Fichas informativas

IFAD’s strategic focus is closely aligned with Japan’s official development assistance priorities, including promoting food security and nutrition.

El FIDA y Noruega tienen el objetivo común de erradicar el hambre y la pobreza en todo el mundo.

Türkiye is IFAD’s largest recipient of financial assistance in the Europe and Central Asia sub-region. IFAD investments contribute to reducing rural poverty in the upland areas of the country.

Esta hoja informativa sobre el país describe la estrategia del FIDA para erradicar la pobreza en Vietnam, que se centra en el desarrollo de innovaciones impulsadas por el mercado que ayuden a los pobres.

The primary aim of IFAD’s work in Zambia is to increase the income and food security of poor rural people through sustainable, diversified and climate-resilient rural livelihoods.

This programme bolsters Djibouti’s climate adaptation and resilience by bridging multiple sectors, including fisheries, rural development and gender. This required considered coordination and communication among diverse stakeholders.

Luxemburgo es un asociado de largo tiempo, cuyas prioridades de desarrollo coinciden con el mandato del FIDA.

El FIDA ayuda a los países de las islas del Pacífico a desarrollar sistemas alimentarios inclusivos, productivos, resilientes y sostenibles impulsados por las comunidades.

The strong partnership between IFAD and Brazil is based on a shared commitment to reducing poverty and pursuing innovative ways to assist rural communities.

The State of Qatar played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been a key supporter of IFAD for the past 46 years.

The State of Kuwait played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been a key supporter of IFAD for the past 46 years.

The United Arab Emirates played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been a key supporter of the Fund for the past 46 years.

Saudi Arabia is a founding member of IFAD and has been a key supporter of the Fund for the past 46 years. Since IFAD’s inception, Saudi Arabia’s financial and strategic support has been critical to combating poverty and strengthening food systems in developing countries.

El Reino de Bélgica es uno de los Miembros fundadores del FIDA y un asociado clave del Fondo desde su establecimiento, que ha contribuido a definir las orientaciones estratégicas y a intensificar el apoyo que presta a las zonas rurales más vulnerables, en especial en África Subsahariana, donde el Fondo invierte más del 50 % de sus recursos. 

Esta ficha informativa resume la estrategia del FIDA para reducir la pobreza en Uganda, mejorando al mismo tiempo su seguridad alimentaria y reduciendo su vulnerabilidad. También se describen las operaciones en curso en el país.

IFAD has been engaged in South Sudan since 2011. Its long-term vision for the country is to gradually contribute to the reduction of food and nutrition insecurity and poverty among rural women and youth through inclusive and sustainable agriculture and livelihood transformation.

IFAD and Finland share a vision of a world without poverty and hunger. At a time of cascading global crises and mounting vulnerability to climate
change among the world’s poorest people, the partnership between IFAD and Finland is committed to a mutual focus on supporting resilient, inclusive and sustainable food systems that can break the cycle of crises and enable small-scale farmers to improve their livelihoods.

Italia y el FIDA comparten el compromiso de crear un mundo en el que las personas tengan acceso a alimentos asequibles, seguros, nutritivos y suficientes.

Austria y el FIDA se han comprometido a construir un futuro más sostenible, integrador y resiliente y a erradicar conjuntamente la pobreza y el hambre en todo el mundo.

Francia y el FIDA comparten la determinación de erradicar la pobreza y el hambre a través del desarrollo rural sostenible. En sus programas, ambos otorgan especial importancia a los pequeños productores y a las personas del medio rural, y reconocen el papel fundamental que desempeña la agricultura a la hora de aumentar la seguridad alimentaria, reducir la pobreza y mitigar el cambio climático. 

Altogether, IFAD has implemented 19 projects in Sri Lanka, benefiting 654,832 households at a total cost of US$654.57 million (with IFAD providing US$340.49 million in financing).

IFAD’s Executive Board approved its first loan to the United Republic of Tanzania in 1978 – the second loan ever approved by the board. 

Denmark and IFAD share a long-standing partnership to fight poverty and hunger. Agriculture and the food sector are the basis of their common approach to promoting sustainable rural transformation, which is essential to tackling environmental degradation and climate change.

