Knowledge

This policy note takes stock of government responses to the impacts of the war in Ukraine on food, fertilizer and food.

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

This report is a guide to shape investments by IFAD and other international donors in climate change mitigation actions in the East and Southern Africa region.

This report examines the universe of agritech and fintech providers that influence access to finance in East and Southern Africa, exploring their potential to become commercially viable and achieve scale.

This note identifies SAI practices implemented in 17 East and Southern Africa countries and recommends best approaches to promoting SAI in ESA and beyond.

IFAD’s strategy in Mozambique is to contribute to rural transformation by strengthening nutrition and agriculture linkages and focusing more on value chains and food systems.

The STARLIT (Strengthening Agricultural Resilience through Learning and Innovation) project is an IFAD-China SSTC Facility funded initiative which aims to strengthen the resilience of farmers in the maize value chain in Kenya and Rwanda.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, E-SLIP and RPSF helped poor people to be more resilient by providing livestock packages and access to market platforms, livestock insurance, water, and other resources. This booklet showcases the stories of these farmers.

This report reviews and documents lessons learned from livestock farmer field schools in four IFAD-funded projects that applied this approach in Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania (Zanzibar).

This flyer was produced in the framework of the African Postal Financial Services Initiative (APFSI) to highlight the improved partnerships between the Post and Money Transfer Operators to provide remittance services in rural areas.

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

Farm Radio International’s On Air Dialogues gathered the perspectives and experiences of rural people in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso as they contend with climate change. People responded to poll questions and left voice messages sharing their opinions on and experiences of climate change and what global leaders should do to help them adapt and prosper.

Since 1979, IFAD has invested US$455.09 million in 20 programmes and projects in Kenya (at a total cost of US$980.31 million), in support of the Government’s efforts to reduce rural poverty.

Since 1979, IFAD has funded 17 rural development projects in Madagascar for a total of US$434.285 million. Four projects are currently ongoing.

Partnerships between producer organizations (POs) and enterprises are promoted as a model for structuring value chains to integrate small producers more equitably and sustainably.

With funding from ASAP2, eight Climate Risk Analysis reports were produced by the University of Cape Town, covering Angola, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Sorghum, finger millet and pearl millet are the most important staple foods for most households in the semi-arid tropics of East Africa, as these crops grow in harsh environments where other crops do not grow well. 

 In this paper, particular attention is given to the identification and promotion of productivity and resilience enhancing agricultural practices. 

Population growth, rapid urbanization, and a young population are major trends shaping the future of African agriculture.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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

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

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. 

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 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.

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. 

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

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

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. 

This study estimates the impact of agricultural research, specifically improved maize seeds varieties, on agricultural productivity and welfare in Uganda using a three-wave panel survey. 

The Support to Farmers’ Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP): Main phase (2013 - 2018) is a continental programme which strengthens the institutional capacities, policy engagement and engagement of value chains of African farmers’ organizations (FOs). The programme supports the 5 regional networks of African FOs (EAFF, PROPAC, ROPPA, SACAU and UMNAGRI), their members at national level, and the pan-African FO (PAFO).

The African Postal Financial Services Initiative (APFSI) was a unique broad-based partnership led by IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR), and bringing together the World Bank, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and was cofinanced by the European Union (EU). The joint goal of this regional programme was to enhance competition in the African remittance marketplace through supporting and enabling African post offices in offering financial services. More specifically, it aimed at promoting a cheaper, faster, more convenient and more client-friendly transfer of remittances, particularly to rural areas, while fostering dialogue among stakeholders, regulators and policymakers. 

This paper aims to explore the influence of nutrition-sensitive interventions on dietary profiles of the beneficiaries of IFAD-funded projects.

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 East and Southern Africa region (ESA).

This paper challenges the traditional view that portrays income maximization as the main driver of migration and tests whether relative deprivation and social inequality lead to migration in sub-Saharan Africa. Examining data from the Living Standards Measurements Study – Integrated Surveys in Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda, the paper finds that a household’s migration decision is based not only on its well-being status, but also on the position of the household relative to the wealth distribution in the local community. Results indicate that relative deprivation of wealth was positively associated with migration, implying a need to renew the discussion of relative deprivation and social inequality as a cause of migration in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme (SDCP) aimed to foster market-driven development of the informal dairy sector in Kenya. 

In Madagascar, the Project to Support Development in the Menabe and Melaky Regions (AD2M) aimed to improve the livelihoods of poor farmers by strengthening their tenure security and access to well-functioning irrigation systems.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

Approaches and experiences in five countries from East and Southern Africa.

The programme’s goals were to increase the food security of smallholder farm households in southern Africa and enhance their livelihoods while conserving and improving the natural resources used for agriculture.

The focus of the programme was on developing productive farming systems for smallholder farmers who managed maize-based systems, based on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA): increasing the profitability, sustainability and labour efficiency of agricultural production.

This Household Mentoring handbook is a tool to assist household mentors to mentor selected poorer households.

​IFAD Investments have opportunities for improving food security and nutrition outcomes. In 2016 ESA conducted a mapping exercise on nutrition sensitive interventions to provide insight for an effective nutrition mainstreaming and operations at project level.

The purpose of this study is to map nutrition-sensitive interventions in IFAD-funded projects in the ESA region, and to provide guidance for effective nutrition mainstreaming operations. 

The specific objectives are to: 

(1) map the various interventions used in delivering nutrition-sensitive activities; 

(2) identify pathways for nutrition outcomes; 

(3) evaluate the scale and scope of intervention implementation; 

(4) assess the effect of the project on beneficiaries; 

(5) identify and map areas of opportunities for scaling up; 

and (6) identify challenges, weaknesses and gaps. 

