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Investing in women's digital empowerment can foster prosperity not just for them, but for entire communities. These three remarkable rural women revitalizing their villages in rural China are living proof of this.

“Equal opportunities and rights for rural women are essential for building more prosperous and inclusive societies capable of tackling global challenges such as climate change and food insecurity. Without gender equity, there will be no sustainable development,” declared IFAD.  

On this episode, Indigenous leaders from Nepal, Mexico and Kenya weigh in on what it means to protect the planet while preserving their cultures, and fighting for the right to land, nutrition and education.

To mark International Women's Day, we explore how gender inequality and gender-based violence can be overcome to build inclusive, sustainable food systems. From El Salvador to Malawi, hear about how rural women are driving climate adaptation and transforming agriculture – and the world – for the better.

Investing in women is the surest way to prosperity – and a world without hunger. That’s why IFAD invests in women. They’re the smartest investment in a sustainable future.

Investing in gender equality and women’s empowerment is not only more urgent than ever but also an incredibly smart investment to generate economic growth, food security, income opportunities and better lives, particularly in rural areas where most of the world’s poorest live. That will be the message tomorrow on International Women’s Day from leaders at the Rome-based United Nations agriculture and food agencies event - Invest in Women: accelerate progress.

Visit the five inspiring winners of this year’s Gender Awards and find out how they’re addressing the harmful practices, social norms and economic disparities that keep women from achieving their potential.

Growing food is a challenge in the harsh desert landscape of northwestern China. But thanks to new greenhouses built by a local cooperative, this village is bursting with fruits, vegetables and mushrooms.

For countless people in IFAD-supported projects, 2023 was a year in which their lives changed. Here are some of the stories we told over the past 12 months.  

In the face of escalating climate change impacts on vulnerable rural populations globally, Alvaro Lario, the President of IFAD, emphasized today that promoting gender equality in rural communities is essential to climate change adaptation, with women acting as powerful catalysts of change.

Rural women are at the heart of agriculture – yet they’ve less resources, time and decision-making power than men. So how does IFAD combat gender inequality in rural communities?

West and Central Africa is as intricate as it is vast. We sat down with Regional Director, Bernard Mwinyel Hien, to better understand the region’s strengths and challenges.

On International Rural Women's Day, we recognise the tremendous strength of rural women and girls across the globe. These women and girls, the backbone of our rural communities, are not just farmers, entrepreneurs, and caregivers; they are the very heartbeat of the land they nurture and the families they sustain.

In celebration of Rural Women's Day on 15 October, IFAD has collaborated with the Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir (SGC) to launch the #Sing4RuralWomen social media challenge. Through a new song composed by IFAD’s Carlo Ladd, and interpreted by SGC, this initiative aims to celebrate the pivotal role played by rural women worldwide and raise awareness through music and dance on social media.

Women are the driving force behind rural communities, yet they have less resources, time and decision-making power than men. Join us and Soweto Gospel Choir and sing for rural women so more people can hear why they matter.

When rural women access finance, the entire world flourishes. Find out how financially empowered women are leading the fight against climate change, achieving sustainable development and ensuring food security for their communities and the planet.

All over the world rural women face numerous challenges that men do not. Find out how an IFAD-funded project in Türkiye is providing them with the tools to lift themselves out of poverty and thrive.

Meet IFAD’s new Vice-President. Gerardine Mukeshimana discusses the importance of investing in rural communities, climate change adaptation and giving women access to resources.

Poverty is both a symptom and a driver of conflict. That’s why IFAD supports the poorest and most marginalized people as they contribute to a more peaceful world where everyone can access dignified work that fosters shared economic prosperity.

As countries meet to evaluate how much progress has been made towards the Sustainable Development Goals, find out more about these 17 objectives and why they’re important for the rural communities we work with.

Meet the rural women who are tending to livestock while earning a living and empowering themselves.

IFAD applies the latest tools and technologies to support small-scale farmers. Here are six examples of innovations proven to work for rural communities all over the world.

Hayet has a university degree but, like one third of young rural women in Tunisia, she could not find a job and had no means of earning an income.

Meet the woman who fought for her right to land ownership and contributed to halting drought and desertification.

Remittances are a lifeline for rural communities all over the world, here’s why we should continue to invest in digital transfers.

In an age of multiple intersecting crises, only a holistic approach to both humanitarian and development assistance can disrupt the cycle.

To transform rural lives we must build a strong understanding of the countries we operate in. Find out how IFAD is doing just that in South Sudan.

Find out what happens behind the scenes of an IFAD project as we answer our followers’ top questions.