Tanto Suiza como el FIDA abogan por un mundo en paz en el que nadie sufra hambre ni pobreza. Desde que se asociaron hace más de 40 años, mantienen el compromiso de colaborar para lograr un futuro más sostenible, resiliente e inclusivo.

Sharing a vision on the importance of achieving a world without hunger and poverty – and the sustainable development interventions needed to get there – the United States and IFAD have been working together since IFAD’s inception in 1977.

España es Miembro fundador del FIDA y ha contribuido con un monto total de USD 105,76 millones a los recursos ordinarios del Fondo desde su establecimiento en 1977. Además, ha proporcionado fondos suplementarios en forma de donaciones por un valor total de USD 18 millones.

IFAD and Sweden share a vision of a world without poverty and hunger and a commitment to support small-scale farmers to improve their livelihoods through the establishment of inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems.

Ireland and IFAD share a commitment to empower rural people to overcome poverty and hunger through sustainable development.

IFAD was the first international financial institution to lend to China. Since 1981, IFAD has worked with China to eliminate extreme poverty, increase
food security and nutrition, and promote agricultural and rural development.

El Canadá y el FIDA mantienen una asociación de larga data para erradicar la pobreza y el hambre. Ambos trabajan en pro de la transformación rural sostenible e inclusiva, sobre todo en beneficio de las poblaciones pobres.

IFAD’s strategy in Mozambique is to contribute to rural transformation by strengthening nutrition and agriculture linkages and focusing more on value chains and food systems.

Desde la creación del FIDA en 1977, los Países Bajos han sido un asociado y contribuyente fiable, apoyando el presupuesto básico del FIDA con un total de USD 717 millones y situándose entre los cinco principales donantes del Fondo.

To date, 12 projects have been conducted in the country, at a total cost of US$950.48 million, with IFAD financing amounting to US$309.08 million. An estimated 1,565,500 households have benefited directly.

Germany and IFAD place small-scale farmers and rural people – especially women and youth – at the heart of their development priorities for achieving a world with no hunger (Sustainable Development Goal 2). 

In Angola, IFAD loans support efforts to improve food security and rebuild the livelihoods of poor rural people through rural and agricultural development. 

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.

IFAD began operations in Malawi in 1981 and has provided US$731.96 million in financing (including partner cofinancing) for 14 programmes and projects benefiting more than 2 million households.

The Republic of Korea is one of the founding members of IFAD and currently sits on the Fund’s Executive Board. The Republic of Korea and IFAD remain committed to eradicating poverty and hunger, and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

El FIDA es un socio fundamental para el desarrollo rural de Haití. Sus sucesivas estrategias, proyectos y programas en el país —que siempre han contado con la participación activa de la población rural del país— atestiguan desde 1978 su compromiso de larga data en la lucha contra la pobreza rural en este país.

IFAD has been working in India for more than 40 years. The current country strategic opportunities programme is fully aligned with the government’s policy framework. 

IFAD’s strategy in Ethiopia focuses on providing smallholder farmers, pastoralists and agropastoralists with the critical assets they need to enhance productivity and resilience. These include natural resources, technology, finance, institutional capacity and access to markets.

Since 1981, IFAD has financed 19 rural development programmes and projects in Rwanda, for a total amount of US$358.04 million, and directly benefiting about 1,540,157 rural households.

Since 1979, IFAD has invested US$455.09 million in 20 programmes and projects in Kenya (at a total cost of US$980.31 million), in support of the Government’s efforts to reduce rural poverty.

Since 1979, IFAD has funded 17 rural development projects in Madagascar for a total of US$434.285 million. Four projects are currently ongoing.

El FIDA y Slow Food comparten la visión de apoyar mecanismos de producción y consumo a pequeña escala, diversificados y centrados en la mejora de la comercialización de los productos locales.

IFAD country programme in Egypt is the largest in the Near East and North Africa. In total, IFAD has invested in 14 agricultural development projects and programmes for a total Cost of US$ 1.1 billion, with IFAD direct financing of US$ 519.28 million benefitting around 7 million people.

