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Toolkit: Digital financial services for smallholder households

March 2016
Recent advances in technology and telecommunications have the potential to make financial services more accessible and affordable for smallholder households in rural areas. With digital platforms such as mobile phones, smallholders can now use financial services without having to visit a bank branch. 

Research Series Issue 2 - Migration and Transformative Pathways

March 2016
This paper analyses the role of migration in promoting rural livelihoods and discusses how migration interacts with transformative economic processes. Focusing on migration out of rural areas, it examines the impacts of migration on rural livelihoods and challenges the perspective that sees rural outmigration as a failure of rural development. 

Research Series Issue 1 - Agricultural and rural development reconsidered

January 2016
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.

The Policy Advantage: Enabling smallholders’ adaptation priorities to be realized

December 2015
Policies affect every dimension of the institutional and legal context in which poor rural people pursue their livelihoods. They shape the world they live in and the economic opportunities open to them. This means that supportive policies can go a long way towards providing the conditions in which people can lift themselves out of poverty. Conversely, policies that do not create opportunities, or that exclusively reflect the interests of other economic players, can be an insuperable barrier or an unbridgeable gulf – roadblocks barring the way out of the poverty trap.

Toolkit: Integrated homestead food production

November 2015

Since its founding, IFAD has focused on enabling smallholder farmers to increase agricultural production and productivity as a means for reducing poverty.

However, experience shows that increased productivity and incomes do not automatically translate into improved nutritional status of poor rural people, especially women, young people and children. 

How to do note: Fisheries, Aquaculture and Climate Change

November 2015
Fisheries and aquaculture are important contributors to food security and livelihoods at household, local, national and global levels. However, while aquaculture production is growing rapidly throughout the world, particularly in Asia and Africa, many of the world’s fisheries are at grave risk from human pressures, including overexploitation, pollution and habitat change. Climate change is compounding these pressures, posing very serious challenges and limiting livelihood opportunities.

The Mitigation Advantage: Maximizing the co-benefits of investing in smallholder adaptation initiatives

October 2015
​The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted a critical trade-off between agricultural development and climate change mitigation.

How to do note: Climate change risk assessments in value chain projects

September 2015
​This HTDN is directed primarily at the design phase of IFAD value chain projects, though it does have some relevance for both pre-design and implementation phases.

How To Do Note: Measuring Climate Resilience

September 2015
This How To Do Note is intended as a tool for IFAD staff and partners involved in investment projects with climate resilience objectives.

How to do note: Mainstreaming portable biogas systems into IFAD-supported projects

June 2015
Access to modern renewable energy services is a key factor in eradicating poverty and ensuring food security.

Toolkit: Youth Access to Rural Finance

May 2015
With the mounting awareness of the unmet demand for youth financial services and the growing evidence that serving young people is viable, there is also a need to assess and document the implications for rural areas. This toolkit on Youth Access to Rural Finance aims to contribute to filling that gap.
The Lessons Learned and How To Do Note on this topic provide IFAD country programme managers, project design teams and implementing partners with insights and key guidance on designing and offering appropriate financial services for rural youth. The toolkit on Youth Access to Rural Finance synthesizes best practices and offers examples from around the world.  

Toolkit: Strengthening smallholder institutions and organizations

November 2014
The “Strengthening smallholder institutions and organizations toolkit” provides valuable guidance to help practitioners analyze and address issues related to smallholder institutions and organizations during the devopment of country strategies and in the design and implementation of programmes and projects.

The Smallholder Advantage: A new way to put climate finance to work

November 2014

IFAD sees smallholder farmers as more than just victims of climate change: they are a vital part of the solution to the ‘wicked’ climate change problem.

Toolkit: Lines of credit

October 2014
The LOC is a loan to a participating financial institution (PFI) for on-lending to customers who are expected to repay their loans with interest.

Toolkit: Loan guarantee funds

October 2014
This note provides an overview on Loan Guarantee Funds highlighting the main issues, challenges, opportunities and benefits.

Toolkit: Community-based financial organizations

October 2014
This note provides an overview on IFAD's support to community-based financial organizations highlighting the main issues, challenges, opportunities and benefits.

Toolkit: Key performance indicators and performance-based agreements

October 2014
This note provides an overview on key performance indicators and performance-based agreements highlighting the main issues, challenges, opportunities and benefits.

Toolkit: Household methodologies: harnessing the family's potential for change

October 2014
The toolkit on Household Methodologies (HHMs) is composed of three parts.

Toolkit: Commodity value chain development projects

October 2014

Strong links to markets for poor rural producers are essential to increasing agricultural income, generating economic growth in rural areas and reducing hunger and poverty. Every product that is sold locally, nationally or internationally is often part of an agricultural value chain (VC). From a development perspective, VCs are one of the instruments through which market forces can be harnessed to benefit poor rural women and men – not just producers, but wage earners, service providers and others.

Toolkit: Land tenure in IFAD-financed operations

October 2014
The land tenure toolkit offers valuable guidelines to help practitioners analyze and address land tenure issues during the devopment of country strategies and in the design and implementation of programmes and projects.

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