After 40 years working with rural people, here are some of the things we have learned to make our work under IFAD13 a success.

Meet the women using digital tools to build successful businesses and stronger communities.

Inclusive access to digital technologies and education is crucial to reducing gender inequalities and empowering rural women and girls – that was the message from three United Nations’ food and agriculture agencies as they marked International Women’s Day 2023.

Many rural women are excluded from digital services. What is causing the digital divide and what can we do to end it?

In Pakistan and Bangladesh women are harnessing technology to connect to the world and build a business, one click at a time.

Le FIDA et le Conseil national de concertation et de coopération des ruraux (CNCR) du Sénégal, viennent de signer un Accord de don pour améliorer les revenus des femmes et des jeunes entrepreneurs avicoles villageois ayant subi les conséquences des mesures restrictives prises pour faire face à la pandémie de Covid19.

In Ethiopia, community driven development puts small-scale farmers in charge of identifying what they need to prosper and how development funding should be used.

In rural Tunisia women are breaking free of gender norms and building successful businesses to provide for their families.

As we near the end of 2022, IFAD looks back on some of the themes that defined a year of dramatic change.

In rural Rwanda, solar-powered irrigation gives women farmers a sustainable alternative to time-consuming and expensive manual and diesel-powered systems.

Violence against women is one of the greatest barriers to sustainable development. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let's reaffirm commitments to eliminate and prevent gender-based violence.  

Small-scale farmers hold the key to feeding the world, its important for them to trust and invest in different types of irrigation systems.

Even when a world without poverty seems out of reach, here’s how IFAD continues to work in developing countries, amplifying the voices of rural people and integrating them into value chains, so they can earn and save, while feeding the world and conserving the natural environment.

There is no solution to climate change without rural women. It’s time to invest in them. It’s time to let them lead the way.

As the world faces a myriad of crises, experts fear that the progress rural women and girls have worked so hard for may be reversed. Here is how IFAD is working to prevent this.

Climate change, commercial agribusiness, and societal norms threaten small-scale farmers’ way of life in a small village in Sudan. A women’s savings and credit group is changing this.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s drylands – that is, the areas where more water is lost through evaporation than gained through rainfall – are facing widespread degradation. There are many factors causing this, but one of the most prominent is the use of agricultural practices that aren’t adapted to the land, such as overgrazing and intensive agriculture.

When Fatima-Zohra first arrived in her new home, a rural village in the Moroccan highlands, she discovered the local women didn’t have many job opportunities. But they were enthusiastic about the idea of going into business for themselves – and so Fatima-Zohra got to work.

The Vice President of IFAD, Dominik Ziller, will meet with Edouard Ngirente, Prime Minister of the Republic of Rwanda, as well as other high-level government officials during a visit starting 9 May.

This episode is all about closing the social justice gap in rural communities and developing countries.

Sustainable development can only be achieved with the contributions of rural women, yet they face many challenges. Let’s meet three women who have transformed their lives with the help of the JP RWEE initiative.

Four United Nations agencies today announced the forthcoming launch of a new phase of a joint programme that aims to secure rural women’s livelihoods, rights and resilience to advance sustainable development.

IFAD and UN Women were each working in rural China, helping women access new opportunities and gain an equal say in their communities. Then the two agencies decided to collaborate, opening up new ways to fulfil their respective mandates – rural development on one hand, and women’s empowerment on the other.

COVID-19 lockdowns meant Juana could no longer go to her job in rural Guatemala. But thanks to a loan from her local rural savings bank and IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility, Juana started her own business at home.

Thanks to driving lessons provided by the Haor Infrastructure and Livelihood Improvement Project - Climate Adapation and Livelihood Protection (HILIP/CALIP), a group of young rural women in Northern Bangladesh now have careers as drivers—a typically male-dominated profession.

As climate extremes become more frequent and intense, women and girls - who are at a higher risk than men and boys of experiencing the devastating effects of the climate crisis - including food insecurity, need to be front and centre when planning and implementing climate change adaptation solutions, said three United Nations' food agencies at their joint International Women's Day event today.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, IFAD and the Government of Maharashtra in India agreed to invest an additional US $12 million, to socially and economically empower 1 million rural women in the state through the Nav Tejaswini project.

Marta had never left her community before and was nervous to travel. Many told Carmelina not to go, saying India was too far and six months was too long to be away. But despite their concerns, the two women embarked on their journey, determined to bring electricity to their communities.

This International Women’s Day, we sat down with Steven Jonckheere, IFAD’s Senior Technical Specialist on Gender and Social Inclusion, for a conversation on why women’s land rights matter – and what IFAD is doing about it.

