Stories

On a dusty side street in Auki, a seaside market town on the island of Malaita, Arania Enterprises is bustling.

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.

The return of spring to Santiaogou, a tiny village nestled high in China’s remote, mountainous Qinghai province, should have been idyllic.

Along Indonesia’s coastal communities, many small-scale fishers struggle to make a living. Indonesia is the world’s third largest producer of fish, but many of these communities have historically lacked access to the technology and resources they needed to preserve their catch until it reaches the markets, which are usually far from their rural coastal inlets.

We are living in difficult times. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the fallout that has ensued, nothing is quite as easy as it was – unless, of course, you can do it from the comfort of your home, armed with a smartphone and a good internet connection. 

In dozens of homes across Bouenza, the volunteers gathered around their kitchen tables, ready to taste-test a new variety of flour.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, an organization whose commitment is to bring nations together to preserve peace and security and improve lives. IFAD is symbolic of that commitment.

Sumaka Japhet is a young rice seed cultivator and agricultural entrepreneur. We had heard of his success and local fame as a millionaire – and during one of our field visits, we travelled a long and bumpy road to meet him.

The villages of Naihe and Zhaowa, nestled in the hilly Liupanshan area of China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, are surrounded by world-famous rugged beauty. 

The restrictions put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan were designed to keep the population safe and healthy, but have spelled severe losses for many rural businesses.

Ranjana Chaudhary’s story sounds like the stories of many thousands, if not millions, of young people in Nepal.

As a result of the pandemic, the equivalent of 400 million full-time jobs have already been lost worldwide, and a further 71 million to 100 million people could consequently be pushed into extreme poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to re-examine everything: their priorities, their jobs, even their roles in society.

For all the chaos they bring, crises also have a way of giving birth to unexpected opportunities. One way they do this is by urging people to develop new tools to help them resist disaster. 

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

IFAD’s Twelfth Replenishment (IFAD12) comes at a critical juncture. Hunger is on the rise across the globe, and progress against poverty has come to a standstill. 

In 2020, the world is seeing once again that when crisis strikes, it is the poorest and most vulnerable people who suffer the most. 

Although you won’t find the little village of Wowetta on any Internet map, it’s the centre of the universe for Priscilla Torres, a 37-year-old Wapishana woman. A very active and outspoken mother of three, Priscilla is a true community leader.

Until COVID-19 hit in March, the G-Star Youth Group’s banana processing factory was buzzing with activity.

Globally, between 200 and 500 million pastoralists manage rangelands that cover over a third of the Earth’s landmass.