El Fondo de financiación para remesas (FFR) tiene como objetivo ampliar el alcance de los servicios financieros a las zonas rurales del mundo donde esos servicios escasean. Mantener una red de sucursales de tipo tradicional dedicadas exclusivamente a ese tipo de servicios en zonas vastas y poco pobladas resulta prohibitivo para la mayoría de las instituciones financieras, con una excepción importante: las oficinas de correos.

As part of its initiative for mainstreaming innovation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) explored various types of training and skills development activities in the programmes supported by the Fund and which training results have been achieved including through innovative ways. In Ghana the IFAD supported programme Rural Enterprises Project Phase Two (REP II) has enhanced Business Development Service (BDS), and Technology Promotion and Support to Apprentice Training (TPSAT) in about 53 districts in since 2003. The objective of this Ghana field study is to document the diversity of approaches of training and skills development in IFAD supported programmes. In particular, it aims to assess their relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, outcomes and challenges.

This study was commissioned as part of IFAD’s Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation (IMI) with the objective of learning lessons from IFAD experience in Bangladesh regarding training and capacity building, and so to improve the effectiveness of training for social development, capacity building, technology dissemination and innovation.

This paper reports on the major findings of a study on innovations in training and capacity building developed within the Rural Opportunities Programme of Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

IFAD’s efforts to promote the innovations launched by its programmes are illustrated here with an analysis of activities to strengthen non-agricultural rural apprenticeships under the Support Programme for Rural Microenterprise Poles and Regional Economies (PROSPERER) and the future Vocational Training and Agricultural Productivity Improvement Programme (FORMAPROD)1 in Madagascar.

The case study in Sudan, undertaken in the framework of the Initiative for Mainstreaming Innovation (IMI), analyzed training and skills development activities in the IFAD-supported Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project (GSLRP). The study is an assessment of the type of capacity building and training that can be implemented in an area of great poverty using innovative approaches in community development and training. It illustrates the kind of impact that is possible at individual and community level.

IFAD commissioned this Rwanda case study, through an IMI initiative, to document the diversity of approaches of training and skills development, particularly to assess relevance, effectiveness and efficiency, outcomes and challenges with respect to the following key components: (i) Targeting and transition to employment or business creation; (ii) Types of training and providers; (iii) Transfer of knowledge and sustainability. The objective of this study is to present the experience of IFAD in technical vocational and skills development in the context of Rwanda and by doing so, highlight the innovative features and lessons learnt for further replication.

Brochure highlighting explaining the content and functions of the RemittancesGateway.org portal - a one-stop shop providing the latest news, information, documents and statistical data from a broad range of institutions and stakeholders on the subject of remittance flows.

One of IFAD’s most significant partnerships is with the Member States of the OPEC and the OIC.1 These countries, spread over three geographic regions – the Near East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia – have been active partners and strong supporters of IFAD, both as contributing countries and as recipients of financing for development projects. IFAD also works in close partnership with many Arab and Islamic development institutions and funds in the financing, design, implementation and monitoring of its rural development projects. The long-term partnership between IFAD and OIC Member States and institutions has, in recent years, taken on greater significance than ever before. The challenges are greater than they were three decades ago when IFAD was first established. But the opportunities for making an even bigger impact on the lives of the poor rural people are well within our grasp.

Cuando se consigue el empoderamiento social y económico de las mujeres, estas pueden convertirse en una fuerza poderosa del cambio. En las zonas rurales del mundo en desarrollo, las mujeres desempeñan una función crucial en la gestión de sus hogares y su contribución a la producción agrícola es fundamental. Sin embargo, las desigualdades entre mujeres y hombres dificultan la realización del potencial de la mujer.

El programa de encadenamientos empresariales de AGEXPORT tiene como objectivo principal la generación de empleo e ingresos en comunidades en condiciones de pobreza de Guatemala por medio de la creación de negocios exitosos basados en la asistencia técnica especializada, inteligencia de mercados, promoción comercial, capacitación e inovación tecnológica, una visión de manejo sostenible de los recursos naturales.

Hoy en día, la generación de jóvenes —las personas de edad comprendida entre 15 y 24 años, según la definición de las Naciones Unidas— es la más grande de la historia. En todo el mundo en desarrollo representan en promedio el 20 por ciento de la población. Los jóvenes tienen fuerza y voluntad. En las condiciones adecuadas, una generación joven consistente ofrece a los países un recurso inestimable para el desarrollo económico y el progreso social. Sin embargo, en el clima actual y por diferentes razones, muchos países desarrollados y en desarrollo se están esforzando por ofrecer un futuro a sus jóvenes, tanto en las ciudades como en las zonas rurales.

En tierras antes estériles del desierto egipcio, Ahmad Abdelmunem Al-Far y otros agricultores colegas suyos están demostrando cómo la agricultura orientada al mercado puede transformar las vidas y sacar a la gente de la pobreza.

The global population is projected to rise from its present level of 6.9 billion to 9.2 billion by 2050. An estimated 1 billion people already are going hungry, and young rural people are increasingly disillusioned about working in the agricultural sector, which in many countries is stagnant and unproductive. So the question must be asked: Who is going to feed this growing world population?