Declining soil fertility, escalating costs of farm inputs and lack of capacity are persistent problems that farmers in eastern Africa continue to grapple with. Such factors have resulted in high levels of poverty and food insecurity due to poor performance of the agriculture sector. Climate change adds a big blow to the already bad scenario with serious ramifications on the smallholder-farming subsector. The region is predicted to experience warmer temperatures and decreased rainfall from June to August by 2050. This being an important season for food production in countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia, adaptation measures are necessary for sustainable food production. Evergreen Agriculture refers to the practice of incorporating selected trees and/or shrub species into annual cropping fields. It can be practiced under conventional farming practices but ideally seeks to combine agroforestry with the principles of conservation farming. Evergreen agriculture practices are now part of the solution to tackle climate change and the adoption is on a rising trend in several countries in the region. Conservation Agriculture, including agroforestry, specialty crops, and permanent cropping systems, promotes food sufficiency, poverty reduction, and value added production through improved crop and animal production and production in relation to market opportunities. 

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

This brochure describes the operations of the African Postal Financial Services Initiative, highlighting the unique position of postal networks for extending access to cashless payments and securing affordable financial services in rural areas.

This paper looks at the role of agriculture in fostering inclusive and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It discusses how improving agricultural productivity, smallholder access to markets and expanding agribusiness opportunities can accelerate transformation, investment and industrialization. The paper presents key investment and policy elements to be considered and points to the centrality of smallholders for the rural transformation process to be inclusive.

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. 

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.

​This survey was commissioned by the Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and undertaken by Taylor Nelson Sofres, TNS-RMS, in the context of the African Postal Financial Services Initiative (APFSI). 

This report proceeds from the First African Conference on Remittances and Postal Networks held in Cape Town, South Africa 2015.

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa, accounting for about 30 per cent of GDP south of the Sahara, as well as a significant proportion of export value. Not surprisingly, in most African countries, 60 per cent or more of employees work in agriculture.
Yet this barely scrapes the surface of Africa’s promise. Only 6 per cent of cultivated land is irrigated in Africa, compared with 37 per cent in Asia, for example. Africa also has the largest share of uncultivated land with rain-fed crop potential in the world. In addition, African farmers use substantially less fertilizer per hectare than counterparts in East Asia and the Pacific.

Cooperatives play a significant role in the economies of the five countries of EAC. There are more than 30,000 registered cooperatives in the region and the movement employs – directly or indirectly – more than 15 million people. About half of these cooperatives are related to agriculture. Savings and credit cooperatives are also becoming increasingly popular in the region.

Africa Regional Workshop in preparation for the Second Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD.

The Twa “Pygmy” of the Republic of Burundi are a small minority of around 80,000 people that self-identify as indigenous and are considered as such by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN system. 

South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) has become an integral part of IFAD’s support to ESA programmes. The transfer of effective approaches and technologies enables countries of the South to join forces in meeting their aims of reducing rural poverty and ensuring food security. By using experts from other countries in project design, for instance, or setting up learning and sharing opportunities in the region, IFAD has helped foster such exchanges. 

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.

The United Republic of Tanzania (URT) has a multi-ethnic population with more than 125 different ethnic communities. Four of these—the Hadzabe, the Akie, the Maasai and the Barabaig—identify themselves as indigenous peoples. 

The Republic of Kenya has a multi-ethnic population, among which more than 25 communities identify as indigenous.

Climate variability and change are expected to compromise agricultural production and food security severely in many African countries. 

There is a growing need to investigate different crop production systems that prevent soil degradation while increasing productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA) offers a promising solution. Conservation agriculture is a climate resilient technology and management system that has demonstrable potential to secure sustained productivity and livelihood improvements for millions of climate-dependent farmers working in semi-arid areas around the world. Success stories are recorded for some countries in Asia, and in Australia and Brazil. However, for sub-Saharan Africa adoption of the technology has lagged behind these other countries, and concerns have been raised as to the suitability of the technology within the smallholder farming context.

IFAD commissioned this Rwanda case study, through an IMI initiative, to document the diversity of approaches of training and skills development, particularly to assess relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, outcomes and challenges with respect to the following key components:
(i) Targeting and transition to employment or business creation; (ii) Types of training and providers; (iii) Transfer of knowledge and sustainability. The objective of this study is to present the experience of IFAD in technical vocational and skills development in the context of Rwanda and by doing so, highlight the innovative features and lessons learnt for further replication.

IFAD’s efforts to promote the innovations launched by its programmes are illustrated here with an analysis of activities to strengthen non-agricultural rural apprenticeships under the Support Programme for Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies (PROSPERER) and the future Vocational Training and Agricultural Productivity Improvement Programme (FORMAPROD)1 in Madagascar.

A severe food crisis currently threatens southern Sudan. In East Africa, where millions of people already are dependent on food aid, a sharp rise in the cost of staple crops looms. These are just the latest sources of concern in a turbulent period that began two years ago when food shortages hit many countries in Africa and Asia due to a worldwide spike in prices. Higher food prices meant that poor people, already struggling to meet basic human needs, were pushed deeper into poverty. On its heels came the global financial crisis, which also hit the poorest the hardest. Agriculture is the main employer, job creator and export in most developing countries. Historically, agriculture has driven economic performance in many countries, generating growth that has been shown to be at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Investment in agricultural and rural development is therefore vital to food security and sustainable economic development.