Rural women already know what needs to be done to help their households and communities adapt to climate change and build resilience. Here are four ways to empower them for a climate-safe future.

Despite being largely responsible for the food on our farms and on our tables, women don’t have access to the same resources as men. Without access to land, finance, training, inputs and equipment, women can’t produce effectively, achieve financial stability or food security, or grow their businesses.

Last year, the World Economic Forum revised its estimates for closing the gender gap. Shockingly, rather than reaching equality sooner, the gap has increased a generation. At IFAD, we work to achieve a more equitable rural world, one where women’s participation in decision-making is no longer an exception.

Women and girls all over the world are more strongly affected by climate change. For International Women’s Day, we’re taking a look at why that is and how women and girls can lead the way in adapting to the new environment.

Every year, we recognize a project from each of our regions that empowers rural women and girls. Here, we present the winners of the 2021 Gender Awards.

This month, in anticipation of International Women’s Day 2022, our focus is on gender equality.

Many persons with disabilities face barriers to accessing education, training and employment – and for women with disabilities, those barriers are even higher. Fortunately, there are a growing number of programmes designed to help rural-dwellers with disabilities find decent jobs and fully participate in their local societies.

In north-eastern Montenegro, an IFAD-funded project is helping women start their own businesses and gain greater representation in their communities. Recently, many of these women gathered to share their successes and teach and learn from each other.

Our vision of inclusive, sustainable, green, and resilient rural economies can’t be accomplished without the inclusion of persons with disabilities. We are committed to finding ways for persons with disabilities to participate fully in society and realize their potential as contributors to vibrant rural economies.

"Before, these women were just waiting at home. Now, we are more educated. We are empowered to be more independent," says Ruperta Gagarin, a businesswoman from the Philippines.

The Delta of Saloum’s mangrove forest is rich in beauty and biodiversity, but it has suffered from years of deforestation, disrupting the area’s ecosystem and threatening the livelihoods of the area’s farmers and fishers. Recently, a collaborative project has begun to tackle both problems by funding a restoration of the mangrove and supporting local farmers’ associations.

One after another, women who received support from the NICAVIDA project, repeat like a mantra: “I’m a protagonist”.

From the fields they sow to the harvest they reap and the cattle they raise – women are the backbone of farming in South Asia. Yet, their contributions often remain invisible, and they are denied access to resources and a voice in decisions.

We need a significant boost in investments to close the gender gap otherwise rural communities will never bounce back from the impacts of climate change, warned Gilbert F. Houngbo, the President of IFAD, on the International Day of Rural Women.

Women are major contributors to the rural communities where IFAD works but they continue to face barriers that inhibit their – and their families’ – livelihoods. Compared with men, women have less access to resources and services – including land, finance, training, inputs and equipment. In addition to their agricultural work, they are overburdened with domestic chores and caring tasks.

Thousands of Bolivian families, particularly in the Altiplano, the high-plateau region of the Andes where Chaquilla is located, depend on breeding camelids for their livelihoods.

On the International Day of Rural Women (IDRW), 15 October, we celebrate rural women and girls worldwide and recognize the crucial role they play in contributing to sustainable food systems and rural development.

Ten years ago, in Paraguay’s Capiíbary district, a group of women came together to form an association of market-sellers. Today, with the support of an IFAD-financed project, they’re thriving – and their association is now integral to local food systems.

Obidova is busy these days. Whether she’s setting up a new shelter for her birds or going to the markets to sell, her days are filled with taking care of her family and her poultry business. But just a year ago, things looked very different.

Roots are the essence of farming: they erect healthy plants and help grant a predictable and generous harvest. The IFAD-supported ROOTS project seeks to promote exactly that strength in The Gambia.

Over a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s still a lot to learn about how the labour market in developing countries is reshaping itself – especially in terms of gender dynamics. Our latest study tracks employment trends in Nigeria with both pre- and post-pandemic data.

The video presents the main results of using the Agroecological Logbook methodology in projects supported by IFAD in Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to waves of internal migration as urban workers return to rural areas. IFAD must identify solutions to the challenges this phenomenon has created, and will continue to create, for rural agricultural development. This is especially critical from a gender equity perspective.

Nasreen’s family was struggling to make ends meet. Now, thanks to an IFAD-supported project, she runs her own ecological farm that produces high-quality, chemical-free vegetables – all while it restores the local ecosystem.

