Stories

Genetic, species, ecosystem: learn about the three main types of biodiversity and explore the role each plays in making agriculture productive, nutritious and resilient.

Peace and water are inextricably intertwined. That’s why sustainable rural development can help reduce conflict in communities – and why water is often the crucial element that can make the difference.

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.

We asked four farmers’ organization leaders from around the world about current challenges, new developments and their hopes for the future at the eighth global meeting of the Famers’ Forum.

Learn how to make a delicious and sustainable Malawian meal with these recipes collected from rural communities by Chef Sophie Grigson.

Wetlands are closely linked with our wellbeing – they protect against erosion, improve water quality, and host a vast range of species. Let’s visit some of these precious ecosystems and meet the rural people protecting them.

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.

Rural communities need energy to develop, but in a rapidly heating world, a green transition is crucial. Renewable sources, like solar power and biogas, are allowing them to prosper without relying on polluting fossil and wood fuels.

Climate change is making extreme weather events more intense and frequent.  With IFAD’s support, small-scale farmers are getting the advanced warning they need to limit damage to their livelihoods – and recover faster.

Rural people in Kiribati are leading the way in sustainable farming, making nutritious foods available and creating a foundation for better health in the years to come.

Integrated farming provides ecosystem benefits and builds climate resilience. Find out how this system is strengthening Cambodia’s small-scale farmers and their communities.

For rural people, the climate nightmare is a reality. They urgently need support to adapt to a changing world. To do this, IFAD is issuing three calls to action – find out what they are.

In a world of climate catastrophes, rising food prices and global instability, find out how persons with disabilities are taking their rightful place in the effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

COP is an annual meeting where decision makers discuss how best to tackle climate change. But how did the summit come to be and what difference does it make for rural people? Find out here.

Climate change is having a huge impact on Indigenous Peoples all over the world. We sat down with three indigenous youth to talk about how erratic weather patterns are affecting their communities and how they are drawing on tradition and technology to cope with it.

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.

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.

Small-scale farmers need financial support to face the climate crisis. For the last 20 years, IFAD and the Global Environment Facility have been supporting rural communities as they build food systems that nourish us all.

Drought is the number one cause of agricultural production loss. This is why IFAD supports small-scale farmers as they grow crops that are resilient, but often neglected.

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

Small-scale farmers in developing countries produce one third of the world’s food. But today they are only one flood, one drought or one failed harvest away from ruin. To stem the impact of climate change on food security and to reduce poverty, IFAD is calling for more investment in rural communities - now.

IFAD's new film, ‘A New Day’, tells the story of Tunisia’s rural people and is a testament to their resilience as they battle to adapt to our changing weather. We speak to two IFAD-supported project participants about their daily struggles, as well as their hopes and dreams for the future.

IFAD’s latest film, ‘A New Day’, was shot in Tunisia amid soaring temperatures. Get a behind the scenes look of how we made the film, the people we met and the challenges of shooting in an area dramatically affected by climate change.

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

The world is full of misconceptions about rural people and the environment. Find out what’s true and what’s not, as we debunk three major myths.  

Biodiversity is especially important for small-scale farmers. Here’s how IFAD is further integrating it into projects all over the world.

On World Bee Day, meet the pollinators buzzing to protect our planet and the rural people taking care of them.

Climate change poses a myriad of challenges for Argentina’s rural herders. But one woman has no intention of backing down and tells us how she plans to forge a new way forward.

Journalists can play an important role in telling the stories of Indigenous Peoples. Here are five ways in which the media can report on these important communities in a meaningful way.

Shepherds in Türkiye rely on the Taurus Mountains for their livelihoods - but living and working in these highlands is no mean feat. Here’s how IFAD-funded caravans have provided them with more comfortable, hygienic and safe living conditions. 

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

The IPCC’s latest Synthesis Report is a reminder that the power is in our hands to prevent the very worst outcomes of climate change—if we take decisive and ambitious action now.

Climate change and a growing population are exacerbating water scarcity. As the water cycle is disrupted, farmers are coming up with inventive ways to harvest, store and use water. IFAD is helping them with simple but effective and climate-smart water infrastructure.

For over a month, Cyclone Freddy has been battering south-east Africa. This may be the longest-lasting tropical cyclone ever recorded—and vulnerable rural communities are in the eye of the storm. We explain what this means for IFAD’s project participants in the region.

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

The Nile Delta is the breadbasket of Egypt, but climate change threatens agriculture here. IFAD is working to protect the land and improve the quality of previously infertile land. Sabrina Dhowre Elba, IFAD colleagues, and project coordinators and participants describe how this is changing people’s lives.

18 million persons with disabilities are expected to be displaced by climatic events by 2050, we must urgently include them in climate action—both as participants and decision makers.

As the countdown clock to 2050 ticks ever louder, IFAD was at COP27 to share what we know about responding to climate change. Here are five solutions to help the world get back on track towards a more sustainable future.

In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a group of indigenous women are fighting climate change through reforestation and ancestral farming techniques.

Climate finance is complicated, and we get a lot of questions about everything it entails. We’ve put together some answers to the ones we receive most often.

Climate finance is essential to prevent the worst-case climate scenarios from happening and to protect the most vulnerable people from a climate breakdown.

When it comes to climate change, small-scale farmers are among the world’s most vulnerable communities. This is why IFAD focuses on climate resilient agriculture and climate finance through programmes like ASAP+.

Climate change and environmental degradation are posing an unprecedented threat to the world. Find out how small-scale fishers are weathering the storm – and becoming part of the solution.

Discover how IFAD uses Geographic Information Systems to better understand where and how climate change is affecting smallholder farming, and what is needed to mitigate its effects.  

In Tajikistan two neighbouring towns face different fates as one suffers the aftermath of drought and displacement and the other is saved by irrigation.

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. 

Irrigation brings water to the world's poorest rural people in the right quantities and when they need it, helping farmers adapt to climate pattern shifts.

East Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades, with millions facing food insecurity as crops fail, livestock die and water sources dry up. Read how IFAD is building resilience to climate change and what else needs to be done.