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IFAD today announced support for a new project to increase incomes, improve food and nutrition security and build the resilience of at least 34,800 rural farmers of Sao Tome and Principe, an island country highly affected by climate change.

Agriculture is the foundation of Bhutan’s economy, employing more than 70 per cent of the population. Bhutan has made huge progress overall in recent years in improving its people’s standards of living, though poverty rates remain high in the eastern part of the country.

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.

IFAD today announced support for a new programme to increase incomes, improve food and nutrition security and build the resilience of at least 902,500 rural Mozambican farmers, in one of the African countries most affected by climate change.

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

Have you ever found yourself looking outside the window, wondering if it will be raining soon? Perhaps you never thought of asking the ants.

Innovative and forward-looking, the IFAD-funded project in Guinea-Bissau will transform rural economic networks for a sustainable agriculture of the future.

In this month’s programme we look at one of the most pressing issues facing farming today – that of youth and what’s being done to offer interesting and viable options for life on the farm for young people in developing countries.

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

With an estimated 30 million hectares throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia and the Americas, bamboo can provide a significant contribution to combatting climate change in the developing world, particularly in rural communities.

The Government of Sweden has contributed approximately US$12 million to help rural farmers adapt to a changing climate and to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, IFAD announced today.

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

In this month’s bumper edition of Farms. Food. Future. presented by Brian Thomson, we’ve been all over the UNFCCC COP25 Climate Conference in Madrid.

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

Climate change is affecting global food systems in such a way that those who already suffer from hunger and undernutrition are also the most vulnerable to the added threats from climate change.

Current food systems are at a crossroads. There is a strong need for transforming food production and consumption patterns in a sustainable way. One where farmers adapt and build resilience to the increasing challenges from climate change and where nutritious food is available for all. Agroecology provides one solution towards this transformation.

Climate-resilient and sustainable reforestation practices to support Pakistan's national development is the focus of a one-day seminar convened by IFAD and the governments of China and Pakistan in Islamabad today.

Tajikistan is a mountainous country nestled in Central Asia. Over five million people live a rural life, the majority of them depending on agriculture for their livelihoods.

An IFAD co-sponsored event at COP25 in Madrid brought together experts and celebrity chefs to examine how climate change is effecting food systems.

Agriculture is uniquely placed to tackle climate change while reducing poverty and increasing food security. The key role of the sector has been recognised by the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA).

Agriculture is responsible for much of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but family farmers are also responsible for promoting biodiversity and guaranteeing ecosystem services upon which agricultural activity depends.

Climate change is no longer a problem for the future: it is happening now. Actions to tackle climate change and address the challenges it poses are paramount on the international policy agenda, as well as among IFAD priorities and commitments.

A new €82.6 million agricultural development project financed by IFAD and the Government of Morocco will help 11,200 vulnerable households to increase their productivity and incomes in the face of climate change.

Development projects that integrate investments in rural indigenous peoples, youth and women with measures to adapt to climate change are more likely to be successful in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new report launched today by IFAD.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and ASEAN Secretariat have launched the Measurable Action for Haze-Free Sustainable Land Management in Southeast Asia (MAHFSA) Programme today to reduce transboundary haze pollution and its impacts in Southeast Asia.

Small-scale farmers in developing countries are already suffering from a changing climate they did not cause – with lower crop yields, reduced water availability, price spikes and increased food insecurity.

Martín Vizcarra, President of Peru, and Rossana Polastri, Director of the Latin America and the Caribbean Division of IFAD, to chair the closing of the Sierra y Selva Alta Project (PSSA).

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.

This is the inaugural episode of Farms. Food. Future. In this month’s programme we will be hearing from farmers on the climate front line.

Welcome to Farms. Food. Future. A podcast that’s good for you, good for the planet and good for farmers.

Half a million of Ethiopia’s most vulnerable families are set to benefit from a new US$451 million project to increase their resilience to climate shocks in the country’s poorest regions.

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

Most of the population of Bhutan depend on farming to make a living. However, as the climate crisis bites, this Himalayan nation is being hit by erratic rain, hailstorms and flash floods. This in turn is effecting farmers’ production.

A new €81.9 million project will help more than 1 million vulnerable small-scale farmers in Chad improve their incomes and food security and boost an underperforming agricultural sector hampered by recurrent droughts and rain-fed farming practices.

IFAD and Samoa have signed a financing agreement to significantly increase agricultural production and incomes for 25,000 smallholder farmer and fisher families, and to help protect against natural disasters on Samoa’s Savai’i and Upolu islands.

Sri Lanka is a small island nation in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean off India’s southeastern coast. Given that a large proportion of the population is concentrated in coastal areas, the country is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

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

With over 80 per cent of the Sudanese labour force engaged in agriculture, a new €77.7 million programme that aims to increase food security and ensure access to natural resources is a vital investment in Sudan’s future.

Mapai is one of the driest districts of Mozambique, with an arid and semi-arid tropical climate where water for consumption, cattle and agriculture is the major challenge for the people living there.

Over a decade ago, in the region of Tombali, Arama Tudarame’s husband and local chief sought land around their village suitable for growing cashew trees. Then, as now, monoculture of the kidney-shaped nut dominated the country’s agricultural sector

The President of the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert F. Houngbo, will meet with H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, during a four-day visit to the country from 6 to 9 October to discuss IFAD’s ongoing investments and to pave the way for a strengthened partnership towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Last Friday was the global climate strike day. I have found myself wondering how we have arrived to this point.

