Policy engagement

Why policy matters

Poverty and hunger are human-made. The root causes of food insecurity and malnutrition are poverty and inequity as much as they are food shortages. 

We can assist rural people to improve their agricultural productivity, strengthen their resilience to shocks, market their products more effectively and increase their incomes, both on- and off-farm. But if policies don’t favour a model of rural development that is inclusive and sustainable, then all our efforts, and those of those rural people themselves, will be short-lived. 

Nearly 40 years of experience around the globe has given IFAD a thorough understanding of the policies that enable successful rural transformation.

Informing national policies

Our policy engagement agenda focuses on the measures national and local governments need to take to enable rural transformation. We work with governments and other local partners to identify the obstacles to rural development and design targeted country-specific solutions. We also help governments to implement existing policies, and to monitor and evaluate their impacts. 

From land reform to agricultural production services, from rural finance to farmer organization, we help develop frameworks that empower smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs to thrive, and to feed growing urban populations.

Our aim is not merely to ensure that rural transformation as an integral part of economic modernization, but also to ensure it is inclusive – benefiting even the poorest and most marginal groups in the rural population, sustainable and proofed against climate change, even in fragile situations. 

Learn more about how IFAD supports policy engagement at the country level.

Sharing our evidence globally

To understand, develop and extend best practice, we engage with partners in global processes, platforms and events to promote the adoption of pro-poor, pro-rural policies.

We’re active at all levels, from research to propagation, working with the United Nations, G7 and G20, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and The Committee on Food Security, among others.

By sharing the evidence and expertise acquired by our development and lending programmes with governments and agencies we can scale up our impact. 

Our input helps governments and other organizations understand the needs of rural people and implement policies that will help end hunger and contribute to rural prosperity and human development.

Learn more about how we engage in policy at the global level.