IFAD has worked in Bangladesh for almost 40 years. It has supported 34 projects, costing a total of US$2,356 million, with IFAD financing of US$913 million. 

Sudan became a Member State of IFAD in 1977, with the first IFAD loan being approved in 1979.

This brochure provides an overview of our work with Spain to invest in poor rural youth, women and men and assist countries in achieving the SDGs.

En Burkina Faso, los préstamos del FIDA ayudan a gestionar mejor los recursos naturales, a crear instituciones inclusivas y sostenibles respaldadas por inversiones y políticas favorables a los pobres y a respaldar la innovación y la educación.

Over the last 40 years, IFAD and the Government of Indonesia have invested more than US$1 billion in rural people to strengthen inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth. 

IFAD partnered with the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and UN-Habitat to conceptualize and develop gender-responsive and fit-for-purpose tools and approaches to evaluate the impact of land tenure and governance interventions.

IFAD has invested in rural development in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1996.

IFAD is the only one of China’s development partners dedicated exclusively to reducing poverty and increasing food and nutrition security in rural areas.

India is a founding member of IFAD, and the IFAD–India partnership spans more than 40 years. India is not only the largest recipient of IFAD’s investments, but also a significant contributor,

Since IFAD began its operations in Pakistan in 1978, the focus has been on combating rural poverty by promoting integrated participatory rural development.

Nepal was one of the first countries to benefit from IFAD loans, beginning in 1978.

Depuis 1984, le FIDA a investi 174,65 millions d’USD dans 11 programmes et projets en Côte d’Ivoire, pour un financement total de 384,37 millions d’USD.

Since 1982, IFAD has supported 10 programmes and projects in The Gambia totalling US$93 million and directly benefiting more than 155,000 rural households. 

Au Sénégal, le FIDA suscite et accompagne les initiatives locales qui visent à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire, à augmenter les revenus des ruraux pauvres, à créer des emplois pour les jeunes et les femmes notamment et à améliorer leurs conditions de vie.

Depuis 1978, le FIDA a financé 5 projets et programmes de développement rural au Cabo Verde, pour un montant total de 49,9 millions d’USD.

Depuis 1982, le FIDA a financé 13 projets au Mali pour un coût total de 537 millions USD, dont 229 millions sous forme de prêts à conditions particulièrement favorables.

IFAD has been investing in the rural poor in Tajikistan since 2008, by strengthening local institutions and grass-roots organizations, and expanding their access to land, productive technologies and resources. 

IFAD has enjoyed a long history of a strong and successful partnership with the Government of Azerbaijan in rural poverty reduction and overall agricultural development efforts, with focused interventions in remote and sometimes difficult to reach areas of the country where extreme pockets of poverty exist.

Since 1980, IFAD has financed 13 rural development programmes and projects in Tunisia for a total cost of US$453 million, with an IFAD investment of US$194.6 million directly benefiting 125,850 rural households. 

Niger covers a landlocked 1,267,000 km² tract of the Sahel north of Nigeria. With a poverty rate of 48.9 per cent and income per capita of US$420, Niger is one of the world’s poorest nations. In 2015, it ranked last among 188 countries measured by the United Nations Human Development Index

The China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility was established in February 2018 and is the first Facility in IFAD dedicated to SSTC.

The MilkIT research for development project set out to improve dairy-centred livelihoods in India and Tanzania through intensification of smallholder
production focused on enhancement of feeds and feeding using innovation platforms and value chain approaches.

The project worked in the state of Uttarakhand in India and in Morogoro and Tanga regions in Tanzania. In both countries dairy has considerable potential to improve the livelihoods and nutrition of poor farming families but this potential has been underexploited. MilkIT focused on improving milk productivity through multistakeholder engagement to increase milk marketing and dairy cow feeding.

