Stories

Many Guatemalans struggle with hunger and food insecurity, especially the nation’s children. In too many cases, lack of access to adequate food leaves children feeling weak and unable to concentrate in school, complicating both their physical and intellectual growth.

Like other women on Santiago, the largest island of Cabo Verde, Maria Lizita Varela used to rely on sand extraction as a source of income. It was thankless, dangerous work.

Meltem Gözel’s day begins at 07.00 each morning. Before the sun has risen, she’s already at work in her greenhouses, tending to her mushrooms. 

Starting over is never easy, whether you’re an individual person or an entire nation. Nevertheless, the economy of Uzbekistan has made incredible progress in recent years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on smallholder farmers in low-income countries who have struggled to access to markets, labourers, technology, and key resources amid physical distancing mandates, shifting government funding priorities, and plunging income levels.

Last March, when Nepal went into lockdown to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarbaraj Bhandari realized he was in a bit of a fix. A goat farmer, he was in the process of upgrading and managing his goat-shed facilities with the help of extension services and technical support provided to farmers participating in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development-led and IFAD-supported Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP). 

Zhenba County, nestled in the mountains of China’s Shaanxi province, has long been known for its traditional bacon, expertly smoked and cured to produce an unmatched flavor.

Indigenous food systems represent a treasure trove of knowledge that contributes to well-being and health, benefiting communities, preserving a rich biodiversity, and providing nutritious food.

As the world grapples with the current pandemic, other threats, not least our climate emergency, have not gone away. The science is clear that without urgent global action, the climate and broader environmental crisis could be worse.

The best way to make the desert bloom is to dig a hole. Not a well, but a shallow pit in the sandy soil about as wide as the length of your forearm. Then add some dung, plant your seeds, and wait for the rains.

A lot has happened over the last year – besides a global pandemic. See how much you were paying attention by taking our end of year quiz! 

2020 has been a tumultuous year. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone across the world – and meanwhile, the other challenges faced by rural people across the globe haven’t gone away. 

To celebrate with all our readers and supporters and wish you Happy Holidays, we asked our Recipes for Change chefs to share some festive recipes to enjoy during the holiday season.

Our current food systems are not sustainable. Hunger has been on the rise for several years, with an estimated 811 million people worldwide going hungry in 2020 – and with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 132 million more people are expected to join this number soon. 

Benguerdane is a small town in the desert plain of El Ouara, a region in the extreme south-east of Tunisia, just a few kilometres away from the Libyan border. The climate there is forbiddingly arid, and the main source of livelihood is raising livestock like sheep and goats.

For countries like Bhutan – nestled in the high Himalayas, historically isolated and topographically challenging – ensuring food security is vital.

Digital technologies have become our constant companions over the last few decades. Devices like smartphones and laptops have become even more relevant after the COVID-19 outbreak, helping us stay in touch even in times of physical distance.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reinvention of the agricultural sector is indispensable today. In fact, it is already beginning to take place with young people at the heart of it.

After a decade of conflict, local tourists are slowly starting to return to the pristine mountainsides just a short drive outside Latakia, Syria. Visitors to the village of Zaghreen, in particular, are greeted by the aroma of Issam Mohammad Hamoody’s freshly-baked pastries.

Conflict has paralyzed much of Syria’s rural economy over the past decade. People throughout the countryside often repeat what has become a common quote: “No sound is louder than the sound of gunshots.” But at least one woman in rural Syria is listening to a different tune.

Each year, to raise public awareness of gender-based violence across the world, the United Nations recognizes 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 

Violence against women is far more than a violation of human rights. It undermines women’s physical and mental health, as well as their ability to be happy and productive members of their societies. 

Determination and perseverance are what make an entrepreneur successful. That’s doubly true in a country like Syria, where ongoing conflict has disrupted people’s lives for the past decade.

Moldova’s agriculture sector is increasingly developing and modernizing. This is due both to an increased presence in lucrative markets like the European Union and to the efforts deployed by IFAD and the Government of Moldova to help restructure the sector, largely through sustained investments and financial support to small-scale farmers, to accompany this modernization.

Apple season in Lebanon is much like apple season in many other parts of the world. But in Lebanon, apple growers – along with small-scale farmers of all kinds – face a number of constraints on their ability to efficiently grow and sell their crops.

