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We begin this month’s episode with an update from IFAD’s Associate Vice-President Donal Brown on IFAD’s preparations for the UN Food Systems Summit. He also gives us the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on farmers around the world.

IFAD and the People’s Republic of China are launching the Hunan Rural Revitalization Demonstration Project (H2RDP) today to increase profitability of specialized agricultural production and increase economic vitality in targeted rural areas of Hunan province – and to support vulnerable rural households to boost their livelihoods and resilience.

IFAD and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire held a workshop in Abidjan on 15 July 2021 to present the new strategic opportunities programme for Côte d’Ivoire for the period 2020–2025 to all stakeholders involved in agricultural and rural development.

For centuries, people living in Brazil’s semi-arid region have struggled with a lack of water. But over the last decades, thanks to support from IFAD and other development actors, these communities are squeezing a few more drops of water from Mother Nature.

The Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) of IFAD is pleased to announce the third round of National Calls for Proposals (Morocco) 2021: supporting remittances in times of crisis in Africa.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 reported that more than half of the world’s undernourished are found in Asia (418 million). In Pakistan, Covid-19 has exposed vulnerabilities and inadequacies making nutrition a more complex challenge now.    

With less than a decade left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the sobering current global trajectory is one in which it will take roughly 170 years to achieve gender equality. The current global pandemic has both made gender inequalities more visible and worsened them, including in food systems.

Rural businesses, which are so vital for transforming our food systems, will get a much needed boost from an ambitious new financing programme launched today by IFAD.

There was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020, the United Nations said today – much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19. While the pandemic’s impact has yet to be fully mapped, a multi-agency report estimates that around a tenth of the global population – up to 811 million people – were undernourished last year.

This call for proposals is to select a recipient or consortium of recipients to receive a three-year IFAD grant financing to implement the project: Digital Advisory Services to Support Accelerated Rural Transformation for a total amount of up to US$2 million.

Climate change and ecosystem health will dominate Sicily’s big screen this summer, with today’s announcement of three finalists in the first-ever IFAD COPEAM Film Award at the Sicily Movie Festival del cinema di Agrigento.

IFAD highlighted the value of innovative youth-led intiatives in helping the region’s rural communities overcome the effects of COVID-19 with the second edition of its Rural Youth Innovation Award.

Despite standing to suffer immensely from the decline of biodiversity, agriculture is the lead driver of biodiversity loss, primarily through conversion and fragmentation of habitat and unsustainable intensification.

IFAD will provide funding to assist 6,240 vulnerable small-scale farmers in rural Tanzania impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dorothy Chia Vandefan is nothing if not insightful. She describes herself as a serious-minded agricultural entrepreneur who can create opportunities where there seem to be none – and she’s right.

Gladys Ndagile has been a poultry farmer for many years, but it was only when she connected with a local egg processing business that she finally made a profit from her eggs.

IFAD and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and ‎Relief Centre (KSrelief) today agreed to join forces to help ensure sustainable access to nutritious food.

IFAD is to hold the Second Edition of the Rural Youth Innovation Award for Latin America and the Caribbean on Thursday, 8 July at the Bogota’s EAN University.

The number and variety of financial services accessible to the rural poor continues to grow. A recently completed stocktake of IFAD’s rural finance programmes has identified a number of successes, plus some opportunities for further innovation.

Despite the African continent holding the world’s most arable land and the agricultural sector employing over half of the population, Africa is still struggling with food production and food insecurity.

IFAD will provide the Republic of Guinea with a grant to improve the resilience of more than 2,123 poor farming households trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, by ensuring rapid access to inputs, information, markets and cash.

In the first-ever joint declaration by foreign affairs and development ministers, G20 countries today recognised the vital role Public Development Banks (PDBs) can play in filling the financing gap to sustainably tackle rural hunger and poverty, and the leadership of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in bringing them together to strengthen their long-term investments in food and agriculture.

Renewable energy technologies are an increasingly important part of small-scale agriculture. IFAD’s S-RET project is bringing these technologies to farmers throughout Cambodia – and it’s recently been selected as a GEF Global Good Practice Project.