En Argentina, el FIDA contribuye a reducir la pobreza rural invirtiendo en pequeñas organizaciones de productores y comunidades indígenas, para aumentar sus ingresos.
La estrategia del programa para el país (2016-2021) se basa en las prioridades nacionales y tiene tres objetivos centrados en los ingresos y las oportunidades estratégicas; el capital humano y social; y el desarrollo institucional.
La estrategia enfatiza el papel central que las organizaciones de productores y comunitarias desempeñan en los procesos de transformación rural.

Las actividades clave incluyen:
• fortalecer la sostenibilidad económica de las familias y las organizaciones mediante la mejora y diversificación de las actividades productivas, construyendo la capacidad de resiliencia, incrementando su poder de negociación en las cadenas de valor,
y promoviendo buenas prácticas nutricionales;
• fortalecer la capacidad de las personas y organizaciones rurales pobres mediante el mejoramiento de su capacidad de gestión, su condición socioeconómica y su capacidad para entablar un diálogo con el sector público;
• fortalecer la capacidad de las instituciones gubernamentales para apoyar el desarrollo rural.

El FIDA tiene un mandato sin parangón y cuenta con una experiencia incomparable de trabajo en zonas remotas a las que otros no van y donde la pobreza está más arraigada.

With Fostering Agricultural Revitalization in Myanmar (FARM), the first project it has financed in Myanmar, IFAD is scaling up the best parts of regional and global projects, both its own and those of other organizations. For example, FARM has introduced a new method to complement pre-existing extension services.

This is benefiting both farmers and landless microentrepreneurs across the project area. At the heart of FARM’s innovation is the establishment of Knowledge Centres (KCs). Built on the structure and network of public extension services, the KCs are staffed by a ministry extension worker – the KC Manager. The KC Manager brings together farmers and microentrepreneurs in common interest groups, and helps them make the most of newly available extension services.

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa experience losses equivalent to 30- 40 per cent of total yields due to pests that attack their crops.

They need help to diagnose the problem and identify practical, economic, feasible and environmentally safe measures to deal with them. 

The goal of this programme was to significantly increase the productivity of key crops and/or improve household incomes for smallholder farmers by establishing plant clinics and training plant doctors. 

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is often overlooked as a source of water supply. Yet it holds great potential to address the ever-increasing shortages of water globally. The huge potential of RWH for multiple-use services, such as food production, soil and water conservation and water, sanitation and hygiene, has not been adequately recognized, and certainly not implemented, as a solution for water problems on a wider and larger scale.

RWH initiatives are still too scattered and the lessons and results not shared. Policies, legal regulations and government budgets often do not include RWH in integrated water resource management and poverty reduction strategies.

 Un decenio de asociación del FIDA con los pueblos indígenas En los últimos diez años ha aumentado considerablemente el reconocimiento formal de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, reconocimiento que se inicia en 2007 con la aprobación por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas de la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas. Con más de 30 años de experiencia en la colaboración con pueblos indígenas, el FIDA empodera a las comunidades para que participen plenamente en la definición de estrategias en favor de su desarrollo y para que persigan sus propios objetivos y aspiraciones. A lo largo del último decenio, el FIDA ha apoyado a los pueblos indígenas para que tomen el control de sus propias iniciativas de desarrollo.

La presente publicación trata la actuación del FIDA en relación con los pueblos indígenas a través de las voces y los puntos de vistas de quienes han colaborado en este proceso de cambio. En consonancia con el enfoque de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible, con la que se pretende asegurar que nadie se quede atrás, en el Marco Estratégico del FIDA (2016-2025) se reafirma el compromiso del Fondo con el desarrollo autónomo de los pueblos indígenas. Las citas e imágenes que aquí se presentan proceden de la tercera reunión mundial del Foro de los Pueblos Indígenas en el FIDA, que tuvo lugar del 10 al 13 de febrero de 2017.

A recent study by the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC)1 of Mozambique suggests that within ten years the impact of climate change will be increasingly felt within the Limpopo Corridor. The soil moisture content before the onset of the rains is set to decrease and higher temperatures and droughts are expected to increase in the southern region.

The goal of PROSUL is to improve the livelihoods and climate resilience of smallholder farmers in selected districts of the Maputo and Limpopo Corridors.

