines IFAD’s strategy to eradicate poverty in Viet Nam, which focus on developing market-led innovations that aid poor people.

This cookbook contains 34 easy-to-follow traditional dishes cooked by the rural people and ethnic minority groups of Viet Nam, and recognises their invaluable role in preserving the country’s cultural and biological diversity, inspiring an appreciation for the interconnectedness of food, culture and the natural world.

This photo book tells the stories of ten people who benefited from the Project for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Mekong Delta in the Ben Tre and Tra Vinh Provinces. Three years after the project closed, the rural businesses they built have proven to be sustainable, enabling them to escape poverty and contribute to the well-being of their families and communities.

IFAD supports Pacific Island countries to develop inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable food systems that are community-driven.

Various sources estimate the population of indigenous peoples in the Philippines at 12-15% of the current national population of 108 million, or a total of about 16-17 million.

Indonesia is comprised of 13.000 islands with a total area of 7 million km2. It has a total population of 273 million in more than 1.000 various ethnic and sub-ethnic groups with their own cultures and traditions.

Indigenous Peoples of Cambodia represent 24 different groups, who reside mainly in the upland forests, plains, and mountains of the northern and north-eastern provinces.

This report aims to provide the most recent information on the issue of Ethnic Minorities in Viet Nam in terms of the general situation, poverty reduction, impact of COVID-19, Government policies and programs as well as such as NGOs, ODA and IFAD in Viet Nam.

This brief shares the results and lessons learned from the first phase of the Insurance for Rural Resilience and Economic Development (INSURED) programme.

Altogether, IFAD has implemented 19 projects in Sri Lanka, benefiting 654,832 households at a total cost of US$654.57 million (with IFAD providing US$340.49 million in financing).

PIRAS is helping farmers get back on their feet and increase their income through crop diversification, engagement in food processing and expanded access to new markets. This brochure highlights the stories of some of the rural people supported by PIRAS. 

IFAD’s Asia Pacific newsletter captures inspirational storytelling and in-depth research from across the region.

This expansive culinary guide features voices from the smallholder farmers supported by IFAD and GAFSP-funded projects.

To date, 12 projects have been conducted in the country, at a total cost of US$950.48 million, with IFAD financing amounting to US$309.08 million. An estimated 1,565,500 households have benefited directly.

This report offers new evidence to inform the design of suitable and timely financial products for farmer organizations, based on a survey of 220 farmers’ organizations in West Africa and Asia and the Pacific.

IFAD began operations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 1978. Our strategy is to invest in rural people, empowering them to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes.

PIRAS supports COVID-19 food system and economic recovery. In it, PIRAS supports food production, post-harvest handling and market access.

PIRAS supports COVID-19 food system and economic recovery. In Kiribati, PIRAS tackles water scarcity and food security for vulnerable rural farming households.
 

PIRAS supports COVID-19 food system and economic recovery. In Solomon Islands, it works across 30 communities to support sustainable food production, to improve nutrition, and to strengthen inclusive local value chains.

PIRAS supports COVID-19 food system and economic recovery. In Fiji, it works in 70 villages and supports food production, post-harvest handling and market access.

PIRAS supports COVID-19 food system and economic recovery. In Tonga, it tackles the urgent agricultural needs emerging from the January 2022 Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami.

PIRAS supports COVID-19 food system and economic recovery. In Vanuatu, it works to increase food production, improve nutrition and strengthen market links for rural communities.

This report outlines ten lessons from 23 IFAD-supported projects that worked with PESPs to support efficient, inclusive and sustainable pluralistic extension systems.

Myanmar is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse countries in the Asian region, and ethnicity is a complex, contested, and politically sensitive issue in the country where ethnic groups have long believed that successive governments of Myanmar manipulate ethnic groups for political purposes.

There are different and conflicting opinions, and until very recently, acute shortage of reliable data and statistics, regarding the population size of the different Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh

Indigenous peoples of Nepal have been living in Nepal since time immemorial.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is one of the countries with the largest number of different ethnic groups in the world. The history of these ethnic groups extends beyond human memory.

