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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.

IFAD launched the Innovatech project today, which aims to develop agricultural (AgriTech) and financial (FinTech) digital solutions to facilitate small famers’ access to markets and to financial and non-financial services in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Mexico.

A US$ 1.07 million grant agreement between IFAD and the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia will finance the Resilience Livelihood Action to COVID-19 project (RLAC-19)—a move to strengthen the ability of poor rural people to cope with the effects of the COVID pandemic and threats to their livelihoods.

This year’s COVID-19 lockdowns cut off Djibouti’s fishing community from their markets. But with no way to store fish in the searing heat, many fishers were forced to throw their catch away. Now, thanks to some solar-powered fridges, they’re back on their feet and trading with new customers.

Brazil’s São Francisco river is a place of convergences. The river delta, and the stunning tropical forest surrounding it, is home to many different ethnic groups who settled there in search of a fresh start. Plans for a new ecotourism route that would allow visitors to experience the area’s rich culture and traditions were well under way – and then the pandemic struck. Nevertheless, one IFAD-funded project managed to support the region’s artisans and fishers.

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.

IFAD has contributed a US$544,795 grant to alleviate the pressure of the COVID pandemic on the Syrian rural community.

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.