Nearly 1.4 billion people live on less than US$1.25 a day. Seventy per cent live in rural areas where they depend on agriculture, but where they are also at risk from recurrent natural disasters such as drought and flooding. Natural disasters have a devastating impact on the food security and overall social and economic development of poor rural households. According to data from Munich Re’s NatCatSERVICE, natural disasters account for losses, on average, of US$51 billion in developing countries every year. Unless well managed, weather risks in agriculture slow development and hinder poverty reduction, ultimately resulting in humanitarian crises. Poor farmers have few options for coping with significant losses, and in order to reduce their exposure to risk, they often forgo opportunities to increase their productivity.

Pursuant to the adoption by the Executive Board in December 2005 of the IFAD Policy on Preventing Fraud and Corruption in its Activities and Operations (EB 2005/85/R.5/Rev.1, paragraph 26) (the anticorruption policy), the Investigation Section of the Office of Audit and Oversight (AUO/IS) has a mandate to investigate alleged irregular practices, namely: (i) fraud and corruption, in relation to entities, contractors and non-staff individuals applying for or participating in an IFAD-financed project or headquarters-related contract; and (ii) staff misconduct. Implementation of this policy and the subsequent establishment of a Sanctions Committee have aligned IFAD with best practices applied by other United Nations agencies and the major multilateral development banks in this area. In 2010 there were some indicators that the proactive anticorruption awarenessraising activities undertaken by AUO/IS in past years were bearing fruit. An increase in complaints received by AUO/IS in 2010, discussed in more detail below, could reasonably be attributed, at least in part, to training and anticorruption presentations given by staff of the Investigation Section. AUO/IS also noted the excellent response in 2010 from Programme Management Department (PMD) staff with regard to reporting allegations and in terms of cooperation afforded to the Section.

Young women and men who live in rural areas are the world’s future farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders. The challenges of meeting future food demand, developing vibrant rural centres and promoting broad-based economic growth in developing countries depend on them. These are compelling reasons to place rural young people and smallholder agriculture at the forefront of global strategies for food security, poverty reduction and income growth.

“Hoy en día el problema es que no importa lo duro que trabajes, nunca es suficiente para alimentar a la familia…”. “Lleva sin llover aproximadamente un año, quizás más. Por eso la gente sufre…”. “Sin estudios una persona no puede hacer nada…”. “Los hombres se han ido a trabajar fuera del pueblo. La principal mano de obra aquí son las mujeres…”. Lo anterior son testimonios de primera mano de algunos de los hombres, mujeres y jóvenes que fueron entrevistados para este informe. Sus historias nos ofrecen una percepción profunda de lo que es vivir la realidad en constante cambio de la pobreza rural en nuestro tiempo. Si queremos comprender esa realidad, es fundamental escuchar sus experiencias y aprender de ellas. Y es el primer paso en la búsqueda de soluciones adecuadas y eficaces para conseguir que las zonas rurales pasen de estar estancadas a ser lugares donde los jóvenes de hoy puedan encontrar oportunidades de trabajo que les permitan salir de la pobreza, y donde deseen vivir y criar a sus propios hijos. Necesitamos comprender claramente qué rostro tiene la pobreza hoy en día, disponer de una cesta de soluciones prácticas a los múltiples retos a los que nos enfrentamos y contar con un enfoque coherente para hacer frente a los desafíos que se puedan ir presentando en el futuro. En este informe se presentan estos tres aspectos. La publicación del FIDA Informe sobre la pobreza rural 2011 – Nuevas realidades, nuevos desafíos: nuevas oportunidades para la generación del mañana, es un estudio exhaustivo de la pobreza rural. Las conclusiones del informe se derivan de la colaboración entre docenas de expertos en la esfera de la reducción de la pobreza, tanto dentro como fuera del FIDA, algunos de ellos también procedentes de la propia población rural pobre.

IFAD works for and with the poorest people in Viet Nam, including ethnic minorities, small-scale farmers and households headed by women. Strategies to reduce poverty and improve living conditions include building partnerships, strengthening institutional capacity and promoting participation. IFAD works with the government and other partners to empower poor rural people so they can have a role in decisionmaking. To do this, IFAD finances programmes and projects that focus on developing and testing innovative approaches to poverty reduction that can be replicated and scaled up by the government and other agencies. Interventions are area-based and multisectoral. They target regions where poverty reduction is a priority.

El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) hace hincapié desde hace muchos años en la innovación, el conocimiento y la ampliación de escala como elementos esenciales de su estrategia para luchar contra la pobreza rural en los países en desarrollo. Este examen institucional del enfoque de la ampliación de escala del FIDA es el primero en su género: un equipo de expertos en desarrollo recibieron financiación del Fondo a través de una donación de pequeña cuantía para evaluar la trayectoria del Fondo en la ampliación de las intervenciones que habían dado buenos resultados, sus políticas y procesos operacionales, instrumentos, recursos e incentivos, así como para formular recomendaciones a la dirección sobre la manera de hacer del FIDA una institución especializada en la ampliación de escala. Más allá del Fondo, el examen institucional de la ampliación es una actividad piloto que puede servir de ejemplo para otras instituciones dedicadas al desarrollo.