Internationally, the ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (STs) of India are generally referred to as ‘Indigenous Peoples (IPs)’. However, the Government of India emphatically rejects equating Scheduled Tribes (STs) with IPs even while abiding by the operational directives of bilateral and multilateral agencies with regard to IPs while operationalising projects with their financial aid.

This brief describes how an IFAD-GEF project promotes sustainable peatland management, secure carbon stocks, and conservation of biodiversity, while improving the living standards of local communities.

This report offers a consolidated analysis of pre-COVID food security and nutrition challenges across the Pacific Islands and outlines key actions needed to respond to the current impacts, inform medium- to long-term recovery planning, and better prepare for future crises.

Agriculture is the largest economic sector in Asia and the Pacific region, providing livelihoods to more than 266 million workers. Therefore, examining the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on this sector is crucial for securing the livelihoods of rural people in the region and preventing a food crisis in countries that are already experiencing food and nutrition security challenges.

This is the first publication exclusively focusing on yak wool production and its commercialization, incorporating the socio-environmental narrative attached to High Asia region and its herders communities.

This study examines six projects, in three principal ecosystems of the region: a mountainous region, wetlands and a river delta.

This resource book and policy briefs provide an overview of the impacts on food availability, ecosystem services and security of tenure in the shift to settled agricultural systems.

IFAD has worked in Bangladesh for almost 40 years. It has supported 34 projects, costing a total of US$2,356 million, with IFAD financing of US$913 million. 

While the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and digital tools has been increasing steadily across large swathes of rural Asia during the past two decades, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has imparted a sense of urgency in terms of accelerating this trend. 

Over the last 40 years, IFAD and the Government of Indonesia have invested more than US$1 billion in rural people to strengthen inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth. 

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

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

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

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

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.

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. 

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. 

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

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 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). 

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.

The grant mainstreamed climate-smart, tree-based agricultural good practices into the climate adaptation and mitigation programmes of governments, NGOs and the private sector in Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

The Asia and the Pacific region includes the world’s fastest growing and most dynamic countries and is a key driver of growth in the world economy.

This paper uses the available cross-country data to analyse the causes for the increase in the disparity between rural and urban areas in Asia. 

A set of specific priorities and actionable outcomes resulted from the GFRID 2018. These are directly linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. 

The project “Connecting Fairtrade Communities to ICT” in Papua New Guinea is a small grant of US$360,000 funded by the Republic of Korea in partnership with IFAD. 

The programme aimed to intensify the cropping systems with grain legumes to improve the productivity and sustainability of rainfed agriculture while diversifying smallholder farmers’ income-generating opportunities. 

This programme, also known as FinServAccess, aimed to enhance access to sustainable rural financial services for smallholder producers and
agroentrepreneurs, so they are better equipped to face emerging challenges and benefit from new opportunities.

The grant is one of three projects implemented under a broader regional programme (Adaptation to Change) financed by IFAD, the Government of Norway, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). 

The programme Strengthening Knowledge Sharing on Innovative Solutions Using Learning Route (LR) Methodology1 in Asia and the Pacific (ROUTASIA) is the second phase of a four-year IFAD-funded large grant to Procasur Corporation. 

This report provides the findings of a stock-taking exercise started in 2015 on IFAD's investment in tenure security measures integrated in its larger agricultural development projects. This stock-take provides an overview of tenure investments and activities in the Asia and the Pacific Region (APR).

​RemitSCOPE, a new website portal, is designed to provide data, analyses and remittancemarket1 profiles on individual countries or areas. In coordination with the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development 2018, RemitSCOPE is being launched to provide market profiles for 50 countries or areas in the Asia and the Pacific region.

The additional four regions will be included gradually: Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Near East and the Caucasus. RemitSCOPE intends to address the fast-changing market realities in the remittance industry in order to help bring together the goals of remittance families, as clients, and the strategies of the private-sector service providers. RemitSCOPE is designed as a free, one-stop shop that is available to any organization or entity interested in accessing all relevant public information on remittances.  

IFAD, with support from the Government of Norway, developed the Rural Women’s Leadership Programme (RWLP) to strengthen the role and voice of women leaders in rural organizations, including in policy dialogue. 

