Stories

The world entered 2021 on a precipice. We all knew the path we had been on was unsustainable and inequitable, and that nothing less than transformative change would be needed for recovery. As we face the challenges 2022 brings, we’re looking back to the lessons we learned in 2021 to guide our next steps forward.

When Megnath Ale Magar returned to his village in Nepal after a decade working abroad, he found a degraded land. In just three years, he transformed his barren farmland into a lush ecosystem using a permaculture approach.

Five Country Directors from IFAD’s highest priority countries in its Crisis Response Initiative tell us how the war in Ukraine is impacting rural people on the ground.

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.

COVID-19 presented new challenges for poor rural farmers in Pakistan. An IFAD-supported project shared personalized advice to farmers via their mobile phones to help overcome the challenges of the pandemic.

Vietnamese rural people need to farm to eat and make a living. But if they don’t do this sustainably, it can damage the land and degrade the forests. IFAD’s new project helps them manage their forests sustainably, while earning a decent living.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the cornerstones of a vibrant rural economy. Discover ten rural businesses from every continent that are thriving with IFAD's support.