IFAD and the Government of Maharashtra in India launched the Nav Tejaswini programme this week.

This month’s episode is all about food systems.

The blue economy opens the space for IFAD to reach more rural people in the most challenging situations, and to get them out of poverty.

It’s six o’clock in Mojkova, in Montenegro and a long working day starts for Sladan Minic. It is an early wintry morning, and Sladan starts to collect milk from the local dairy farmers driving around mountainous roads.

Thanks to an IFAD-supported grant, Ecaterina’s honey business is taking off – and now she and her fellow entrepreneurs have a bigger market reach than ever before.

The South Sudan Livelihoods Resilience Project (SSLRP) will empower rural people to boost productivity, food security and nutrition, and resilience.

Digital agriculture is an indispensable part of strengthening food systems. IFAD’s recent stocktake of our ICT interventions in the Asia-Pacific region has revealed over 50 active solutions and some critical gaps to address.

The Empower@Scale platform helps organizations to address the root causes of gender inequality by incorporating household methodologies (HHMs) into their projects, which address the embedded gender biases and discrimination against women at the household level.

Despite a massive increase in migrants sending money home via digital transfers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of their rural family members struggle to access the mobile banking services which could help lift them out of poverty. The President IFAD today called for urgent investments in digital infrastructure and mobile services in developing countries to ensure rural families are not left behind.

For over a decade, Chef Shane Chartrand has been on a personal and culinary journey: figuring out what it means to be of Cree descent and of Métis upbringing, and how to integrate that into being a professional chef living and working in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Treaty 6 territory.

El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) y el Gobierno de Sri Lanka firmaron la semana pasada un convenio de financiación para poner en marcha el Proyecto de Fomento de la Resiliencia y el Desarrollo de Agronegocios de los Pequeños Agricultores.

Too many people assume Brazil’s fundo de pasto communities are relics of the past. Today, they’re at work uniting centuries-old traditions with contemporary food systems.

Livestock-based food systems can be climate-friendly if managed well. A new assessment tool is helping governments calculate and predict their livestock emissions for use in their NDCs.

Every year, on 16 June, the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) is observed to raise further awareness on the abnegation and sacrifice of migrant workers, who support their families and communities of origin through the money they send back home, particularly in these times of crisis.

The UN has declared 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. More than ever, child labour is a pressing concern in need of urgent attention of the international community.

Malnutrition, and the toll it takes on human health and societies, is directly linked with the health of our food systems. Creating sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems will make lasting improvements in global health, nutrition and productivity.

World experts will discuss the resilience of migrant workers’ remittances and the opportunities of digitalization and the challenges ahead at the the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) – Summit 2021.

Peatlands across south-east Asia have been cleared for agricultural purposes, leading to a sharp increase in fires. To reverse course, we need to transition to sustainable, fire-free peatland management practices.

Through the use of climate-smart agriculture techniques, an IFAD-supported project is helping rural Georgian farmers holistically restore their local and regional ecosystems.

This call for proposals seeks to select a recipient, or consortium of recipients, to receive a four-year IFAD grant, for a total amount of up to US$4.8 million, to implement the project Rural youth employment opportunities: Support to integrated agribusiness hubs initiative.

On 28 May 2021, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, launched a new project to reduce poverty and increase production and incomes through aquaculture for more than 88,000 rural small-scale fish farmers.

The programme, 'Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women's Economic Empowerment’, implemented by IFAD, FAO, UN Women and WFP, together with national governments and supported by the governments of Sweden and Norway was evaluated at the end of its first phase of implementation and findings shared.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and job security for Ugandan migrant workers around the world has reduced the amount of money they are sending back home to their families. But remittances still provide crucial support for some of the world’s poorest people.

Nigel Brett, Director of IFAD’s Asia and the Pacific Division, interviews Dr Shakuntala Thilsted, Lead for Nutrition and Public Health at WorldFish.