IFAD believes in the tremendous innovative capacity of rural youth – and we take seriously our responsibility to support young people in their constant search for change and innovation. That’s why this year’s Rural Youth Innovation Award in Latin America and the Caribbean, a project financed by the China-IFAD SSTC Facility, focused on initiatives led by young people fighting the pandemic.

IFAD’s Annual Report provides a concise, compelling and interactive discussion of how we addressed the challenges of the last year.

What does a gender just and equitable food system practically look like? A just and equitable food system is one in which women’s roles change from being invisible to being visible.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Like other women on Santiago, the largest island of Cabo Verde, Maria Lizita Varela used to rely on sand extraction as a source of income. It was thankless, dangerous work.

Hunger and famine will persist and there will be unequal recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic unless more women in rural and urban areas hold leadership positions with increased decision-making power.

A growing number of reports are demonstrating what many development professionals already know about the impacts of COVID-19: women and girls are more vulnerable to the negative health and socio-economic effects of the crisis.

Meltem Gözel’s day begins at 07.00 each morning. Before the sun has risen, she’s already at work in her greenhouses, tending to her mushrooms.

An old Tongan proverb says that a successful village lives together, works together, and helps one another. This is especially true for handicrafts, an integral part of traditional Tongan culture.

In this episode, we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day of observance that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Benguerdane is a small town in the desert plain of El Ouara, a region in the extreme south-east of Tunisia, just a few kilometres away from the Libyan border. The climate there is forbiddingly arid, and the main source of livelihood is raising livestock like sheep and goats.

Each year, to raise public awareness of gender-based violence across the world, the United Nations recognizes 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Violence against women is far more than a violation of human rights. It undermines women’s physical and mental health, as well as their ability to be happy and productive members of their societies.

In many parts of the world, full participation in society – including the ability to earn an income – is still dependent on owning (or having the rights to) land.

For rural people, especially low-income rural people, land and livelihood are one and the same.

All across Latin America, rural women are taking charge of their communities’ food production – and their own economic and personal development.

Our food supply is at risk if we don’t start prioritizing rural women during this pandemic, said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD in a strong call to governments to increase their investments in rural women.

In times of crisis, rural women are the key that holds families and rural communities together – and in times like these, they need our support more than ever.

Life in the countryside isn’t always easy – especially for rural women, whose contributions and successes have only recently begun to receive the attention they deserve.

On 1 October 2020, the UN marks 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – a blueprint to advance women’s rights. But according to the Gender Equality report there’s still a long way to go.

160,000 poor rural households in Lesotho will benefit from new financing for a project that will boost food security and nutrition, mitigate the impact of climate change and strengthen livelihoods for greater income.

The rural uplands of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic are home to generations of proud family farmers who depend on small-scale agriculture, with many still using traditional farming techniques.

58 millones de mujeres viven en zonas rurales de América Latina y el Caribe; una parte importante de ellas juega un rol central en la producción y abastecimiento de alimentos

At first, when Nguyen Thi Bich decided to try her hand at highland chicken farming, she didn’t quite know what to expect.

Fatima Amaguar came home from university with an idea.

"Tejaswini" means “a woman who is radiant”. And the one million Indian women who are part of the Tejaswini Rural Women’s Empowerment Programme, are indeed radiant.

Resilience has become the talk of the town in the development community.

In rural Pakistan, women are important partners in agricultural development. They perform a variety of crucial tasks, including weeding and tilling land, planting seeds, collecting farmyard manure and harvesting. They are also responsible for cleaning, drying and storing grains.

In north-eastern Brazil, as in so many other places, rural women's work is often invisible. But a revolution is taking place – and IFAD is a part of it.

Without initially knowing it, last year more than 13,000 young women in Colombia began to prepare for the current economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2016, the IFAD-funded YARIP project had partnered with the Qujing Zhanyi District Women’s Federation to transform traditional embroidery art into a new source of income and employment. Qujing, located in the ethnically diverse Yunnan province, is home to the Yi, an ethnic group with a population of about 300,000.

The April morning sun beats down on Kontagora, a lively market town in central Nigeria. Generators hum as milling machines husk the brown bran from rice grains, revealing glistening white kernels. COVID-19 is on everybody’s mind. But the thriving Tudun Wada South Rice Processors women’s cooperative is open for business.

Malnutrition causes health problems and losses in economic productivity. Over the course of their lifetimes, malnourished individuals can earn 10 per cent less than those who are well-nourished.

In IFAD's Podcast Episode 5, we’re focusing on indigenous peoples and the challenges they face when it comes to agriculture.

Development approaches must address structural barriers and power imbalances for women and other marginalized groups to adapt to climate change.