The programme, referred to as the Strengthening Rural Institutions (SRI) project, was implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Eastern and Southern Africa Region from 2011 to 2014. The project aimed to bring about a sustainable rural transformation process by strengthening the “institutional infrastructure” for integrated natural resource management, food security and poverty alleviation in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. 

The project’s main goal was to support grassroots organizations to meaningfully participate in governance processes where their livelihoods and well-being, and the environment, are at stake, with an emphasis on enabling poor rural households to aggregate, mobilize and access rural services.

The goal of this programme was to develop spate irrigation policies and programmes, based on action research and documented practical experiences, that contribute to rural poverty alleviation and accelerated economic growth in marginal areas in Ethiopia, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen. 

Specific objectives:  1. Strengthen networks in the four countries. 2. Prepare country policy notes. 3. Implement two innovative action research activities per country that can be scaled up. 4. Further develop knowledge, including in local languages, and open-source knowledge-sharing. 5. Train four international MSc students. 6. Incorporate spate irrigation into programmes of universities and agricultural colleges in the four target countries. 7. Create a global inventory of spate irrigation and flood-based farming systems. 8. Provide technical backstopping to IFAD projects and country programmes.

The goal of this grant was to provide best business case options to producers and consumers to recover nutrients, water and energy from agricultural and domestic wastes for food security and food safety. The project sought to identify innovative market-driven and scalable approaches to enhance the sustainability of agricultural production considering environmental and health requirements of immediate users and end-consumers. 

The development challenges were to: 1. identify and share pathways with relevant stakeholders to make business cases more replicable, scalable and sustainable; 2. strengthen national, regional and local stakeholder platforms (from agricultural and/or sanitation sectors) by extending their interest in knowledge of safe reuse as a business; 3. formulate initiatives from donors, government departments and/or the private sector in order to incorporate project results. 

The programme’s goals were to increase the food security of smallholder farm households in southern Africa and enhance their livelihoods while conserving and improving the natural resources used for agriculture.

The focus of the programme was on developing productive farming systems for smallholder farmers who managed maize-based systems, based on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA): increasing the profitability, sustainability and labour efficiency of agricultural production.

Historically, pastoralists have been marginalized, and policies have been geared towards encouraging, and in some instances forcing, their settlement and sedentarization. Misunderstanding of their livelihoods has also led to abandonment of their customary institutions and practices. However, scientific evidence shows that mobile pastoralism is the most sustainable way of using marginal lands (such as arid, cold and mountain areas). The project goal was “to develop sustainable land management and resilient livelihoods in rangeland environments”. 

The objective of the project was to develop knowledge and build capacity for pastoral advocacy, create opportunity for pastoral advocacy and engage directly in policy dialogue, in order to promote policies and investments for sustainable management of rangeland environments and pastoral livelihoods. A significant aspect of the project was strengthening networking and building a global movement on sustainable pastoralism; this relied on the credibility and recognition of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a science-based intergovernmental organization.

This programme set out to empower 35,000 vulnerable women and men in rural value chains directly and another 65,000 indirectly through direct and peer capacity-building and action learning to negotiate a better position in value chains and achieve sustainable and equitable “win-win” collaboration between value chain stakeholders. 

The programme aimed to adapt and integrate participatory action learning methodologies into the policies and practices of at least 10 civil society organizations (CSOs) and to disseminate them through e-forums and capacity- building events then to be taken up by other relevant IFAD and Oxfam projects, in countries such as Ghana, India and Sierra Leone. Knowledge institutes also contributed to participatory planning and gender mainstreaming in value chain research and training.

During the period covered by the project, the landscape of global microfinance was deeply modified and “the game has changed”. On the one hand, the saturation of the market has led to over-indebtedness of very poor clients, scandals and systemic crises that have swept the whole sector in some prominent countries. On the other hand, it has been difficult for the industry to demonstrate tangible impact and, therefore, show that it has delivered against its promises of lifting hundreds of millions of very poor people out of poverty.