In many parts of the world, full participation in society – including the ability to earn an income – is still dependent on owning (or having the rights to) land.

Four years ago, back-to-back misfortunes upended Hafeeza Begum’s life. She knew it fell to her to get her young family back on their feet.

Rural young people are increasingly concerned about the environment. Many of them work in sectors that are threatened by climate change, and they’re well aware that their industry and food systems will need to become more resilient and sustainable than ever before. 

For Idris Elba, returning to Sierra Leone late last year was about two things: reconnecting with his roots and learning about the challenges facing the country where his father was born, so that he could become a better advocate for its people

Simon Chottu works hard and plays hard. An events manager by trade, he’s spent the last few years hosting hip-hop parties and organizing music events and competitions across the South Pacific. 

In times of crisis, rural women are the key that holds families and rural communities together – and in times like these, they need our support more than ever.

On a dusty side street in Auki, a seaside market town on the island of Malaita, Arania Enterprises is bustling.

Life in the countryside isn’t always easy – especially for rural women, whose contributions and successes have only recently begun to receive the attention they deserve.

The return of spring to Santiaogou, a tiny village nestled high in China’s remote, mountainous Qinghai province, should have been idyllic.

Along Indonesia’s coastal communities, many small-scale fishers struggle to make a living. Indonesia is the world’s third largest producer of fish, but many of these communities have historically lacked access to the technology and resources they needed to preserve their catch until it reaches the markets, which are usually far from their rural coastal inlets.

We are living in difficult times. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all the fallout that has ensued, nothing is quite as easy as it was – unless, of course, you can do it from the comfort of your home, armed with a smartphone and a good internet connection. 

In dozens of homes across Bouenza, the volunteers gathered around their kitchen tables, ready to taste-test a new variety of flour.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, an organization whose commitment is to bring nations together to preserve peace and security and improve lives. IFAD is symbolic of that commitment.

Sumaka Japhet is a young rice seed cultivator and agricultural entrepreneur. We had heard of his success and local fame as a millionaire – and during one of our field visits, we travelled a long and bumpy road to meet him.

The villages of Naihe and Zhaowa, nestled in the hilly Liupanshan area of China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, are surrounded by world-famous rugged beauty. 

The restrictions put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan were designed to keep the population safe and healthy, but have spelled severe losses for many rural businesses.

Ranjana Chaudhary’s story sounds like the stories of many thousands, if not millions, of young people in Nepal.

As a result of the pandemic, the equivalent of 400 million full-time jobs have already been lost worldwide, and a further 71 million to 100 million people could consequently be pushed into extreme poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to re-examine everything: their priorities, their jobs, even their roles in society.

For all the chaos they bring, crises also have a way of giving birth to unexpected opportunities. One way they do this is by urging people to develop new tools to help them resist disaster. 

At first, when Nguyen Thi Bich decided to try her hand at highland chicken farming, she didn’t quite know what to expect.

IFAD’s Twelfth Replenishment (IFAD12) comes at a critical juncture. Hunger is on the rise across the globe, and progress against poverty has come to a standstill. 

In 2020, the world is seeing once again that when crisis strikes, it is the poorest and most vulnerable people who suffer the most. 

Although you won’t find the little village of Wowetta on any Internet map, it’s the centre of the universe for Priscilla Torres, a 37-year-old Wapishana woman. A very active and outspoken mother of three, Priscilla is a true community leader.

Until COVID-19 hit in March, the G-Star Youth Group’s banana processing factory was buzzing with activity.

Globally, between 200 and 500 million pastoralists manage rangelands that cover over a third of the Earth’s landmass. 

It is increasingly clear that human health and our relationship with nature are inescapably intertwined. This holds true across many dimensions of health, including the potential for the transmission of disease – just as we are seeing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

Fatima Amaguar came home from university with an idea. 

It is something of a paradox that, while there is broad agreement that micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are an integral part of the economy in developing countries, they remain underserved.

COVID-19 is not the only health crisis threatening to devastate the population of Kiribati. Cases of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have tripled between 2005 and 2010. 

Guadalupe Moller lives in Turco, a small community in rural western Bolivia. She’d spent most of her life in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, but four years ago she moved back to Turco, where her family’s roots are.

