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Asia and the Pacific

Overview

The Asia and the Pacific region is a rural development paradox: it is has seen some of the most dramatic economic transformations, but bears some of the most enduring challenges.

Vast and densely populated, the region remains home to two thirds of the world’s poorest people. As income inequality widens, poverty is becoming a more rural and acute phenomenon.

Social deprivation and high rates of malnutrition and stunting are reducing the physical and mental capacity of vulnerable groups across the region, at a significant human and economic cost. Across the region, 30 per cent of children under five are stunted.

Vulnerability to climate change, natural disasters and a gradual degradation of the productive resource base are growing problems. In some cases, climate change is already posing an existential threat, with a number of Pacific islands severely threatened by rising sea levels.

Inequality between urban and rural areas

Small farm businesses across the region are struggling in the face of rural-urban migration, land and water degradation, and economic, institutional and political constraints.

Much of the region lacks the basic infrastructure to ensuring integration with the global economy through efficient market linkages. Such integration is vital for strengthening intra- and interregional trade through emerging common markets such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

These are all formidable challenges which the region must overcome to continue to be a powerful engine for global prosperity and growth.

Partnering against poverty

IFAD is empowering smallholders through its loan and grant programmes, policy engagement, and pro-poor partnerships across the policy spectrum, working with local people, governments, donors and the private sector.

By the end of 2019, IFAD had invested US$2.6 billion in the region’s ongoing portfolio for 59 projects in 20 countries.

IFAD is especially active where problems are most acute. We work in Pacific island nations, such as Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu, where ongoing projects are combating the impact of climate change, and supporting community-led development processes.

In the fight against climate change and the struggle for the enhancement of rural productivity, prosperity and quality of life, collaboration is key.

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China and India are the world’s most populous nations, together accounting for some 37 per cent of the global population in 2019.

Across the Asia and Pacific region, 560 million people live on less than $1.25 a day, with about 260 million of those people living in India.

In spite of rapid urbanization, more than half of the population in the region still lives in rural areas, and most are engaged in agriculture.

Reehana Rifat Raza

Regional Director

Reehana Rifat Raza Regional Director, Asia and the Pacific Division

Spotlight

Spotlight

Communities use GIS maps to conserve forests and adapt to climate change

Making the right decisions about managing natural resources isn’t always easy. That’s especially true for watersheds, where the local ecosystem depends on the health of multiple waterways. Now, GIS technology is helping communities in rural Nepal monitor and preserve the forests fed by local watersheds.

Where we work

Projects and programmes

Projects and programmes

Bangladesh

Promoting the Resilience of the Vulnerable through Access to Infrastructure, Improved Skills and Information (PROVATI³)

Nepal

Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP)

India

Fostering Climate-resilient Upland Farming Systems (FOCUS)

Stories and news

Stories and news

Time to step up investments in rural communities on the frontline of climate change in the Pacific islands

March 2023 - NEWS
IFAD is advocating for more investments in small-scale farming communities in the Pacific.

IFAD and Kingdom of Cambodia sign agreement to promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth

February 2023 - NEWS
IFAD and the Kingdom of Cambodia signed a US $194 million financing agreement to promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in rural Cambodia through the Agriculture Services Programme for an Inclusive Rural Economy and Agricultural Trade (ASPIRE-AT) project this week. ASPIRE-AT will create an enabling environment to address the barriers faced by small-scale farmers in increasing their productivity and incomes, particularly through priority export and domestic value chains.

IFAD loan to enable small-scale farmers in Viet Nam to plan for, cope with and adapt to climate change impacts

February 2023 - NEWS
IFAD and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam last week signed a loan agreement to promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in the Mekong Delta. The Climate-smart Agricultural Value Chain Development (CSAT) project will generate sustainable income opportunities and improved rural livelihoods for 60,000 families engaged in small-scale farming.

The perfect weekend away in rural Bangladesh

September 2022 - BLOG
Discover hidden gems in rural Bangladesh with two IFAD colleagues as they visit a community-led eco-tourism project that has transformed the area.

Related publications

Related publications

Investing in rural people in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

March 2023
IFAD began operations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 1978. Our strategy is to invest in rural people, empowering them to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes.

Investing in rural people in the Pacific Islands

March 2023
IFAD supports Pacific Island countries to develop inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable food systems that are community-driven.

Photo Story: The Pacific Islands Rural and Agriculture Stimulus Facility in Fiji

March 2023
PIRAS is helping farmers get back on their feet and increase their income through crop diversification, engagement in food processing and expanded access to new markets. This brochure highlights the stories of some of the rural people supported by PIRAS.

Related videos

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