In this month’s episode, we celebrate World Environment Day. Marie Haga, AVP for IFAD, and Jo Puri, Director of IFAD’s ECG Division, talk about how IFAD balances supporting development with protecting the environment.

In a country where artisanal bread is the rule rather than the exception, the Qena community bakery stands out among the rest – and it’s run entirely by rural women.

With nearly half of the world’s population living in the rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, tenure security is fundamental for sustainable development.

Every year after the rice harvest in South Asia, a vast area of over 15 million hectares lies idle (fallow) until the next rice planting season several months later. Scientists in countries like Bangladesh, India and Nepal think the fallow land could, and should, be used for additional crops that increase farmer incomes and food security.

IFAD has just been ranked as number one by the highly regarded and influential Quality of Official Development Assistance Report which evaluated the capacity of 49 countries and multilateral agencies to deliver impactful long-term assistance to countries in need.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on wages and employment across the world, the Kenyan diaspora community continues to send money back home to their families.

Brazil has always been rich in biodiversity. But in the country's semi-arid north-eastern region, extensive ranching, slash-and-burn agriculture, and uncontrolled demand for firewood have led to widespread environmental degradation of the Caatinga biome.

La FAO, el FIDA y el PMA realizarán tres diálogos en América Latina y el Caribe para buscar posturas comunes sobre desarrollo rural, agricultura resiliente al clima, alimentación escolar, comercio internacional, innovación y tecnología, y financiamiento al desarrollo.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union (EU) will provide EUR26.5 million worth of liquidity and debt relief to rural financial institutions to protect jobs and safeguard livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sri Lanka has been a global supplier of tea since the plant was first imported to the island about a hundred and fifty years ago. Since then, tea estates have often been passed down from generation to generation, weathering good times and bad.

The entire Ogiek belief system and livelihood relies on the forest and its resources, with honey being the most important product and a staple food for Ogiek families.

Small-scale farmers are responsible for up to 80 per cent of food production in Latin American and Caribbean countries, but they are at the frontline of the fight against climate change and social injustice.

In Ghana, the value chain model has helped build solid relationships, showing that even the poorest can be brought into commercial value chains if extra support is provided.

In the Andes of Peru, rural farmers are helping to restore the region’s degraded lands and improve water security.

IFAD will provide much needed funding to assist 23,900 vulnerable rural people (4,780 households) in the Republic of South Sudan. The IFAD grant will help reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their farming activities and safeguard their livelihoods.

A US$77.4 million project signed by IFAD and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania will bring much needed help to 260,000 rural households facing the impacts of climate change.

They say that leaders aren’t born, but made. That’s certainly true for Molly Ajok.

This call for proposals is to select a recipient or consortium of recipients to receive a three-year IFAD grant financing to implement the SUSTAIN project for a total IFAD grant of US$2 million.

"A passion for work is the fundamental ingredient of cooking."

Cooperation among the global south, i.e., South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), is an integral part of international cooperation, and complements the traditional North-South Cooperation in development assistance.

NICADAPTA works closely with producer cooperatives to help them sustainably access coffee and cocoa markets. The results are making life not only sweeter, but also better.

Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of malnutrition in the world where over 50 per cent of children under five are stunted. Many children do not get enough nutritious food, and often came to school hungry.

The Government of Haiti and IFAD today signed a financing agreement for a project that will help Haitian farmers recover from the impact of Covid-19 and increase staple food production.

A coalition of multilateral development banks and development partners has pledged over US$17 billion in financing on Friday during a high-level forum, in a bold bid to address rising hunger on the African continent and to improve food security.

The Financing Facility for Remittances of IFAD is pleased to announce the second round of National Calls for Proposals (Kenya, Uganda) 2021: supporting remittances in times of crisis in Africa.

The African Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR System Organization, today pledged to work closely with African leaders to address rising hunger on the continent and shore up adequate financing to transform and modernize Africa’s food production.

Those who have the most to lose as a consequence of climate change are poor rural people, especially smallholders who rely on agriculture for survival.

Who could have predicted that two innovative mobile applications, each the winner of a Pacific Agrihack Lab grant in late 2018, would go on to make a difference in the lives of Pacific Islanders during the pandemic?