In Indonesia’s eastern Maluku and North Maluku provinces, malnutrition levels are high. Nutrition challenges include monotonous diets with inadequate levels of energy, micronutrients and protein. Studies commissioned by IFAD suggest that strengthened value chains for foods such as bananas, cassava, maize, spinach, sweet potatoes and fish could make business sense for smallholders and lay the foundations for a strong local food system that sustainably delivers nutritious foods for healthy diets.

The goal was to improve the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers through the adoption of integrated crop–livestock conservation agriculture.

This paper examines the transformation and diversification of the rural economy in Asia, focusing on the role and importance of the rural non-farm economy and employment in economic transformation and related diversification of employment and income opportunities for rural communities.

Coastal Community Development Project (2012 - 2017): Increased household incomes for families involved in fisheries and marine activities in poor coastal and small island communities.

The Rural Areas of Indonesia are Full of Opportunities.

Investing in Rural Indonesia: Building resilience to climate change, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, improving nutrition and fostering youth employment are critical goals in all of our programmes.

Indonesia Portfolio overview, January 2018

Sowing the seeds of success for farmers and microentrepreneurs.

Established in 2005 as a permanent feature of the IFAD Governing Council, the Farmers’ Forum (FAFO) is a bottom-up process of consultation and dialogue between IFAD, governments and farmers’ organizations that represent millions of small-scale farmers, fisher folk and pastoralists, both men and women, across the world. The forum aims to strengthen partnership and collaboration between IFAD and farmers’ organizations in country programmes and investment projects and to build capacity within these organizations. In support of the Farmers’ Forum, projects are established to strengthen farmers’ organizations and activities in the field. Thus, IFAD, together with several other donors (EU, SDC, AFD), has engaged into partnership with FOs through continental grants in Asia with the Medium-term Cooperation Programme with Farmers’ Organizations in Asia and
the Pacific (MTCP) as well as in Africa with the Support to Farmers’ Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP).

With Fostering Agricultural Revitalization in Myanmar (FARM), the first project it has financed in Myanmar, IFAD is scaling up the best parts of regional and global projects, both its own and those of other organizations. For example, FARM has introduced a new method to complement pre-existing extension services.

This is benefiting both farmers and landless microentrepreneurs across the project area. At the heart of FARM’s innovation is the establishment of Knowledge Centres (KCs). Built on the structure and network of public extension services, the KCs are staffed by a ministry extension worker – the KC Manager. The KC Manager brings together farmers and microentrepreneurs in common interest groups, and helps them make the most of newly available extension services.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) emerged from the food crisis of the early 1970s and the World Food Conference of 1974. With financial support from Korea and other development partners, IFAD was created as both a specialized agency of the United Nations and an international financial institution. IFAD supports measures that help people in rural areas to overcome poverty and build better lives. Since its creation, FAD has helped about 464 million people to grow more food, better manage their land and other natural resources, learn new skills, start businesses, build strong organizations, and gain a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

The IFAD Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF) is an innovative funding resource that indigenous communities can access to support their own solutions to development challenges. It supports self-driven development by investing in small projects that build on indigenous peoples’ culture, identity, knowledge, natural resources and income-generating activities. The goal of the IPAF programme is to empower indigenous peoples’ communities and their organizations in Asia and the Pacific to foster their self- driven development. 

More than half of the Philippines’ 100 million people live in rural areas and many of them are poor. Agriculture is the primary and often only source of income for poor rural people, most of whom depend on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods. Illiteracy, unemployment and the incidence of poverty are generally higher among indigenous peoples and people living in upland areas.

Agriculture is the predominant economic activity in Tonga, contributing around 20 per cent of GDP. About 75 per cent of Tonga’s population lives in rural areas, and agriculture and fishing are the main sources of livelihoods. Fewer than 10 per cent of farmers are commercial producers and most of Tonga’s agriculture is thus still based on traditional/subsistence farming systems. The agriculture sector has been stagnant for a decade, with virtually no growth recorded between 2005 and 2012. Factors contributing to this situation include outmigration of the rural population, an ageing farmer population, declining export opportunities, and the increasing frequency and impact of climate change-related extreme weather events. Tonga’s export vulnerability lies in its reliance on very few commodities, such as squash, the exports of which have been falling since 2003. Rising production costs have contributed to a decline in export competitiveness, as has the difficulty in meeting quality and phytosanitary requirements for the principal markets of New Zealand and Australia.

