Blogs

Cambodia has made remarkable progress and achieved lower-middle-income status - but the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to strain the entire economy.

An IFAD team in Bangladesh provided a proposal to the Government for a certified safe transport and logistics system for movement of inputs and produce in rural areas.

Amidst the suffering and economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 emergency, one silver lining has emerged: an interruption to the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation stemming from human activity.

The COVID-19 pandemic will reshape all our economic choices. Nations have made a crucial choice in recent weeks, choosing human life over economic growth. 

It is easy to lose sight of the big picture when called upon to act quickly in response to the human tragedy caused by COVID-19. 

By leveraging the tools that internet marketing companies have already honed to reach consumers, governments can deliver quality agronomy advice at scale.

What started as a health crisis could turn into a food crisis unless we take measures now. Preventing a food crisis is key to maintaining the strength to fight back.

As countries prepare for the pandemic the mandate of a rural development organization may seem to some not particularly relevant to the current crisis. 

It has been three weeks since COVID-19 has drastically altered the daily lives of IFAD staff headquartered in Rome and stationed around the world.

Each of the world’s agricultural production systems had millennia to adapt to local climatic conditions, especially in terms of temperature and rainfall. 

It is becoming increasingly clear that the ways in which we produce, market and consume food need to be reconciled with environmental, economic and social sustainability. 

Vulnerability and fragility might not be perfect synonyms, but they share a very similar meaning. Both words refer to something breakable, delicate and frail – something that needs to be handled with care.

Two months have passed since the beginning of the new coronavirus outbreak in Hubei, China. It seems an appropriate time to reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on rural communities in China, and on the importance of investing in rural people in order to build long-term resilience to shocks.

The considerable gains made worldwide in poverty reduction over the last 10 years have been widely recognized. And indeed, in a year when China aspires to complete its 40-year project of lifting some 770 million people across the poverty line, it is clear that a greater proportion of the human population is wealthier today than at any other moment in history.

Agritech – the use of cutting-edge technological innovations in agriculture – is generating a lot of buzz these days. Entrepreneurs and start-ups all over the world are brimming with brilliant ideas for bringing big data, connectivity, and digital platforms into the field, and the results so far have been incredibly promising. 

Although our world continues to urbanise at an alarming rate, there’s no getting away from the fact that agrarian activities will always be necessary.

I have always loved food - how it brings people together, the smells and flavours of new cultures. I guess I associate food most with gathering, communion.

The Henley Forum has recognized IFAD with an award for Advancing Knowledge & Organizational Learning Practice during its 20^th annual conference.

 

Women in Ethiopia and the world over play a huge and growing role in farming and food production. 

Weather index insurance can protect and support smallholder farmers from climate-related disasters, providing them with means to buy food when harvests fail. 

As a chef, I believe that we have a responsibility and we should take concrete actions to tackle climate change. 

What are the global transformations required for our food systems to become sustainable in the face of climate change?

In addition to climate change, the Pacific Island communities are succumbing to modern diseases caused by a change of diet and lifestyle.

IFAD has adapted its development strategies for Viet Nam from focusing on boosting agricultural production to commercialisation and sustainability of smallholders. 

The fisheries sector is crucial for enhancing healthy diets, as fish are a valuable source of nutrients and micronutrients.

Women constitute the majority of remittance recipients globally and remittances have an impact on both women’s actual income as well as on social norms.

Next year China is hoping to announce that they have eradicated extreme poverty - but what are the challenges that China would need to deal with after 2020?

We are just over 10 years out from the deadline to the meet the SDGs, but the goals will require a step change in the quantity and quality of financing made available. 

In recent years, the concerns and worldviews of young adults have been increasingly occupying center stage in global debates. And they should.

Today, on the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, I wanted to step back and reflect on progress.