The rights of indigenous peoples to control their land according to their own needs and decisions is fundamental to protect their livelihoods and defend the biodiversity of native animal breeds and plant varieties.

The story of agriculture in Bangladesh is also a story of the resilience of Bangladeshi women. If women have the chance to participate in decision-making, the whole community benefits.

We begin this month’s episode with the latest from IFAD’s Associate Vice-President Donal Brown on how small-scale farmers are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

As we approach the UN Food Systems Summit here are some suggested reads on transforming our food systems for people, and planet.

The African Development Bank and IFAD, in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR System Organization, will co-host a high-level dialogue: Feeding Africa: leadership to scale up successful innovations.

Urmatbek Omurbekov remembers a time when grazing his livestock was a purely offline affair. Every spring, herders like him would bring their animals to the foothills of the majestic Tian Shah Mountains to let them fatten up for the next winter.

People in rural areas, especially small-scale farmers, are among those most affected by climate change. The shifting climate has made weather patterns more unpredictable and weather-related events more extreme.

The UN Food System Summit’s Action Tracks offer a space to share and learn, with a view to fostering new actions and partnerships and amplifying existing initiatives. Each of the five Action Tracks is aligned with one of the Summit’s five objectives.

Joining forces to tackle rising hunger and the devastating impact of climate change in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, IFAD and IsDB today signed a US$500 million cooperation and cofinancing agreement.

Take some young entrepreneurs, add some modern equipment and training supported by IFAD and the Kenyan Government, spread the word using digital marketing, and you have all the ingredients for a successful banana processing factory.

Growing olive trees in Jordan, one of the driest countries in the world, isn’t easy. Every day, Fadieh and her family spend hours tilling the soil and tending to the trees, but the most demanding task is keeping the trees hydrated.

Farmers in Sierra Leone have shifted from slash-and-burn cultivation to rice cultivation in inland swamps. That is reducing the number of forest fires, a GIS study has shown.

The Kenya National Farmers’ Federation is implementing a mobile information platform to serve its members and other Kenyan farmers.

In this episode, we bring you the latest on how small-scale farmers are dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

More than 10,000 family farmers in Latin America will soon have access to digital solutions to overcome the obstacles they face in accessing markets and financing due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For some time now, it has been difficult to find well-paid work in Moldova. Most of the good jobs available are concentrated in the cities, resulting in significant migration out of the country’s rural areas.

To accelerate rural poverty alleviation, enhance rural productivity, and advance rural transformation through South-South and Triangular Cooperation, the China-IFAD SSTC Facility was established in 2018, becoming the first Facility in IFAD dedicated to SSTC.

Farmers that lack irrigation and rely on rainfed production are particularly vulnerable to drought. Fortunately, agricultural technologies, such as stress-tolerant rice varieties (STRVs), can help them adapt to climate change.

Until recently, every time Fatima Hassan Mohamed needed water to wash, cook, or drink, the mother of five had to set out on foot. The nearest water source was more than 20 kilometers away.

In many areas of rural Morocco, climate change has led to widespread erosion and desertification, causing steep declines in soil quality. This makes farmland less productive, endangering the livelihoods of the area’s small-scale farmers.

Enhancing irrigation efficiency is not a priority in policy agendas, being overshadowed by the global issue of access to drinking water and sanitation.

The United Nations and the Government of Italy announced today that the Pre-Summit gathering for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit will be in Rome, Italy from July 19 to July 21, 2021.

Many Guatemalans struggle with hunger and food insecurity, especially the nation’s children. In too many cases, lack of access to adequate food leaves children feeling weak and unable to concentrate in school, complicating both their physical and intellectual growth.

The IFAD- and GEF-supported Smallholder Market-led Project (SMLP-CSARL) recently received the Biodiversity Award at Eswatini’s 2020 Temvelo Climate Awards.

Through South-South Cooperation, IFAD is tapping into existing expertise, skills, capacities, and solutions to address the effects of COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges on rural populations.