In this challenging context, the project aimed to help unlock the economic potential in sub-Saharan Africa, by promoting the growth of existing financial intermediaries that serve rural areas (rural financial institutions, RFIs) so that local entrepreneurs could take advantage of new opportunities to be more productive and more competitive, and improve their living conditions sustainably.

The goal of the grant was to develop home-based production of charcoal from cooking with firewood into a new livelihood opportunity – and thus create a sustainable value chain for the economic empowerment of poor rural women.

Women from poor rural households in Ethiopia, India and Tanzania were trained to put out fires when they had finished cooking in order to prevent smouldering, and to collect household charcoal through collection clusters, process it into briquettes and market the output through innovative partnership-based enterprises.

Transparent performance reporting is a key requirement for effective resultsbased management of IFAD rural finance interventions. Better reporting, tracking and management have benefits throughout the entire IFAD project cycle, from design to implementation and learning from performance data, and for actors at different levels: partner financial service providers (FSPs); programme coordination units (PCUs); government policymakers; and IFAD decision makers and managers.

The goal of this initiative was to contribute to establishing an inclusive financial system that meets the needs of the rural poor by supporting the growth of healthy microfinance markets and microfinance service providers. Underpinning this goal is the notion that timely and credible information is critical to the functioning of markets.

The purpose of this study is to map nutrition-sensitive interventions in IFAD-funded projects in the ESA region, and to provide guidance for effective nutrition mainstreaming operations. 

The specific objectives are to: 

(1) map the various interventions used in delivering nutrition-sensitive activities; 

(2) identify pathways for nutrition outcomes; 

(3) evaluate the scale and scope of intervention implementation; 

(4) assess the effect of the project on beneficiaries; 

(5) identify and map areas of opportunities for scaling up; 

and (6) identify challenges, weaknesses and gaps. 

Les programmes et projets du FIDA en République démocratique du Congo mettent l’accent sur une transformation inclusive et durable du monde agricole et rural au sens large.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

Since initiating its first project in the country in 1980, IFAD has provided a total of US$116.2 million in financing through eight loans and three grants for programmes and projects with a total cost of US$251.9 million. The investment has benefited 513,500 households. Operations were suspended during the civil war and resumed after it ended in 2002.

At that time, IFAD and the African Development Bank established a joint programme coordination unit to facilitate the management and increase the cost-effectiveness of operations in agriculture and the rural sector.

El FIDA, prestando especial atención a las necesidades de grupos desfavorecidos tales como las mujeres, los jóvenes y los pueblos indígenas, fortalece las capacidades de las organizaciones rurales para ayudar a los pequeños agricultores a desarrollar negocios
rurales rentables, así como herramientas y estrategias que mejoran su capacidad de enfrentarse a los desafíos que plantea el cambio climático.

Para lograr este objetivo, el FIDA, en colaboración con el Gobierno de Bolivia, diseña programas cuyo objetivo es desarrollar las capacidades técnicas y de negocio de las organizaciones rurales. Estos programas aportan innovaciones tecnológicas que agregan valor a los productos agrícolas, mejorando su calidad y ayudando a los pequeños agricultores a ser más competitivos.

Además, las operaciones financiadas por el FIDA fomentan el desarrollo de empresas conjuntas público-privadas que ayudan a los pequeños productores a acceder a los mercados y a las cadenas de valor.

The programme will focus on the development of the sugarcane industry

in Bagamoyo, while also building the local populations resilience to climate change.
 

The Community-based Integrated Natural Resources Management Project is located in the Lake Tana Watershed within Amhara National Regional State. The project covers 21 Woredas (districts) comprising 347 kebeles. 

Project operations  will consist of two components, namely: (i) Community-Based Integrated Watershed Management; and (ii) Institutional, Legal and Policy Analysis and Reform.

IFAD has acquired considerable experience during its three decades of partnership with the country. It has contributed directly and indirectly to the mobilization of resources aimed at removing structural obstacles to the development of rural poor people. This has been achieved through the active involvement of, and coordination with, family farmers, indigenous peoples, rural youth organizations, government, international cooperation agencies, civil society and, more recently, the private sector.

