Recursos

Remittances have increased in low-income and lower- middle-income countries in recent years, playing an important role as a stable source of finance at the macro-level, and in poverty reduction at the micro-level. 

Drawing on a critical review of the literature and econometric analyses based on cross-country panel data, this study examines the relationships among remittances, growth and poverty reduction in Asia and the Pacific and highlights policy implications to be considered by governments and policy-makers.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) emerged from the food crisis of the early 1970s and the World Food Conference of 1974. With financial support from Korea and other development partners, IFAD was created as both a specialized agency of the United Nations and an international financial institution. IFAD supports measures that help people in rural areas to overcome poverty and build better lives. Since its creation, FAD has helped about 464 million people to grow more food, better manage their land and other natural resources, learn new skills, start businesses, build strong organizations, and gain a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

Despite much progress – extreme poverty has been halved since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted in 1990 – there are still 767 million extremely poor people in the world, and more than 75 per cent of them live in the rural areas of developing countries. Population increases and rising incomes are creating a growing demand for food, which creates both opportunities and challenges for people working in rural areas, including in smallholder agriculture and in the non-farm economy. Rising agricultural productivity, more jobs off the farm and migration are reshaping rural lives, but so too are climate change, environmental degradation, conflict and forced displacement.

IFAD’s experience in developing countries over the past 40 years clearly shows that investing in rural people leads to poverty reduction and economic growth that go beyond agriculture and rural areas. IFAD’s 2016 Rural Development Report presented evidence that inclusive and sustainable rural transformation is fundamental to economic and social growth, and to poverty reduction at the national level.

It is well recognized that with higher incomes and urbanization, patterns of demand for food change and expand – potentially creating new opportunities for food producers in many of today’s developing countries. It is not always equally well recognized that much of the urban expansion involves the growth of (often previously rural) towns, with these settlements retaining many of their rural characteristics. 

The continued prevalence of small-scale farming in local livelihoods – albeit increasingly buttressed by increasingly dynamic non-farm sectors – remains a feature of many of these so-called “urban” settlements. Notably, small towns and cities of less than 500,000 inhabitants now represent the largest share of the global urban population, with the majority of the projected urban growth in the decades ahead to be absorbed by these centres.

It is well recognized that with higher incomes and urbanization, patterns of demand for food change and expand – potentially creating new opportunities for food producers in many of today’s developing countries. It is not always equally well recognized that much of the urban expansion involves the growth of (often previously rural) towns, with these settlements retaining many of their rural characteristics.

Conozca mejor la labor del FIDA destinada a promover la transformación rural leyendo el Informe anual de 2016. Descubra cómo nuestras inversiones están empoderando a las mujeres y los hombres de las zonas rurales y examine los datos y las cifras que el FIDA comunica a sus Estados Miembros y asociados. También puede obtener más información sobre la labor de promoción que el FIDA lleva a cabo en nombre de las comunidades rurales de todo el mundo.

 

Hambrunas, conflictos, migración forzada, pobreza, hambre, desigualdades, sequías y cambio climático.

Para resolver los mayores problemas que afronta la humanidad, es necesario comenzar por las raíces: por las causas fundamentales, que son las más difíciles de modificar, y por las personas más desfavorecidas, que corren los mayores riesgos y a quienes resulta más difícil llegar.
Estas personas son los hombres y las mujeres que, a pesar de cultivar alimentos, pasan hambre: los pequeños agricultores familiares, los comerciantes, los jornaleros, los pescadores, los cazadores y los recolectores que, con demasiada frecuencia, permanecen al margen de las cadenas de valor modernas.

Durante cuatro decenios, solo una organización se ha especializado en llegar a esas personas. El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA) es esa organización; un organismo de las Naciones Unidas y una institución financiera internacional, y la única organización dedicada exclusivamente a las zonas rurales.

Una organización centrada en las personas que lucha contra la pobreza y el hambre codo a codo con las familias y las comunidades. Un fondo que no solo ofrece asesoramiento y recomendaciones, sino que también cuenta con asociados, inversiones y planes a largo plazo dirigidos a alcanzar la sostenibilidad.