When exports of dried pineapple resumed at the beginning of May, after the lockdown, Jean Damascène Hakuzimana, President of the Tuzamurane farmers’ cooperative, was relieved.

Despite the lush greenery that surrounds Ngarpongtang village in Thangrong, Bhutan, until recently, it was impossible to grow vegetables there. “I used to have to go to other villages to exchange pinewood for vegetables,” says Wangdi, a 54-year-old farmer. “We couldn’t get vegetables to grow here.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us just how vulnerable agricultural value chains are to external shocks – and how much more we need to do to build the sector’s resilience.

In rural Pakistan, women are important partners in agricultural development. They perform a variety of crucial tasks, including weeding and tilling land, planting seeds, collecting farmyard manure and harvesting. They are also responsible for cleaning, drying and storing grains.

In north-eastern Brazil, as in so many other places, rural women's work is often invisible. But a revolution is taking place – and IFAD is a part of it.

Bees support countless ecosystems, bolster biodiversity, anchor food chains and help ensure humans’ agricultural security. Not bad for insects no bigger than a paperclip.

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted agricultural and food systems around the world, along with the livelihoods and food security of the poorest rural communities – precisely the groups of people whom IFAD concentrates its efforts on. 

Without initially knowing it, last year more than 13,000 young women in Colombia began to prepare for the current economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The story of the Afro-Colombian community has always been one of resilience. Historically, this group has faced the country’s highest rates of poverty and food insecurity, and has lacked access to many basic services.

Victoria Muteti, a 44-year old farmer living in Kenya’s Makueni County, has many reasons to be satisfied. In January 2020, she was able to harvest more than 2,500 kilograms of sorghum from her 2.5-acre farm – far more than the 1,000 kg she harvested in 2019. 

We’ve been asking our Recipes for Change chefs to tell us how they are adapting to life during the coronavirus pandemic – and to share a delicious recipe that can be made with basic cupboard ingredients.

The April morning sun beats down on Kontagora, a lively market town in central Nigeria. Generators hum as milling machines husk the brown bran from rice grains, revealing glistening white kernels. COVID-19 is on everybody’s mind. But the thriving Tudun Wada South Rice Processors women’s cooperative is open for business.

IFAD’s Recipes for Change chefs are adjusting to life in a world contending with COVID-19 – and as a part of that, they’re sharing some excellent recipes that you can make with ingredients you’ve already got in your home cupboard.

This interactive map shows how our colleagues, beneficiaries, and partners have continued working, while taking steps to stay safe.

Last month, we brought you the story of the Mukurwe-ini Technical Training Institute, a school in Kenya’s Nyeri county whose new roof water harvesting system was improving the lives of the students, staff and nearby residents. In recent days, with Kenya now affected by COVID-19, we reached out to Patrick Muchemi, principal of the Institute.

IFAD’s Recipes for Change chefs are carrying on with life under lockdown by sharing some excellent recipes that you can make with ingredients you’ve already got in your home cupboard. Senegalese Chef Pierre Thiam joins us from his home in New York State with a delicious recipe for vegan chilli.

An organization of artisan women, facing a slowdown in their work due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has begun to make protective gear for local health care workers.

As the world adjusts to life with COVID-19, we’re asking our Recipes for Change chefs to share some world-class recipes that you can make with ingredients you’ve already got in your home cupboard. Michelin-starred Chef Cristina Bowerman shares two simple and nutritious recipes involving chickpeas.

In Kenya’s Nyeri county, sustainable water system technologies have substantially improved the lives of students, staff and surrounding communities and have opened up a brighter future for many.

Climate change is contributing to increasing temperatures and droughts in Nepal, where corn and tomatoes are a staple food.

Development approaches must address structural barriers and power imbalances for women and other marginalized groups to adapt to climate change. 

They guide women through all the steps of caring for a child – from conception and pregnancy to birth and the critical first years of a child’s life. Although this description might call to mind doctors, nurses or specialised health workers, it also includes another category of care provider that must not be overlooked – mother counsellors.

We often think of elephants as gentle giants. Beloved by nature enthusiasts the world over, they are an iconic presence in the forests and grasslands of Africa and Asia. They are also a keystone species, indispensable for maintaining the biodiversity of the ecosystems in which they live.