At first glance it may seem access to energy shouldn’t be high on the development agenda as almost 89 per cent of the world's population has access to electricity. However, the data mask disparities between rural and urban areas.

Climate change ranks among the most important dynamics shaping livelihoods of young people now and in the future.

The Haor region is a wetland ecosystem in north-eastern Bangladesh, which is located in a tectonic depression. During the monsoon period, the Haor gets between 3,000 and 4,000 mm of rainfall, together with the flow of monsoon river from the Meghalaya and Barak basins.

Mangroves are one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems and play an essential role to ecological balance and community livelihoods. But in many areas across West Africa, these wildlife-rich wetlands are under threat.

Smallholder farmers play a vital role in food security, nutrition and economic growth in Africa, but their livelihoods are already threatened by climate change.

More than 342,000 people in southeast Bangladesh living on coastal chars created by silt deposits will benefit from new financing for a project to reduce poverty and hunger and develop rural livelihoods. People living on chars are often hardest hit by climate change effects like sea-level rise as they often live in poorly constructed housing and on low-lying land that is vulnerable to extreme weather.

Breadfruit is one of the main staple foods of Kiribati. Breadfruit trees require a tropical climate to thrive and are therefore plentiful in the Pacific region. Breadfruit is a good source of vitamin C, thiamine and potassium for the local population.

The world is faced with a rising demand for food due to population growth, changes in dietary habits and the availability of agricultural resources. As a result farmers need to be more efficient and productive.

The President of IFAD, Gilbert F. Houngbo, will meet the Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), Thongloun Sisoulith, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, other high-ranking officials, as well as representatives of UN teams in country, to discuss investments that can improve food and nutrition security, generate employment and mitigate the effects of climate change in rural areas.

Try the Recipe at home: Ema datshi and millet momos - Bhutan

Climate change is one of the major dynamics of change affecting rural youth livelihoods. It is having significant effects on the countries in which the rural youth population is concentrated and on the sectors in which they will be looking for employment opportunities.

Gender inequality is a pervasive threat to sustainable development and has negative impacts on our collective ability to meet human rights obligations.

About 7,167 poor and food insecure rural households in Rwanda will benefit from a new US$24.7 million project that aims to improve food and nutrition security, climate resilience and raise incomes by increasing production.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) aims to facilitate the evolution of agricultural systems in the face of a rapidly changing climate. IFAD's approach to promoting CSA for smallholders focuses on three core objectives.

Massimo Giovanola, risk management specialist at IFAD, talks about IFAD's innovative and holistic approach to agricultural risk management.

Paxina Chileshe, climate change specialist at IFAD, talks about climate adaptation and smallholder farmers.

China is the world's largest greenhouse gases (GHG) emitter, yet it is also the world's leading country in energy production from renewable sources.

Datasets on crop production increasingly need to take climate change into consideration, given its potentially profound repercussions for agriculture.

In the Chencha region of southern Ethiopia, erosion continues to be a pressing concern for the Gamo people, one of the main indigenous tribes of Ethiopia. The Gamo people live in the highland area and primarily practice mixed agriculture and weaving.

Climate change has made crop production more unpredictable – if rainfall helped this harvest, an unexpected drought could destroy the next. So how can one decide to invest in millet in Chad's Kanem region or if it's too risky put money in wheat in Lesotho's Thaba-Tseka?

Farmers in Rwanda can lose around 30 per cent of their harvests before they even reach the market, due to a lack of adequate means to dry, store and transport the crops.

Ideas are the lifeblood of innovation. To accelerate rural transformation while tackling rural poverty, food insecurity, nutrition, job creation and climate change, innovative ideas are needed.

About 10,000 cocoa smallholder producers in Liberia will benefit from a new US$47.6 million project that aims to improve their food and nutrition security and raise their incomes by modernizing cocoa farming, increasing production and developing markets.

This week I had the chance to witness the impressive resilience and creativity of people working to improve agriculture in Cabo Verde.

Nearly 30,000 vulnerable households will be better equipped to deal with the fragility created by past conflict and the impacts of climate change thanks to a US$29 million project announced today that aims to improve food and nutrition security in four sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic.

Irma, a young Q’eqchi woman and farmer from Guatemala, is working to reforest over 400 hectares of land damaged by climate change, illegal logging and fires.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Egypt signed a financing agreement today to reduce poverty and enhance food and nutrition security by sustainably improving incomes and resilient livelihoods for 450,000 rural people in the Matrouh Governorate.

Approximately 40 per cent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast, and overall the world’s coastal population is increasing fast.

Over 43,700 vulnerable rural households in Senegal will benefit from a US$72.4 million programme that aims to improve food and nutrition security and incomes of smallholder crop and livestock farmers in four regions of Senegal.

An international conference in Poland will try to finalise a deal on how to tackle climate change, but delegates from almost 200 countries are yet to agree on how to implement the Paris climate accord reached three years ago.

Delegates from some 200 countries are meeting for two weeks of talks on tackling climate change in Katowice, Poland at an event hosted by the United Nations.

Traditional rainfall patterns are changing in Chad, making it increasingly difficult for the poorest populations who rely on small farming for subsistence, to successfully plant and harvest their crops.