IFAD-funded projects mainly support family farmers and entrepreneurs in municipalities in which poverty is prevalent. Activities have also helped to address needs arising after the end of the 12-year internal armed conflict and the 2001 post-earthquake reconstruction process.

Water lies at the heart of sustainable development and is essential for economic growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. It is the basis of human and environmental health, energy security, sustainable urbanization and the ability of rural women and men in developing countries to pursue productive activities. 

But one billion people still lack access to safe water and even more lack access to basic sanitation. Around three quarters of the world’s poorest and hungriest people live in rural areas, often forgotten and bypassed by economic growth and development programmes. The majority of rural people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but face numerous barriers in accessing services and securing vital resources, including water.

In Yemen, a community-led project for fostering women's empowerment has imporoved the food security of thousands of landless and smallholder famers living in the poorest areas of the country.  

From 2004 to late 2012, the Dhamar Participatory Rural Development Project, cofunded by IFAD and the Government of Yemen, addressed the needs of the rural population in the Dhamar Governorate.  By ensuring the participation of rural people in the decision-making processes and income-generating activities, the project improved the food security of substience farmers and their families in the villages of Dhamar.

Ghana has the third largest IFAD country programme in the West and Central Africa region. The programme contributes to building inclusive and
sustainable institutions, backed by pro-poor investments and policies as well as relevant innovation and learning. IFAD supports the main thrusts of the government’s Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda – including accelerated agricultural modernization, sustainable natural resource
management and enhanced private-sector competitiveness. 

Its work also aligns with Ghana’s Medium Term Agriculture Sector Investment Plan on food security, income growth and other programme areas related to rural poverty reduction.

Somalia’s poverty and food security situation remains critical after years of conflict and natural disasters. Since the 1980s, IFAD has supported nine programmes in the country for a total of US$140 million.
There is currently no country strategic opportunities programme for Somalia.

However, the strategic objectives of IFAD interventions in Somalia can be summarized as follows:
• Increase incomes and food security by supporting agriculture and related activities, improving access to water, sanitation and health care, strengthening the natural resource base and building rural financial services;
• Identify and promote pro-poor investment mechanisms in rural areas for dissemination, replication and scaling up; and
• Build the capacity of the diaspora and promote the transformation of people in the diaspora into agents of development through remittances – the portion of their earnings that migrants outside the country send home.

IFAD recognizes that small island developing states are different than other developing countries. 

They face constraints that are quite particular to their size, remoteness, insularity and ocean resource base. In the light of a changing world and new challenges faced by rural people living in SIDS, IFAD recently took the opportunity of the Global Conference on Small Island Developing States held in Samoa in 2014 to articulate its lessons learned and current approach to financing investment in rural people in its paper presented at the Conference, IFAD’s approach in Small Island Developing States.

In February 2013, the First Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples Forum took place at the IFAD headquarters in Rome, in conjunction with the 36th session of the Governing Council. In attendance at this inaugural meeting were 31 indigenous people’s representatives from 25 countries in Asia, Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean regions. Of the 19 Asia- Pacific regional representatives, two were from the Pacific; Mr. Anthony Wale, the Executive Director Aoke Langalanga Constituency Apex Association (ALCAA), and Ms Rufina Peter, Senior Research Officer at the PNG Institute of National Affairs.

During the meeting the Pacific representatives highlighted the need for the Pacific to have a “separate identity” as per the outcomes of Asia Pacific regional preparatory workshop in Bangkok. The issue was one of visibility for the Pacific Region due to its unique, rich and diverse cultures and traditions, its significant land and sea area and its high biodiversity. The Pacific Regional meeting proposed three action plans, of which the Pacific Regional Workshop in preparation of the Second Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD is a direct result.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development works with small-scale farmers in 98 countries and territories around the world to help them overcome rural
poverty and increase food security. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$16 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached more
than 430 million people.

Agricultural development can be a major driver of poverty reduction. IFAD acts as an advocate for poor rural people, helping to create an enabling
environment – with appropriate policies, know-how, finance, infrastructure and market access – for them to improve their lives and livelihoods.