This paper is a guide to current debates about agricultural development. It analyses the changes in development approaches and thinking in recent decades and explores today's critical issues in agricultural and rural development policy. With the main focus on Africa, the paper also includes insights from Asia and Latin America.

In August 2015, a grant agreement was signed between IFAD and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to “demonstrate that the goat subsector in India has a great potential to contribute to poverty alleviation and offers opportunities where donors can partner with private sector, public sector, and producers to effect large-scale productivity improvement in small ruminant value chains in Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh states”.

 IFAD has been working in small island developing states (SIDS) for 35 years, financing investments for smallholder farmers and fishers.

IFAD recognizes that small island developing states are different than other developing countries. 

They face constraints that are quite particular to their size, remoteness, insularity and ocean resource base. In the light of a changing world and new challenges faced by rural people living in SIDS, IFAD recently took the opportunity of the Global Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Samoa in 2014 to articulate its lessons learned and current approach to financing investment in rural people in its paper presented at the Conference, IFAD’s approach in Small Island Developing States.

In February 2013, the First Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples Forum took place at the IFAD headquarters in Rome, in conjunction with the 36th session of the Governing Council. In attendance at this inaugural meeting were 31 indigenous people’s representatives from 25 countries in Asia, Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean regions. Of the 19 Asia- Pacific regional representatives, two were from the Pacific; Mr. Anthony Wale, the Executive Director Aoke Langalanga Constituency Apex Association (ALCAA), and Ms Rufina Peter, Senior Research Officer at the PNG Institute of National Affairs.

During the meeting the Pacific representatives highlighted the need for the Pacific to have a “separate identity” as per the outcomes of Asia Pacific regional preparatory workshop in Bangkok. The issue was one of visibility for the Pacific Region due to its unique, rich and diverse cultures and traditions, its significant land and sea area and its high biodiversity. The Pacific Regional meeting proposed three action plans, of which the Pacific Regional Workshop in preparation of the Second Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD is a direct result.

Young people are the future. But all too often in today’s world young women and men are marginalized and excluded – from decent employment and from crucial decisions about how to address the big challenges that face us all. Their voices are rarely heard in democratic debate and their needs and views are rarely reflected in policies and programmes. Yet more than ever the world needs young people’s ideas, their talents and their energy. In rural areas, we particularly need their drive and innovative skills to sustainably produce the food required by an increasingly populous and urbanized world.

Among the world’s developing regions, Asia and the Pacific region has witnessed the deepest and fastest structural transformation. The Green Revolution that began in the 1960s spurred the rapid spread of improved varieties of cereal crops, accompanied by public investments in and policy support to the agricultural sector. As a result, productivity of wheat and rice increased dramatically, stimulating economic growth and reducing rural poverty. In the following decades, and especially since 2000, the structural transformation further accelerated, leading to a declined share of the sector in both output and GDP and, to a lesser extent, in the total employment. Facilitated by a conducive institutional and policy environment, the process brought about a more diversified, market-oriented and high-value agricultural production; the expansion of food processing, agribusiness, food retailing and exports; and increased domestic and international competitiveness of agriculture – albeit with country and subregional differences. Nevertheless, poverty, deprivation and hunger remain widespread. Two thirds of the world’s poor and hungry people live in the region, mostly in rural environments. Income inequality has been rising fast in a number of countries, especially between urban and rural areas, with adverse effects on poverty reduction and increased risk of social conflict and political instability. Moreover, the countries and subregions are at different stages of the structural transformation process. In most developing economies, labour productivity in agriculture is still low and the shift of the agricultural workforce to other sectors is yet to take place. Therefore, agriculture remains a critical livelihood option and the largest employer sector for most rural people. 

Trail Blazers: Stories of Women Champions from IFAD Projects presents snapshots of the lives and achievements of simple rural women from the project areas whose immense courage and dynamic leadership helped improve their own lives as well as the lives of their families and communities. 

This study was commissioned as part of IFAD’s Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation (IMI) with the objective of learning lessons from IFAD experience in Bangladesh regarding training and capacity building, and so to improve the effectiveness of training for social development, capacity building, technology dissemination and innovation.