Forty-seven-year-old Rwandan farmer Pierre Kanyarwanda is enthusiastic. For the last five months, he has brought additional money home by applying his newly acquired skills in sericulture (silkworm rearing).

Esther Wandia is an avocado convert. Two years ago, the single mother of four decided to set up a tree nursery on her farm in Makomboki, in a hilly area north of Nairobi known for its tea production.

Once considered the world’s largest cacao exporter, Sao Tome and Principe had significantly scaled back its operations after gaining independence in 1975. But with IFAD's assistance, cacao – the key ingredient in chocolate, and a major cash crop – is making a comeback.

Agriculture is the foundation of Bhutan’s economy, employing more than 70 per cent of the population. Bhutan has made huge progress overall in recent years in improving its people’s standards of living, though poverty rates remain high in the eastern part of the country.

Working together makes it easier for small-scale farmers to access resources and reach larger markets – and when farmers thrive, other players in the food system benefit too.

Around the world today, women make up over half the people working in agriculture – as smallholders, market gardeners, wage labourers, unpaid workers on family farms – and that figure is on the rise.

With an estimated 30 million hectares throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia and the Americas, bamboo can provide a significant contribution to combatting climate change in the developing world, particularly in rural communities.

Grassroots and international farmers’ and rural producers’ organizations play an invaluable role as representatives of the farming community.

Guatemala has the largest economy in Central America but it also has the worst rates of poverty and malnutrition. This is especially the case in rural areas and for indigenous communities.

In the community of Larguero, in the Chaco Salteño, a group of indigenous beekeepers are raising the profile of a unique wild honey

We asked colleagues for their favourite podcasts on topics related to development, food, agriculture and climate. If you are looking to learn something new check out our suggestions.

Climate change is affecting global food systems in such a way that those who already suffer from hunger and undernutrition are also the most vulnerable to the added threats from climate change.  

Current food systems are at a crossroads. There is a strong need for transforming food production and consumption patterns in a sustainable way. One where farmers adapt and build resilience to the increasing challenges from climate change and where nutritious food is available for all. Agroecology provides one solution towards this transformation.

Tajikistan is a mountainous country nestled in Central Asia. Over five million people live a rural life, the majority of them depending on agriculture for their livelihoods.

 

An IFAD co-sponsored event at COP25 in Madrid brought together experts and celebrity chefs to examine how climate change is effecting food systems.

Agriculture is uniquely placed to tackle climate change while reducing poverty and increasing food security. The key role of the sector has been recognised by the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA).

The rapid economic growth in China has brought numerous benefits, but also many challenges. Rapid urbanization, environmental vulnerability, an aging population and internal migration of young men is putting pressure on rural agricultural production systems.

Agriculture is responsible for much of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but family farmers are also responsible for promoting biodiversity and guaranteeing ecosystem services upon which agricultural activity depends. 

Against the backdrop of the climate crisis, José Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, Coordinator of the Congress of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) visited IFAD in Rome, where he discussed the situation affecting the Amazon and the implications for indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and for humanity as a whole.

Climate change is no longer a problem for the future: it is happening now. Actions to tackle climate change and address the challenges it poses are paramount on the international policy agenda, as well as among IFAD priorities and commitments.

On the international day for the elimination of violence against women, IFAD reaffirms its commitment to eliminate and prevent gender-based violence.

It has long been recognized that the money remitted by migrants is used to supplement the receiving family’s income and is therefore largely spent on consumption. Only a small amount of remittances is invested in productive assets, much less saved.

Water and sanitation are at the very core of sustainable development, critical to the survival of people and the planet. SDG6 not only addresses the issues relating to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, but also the quality and sustainability of water resources worldwide.

Wool and mohair form the bedrock of Lesotho’s rural economy. Producers range from smallholder farmers with small flocks, to breeders of large flocks of superior gene-quality animals. With over 1.2 million sheep and 845,000 goats there is a lot of potential to develop the industry. 

Most of the population of Bhutan depend on farming to make a living. However, as the climate crisis bites, this Himalayan nation is being hit by erratic rain, hailstorms and flash floods. This in turn is effecting farmers’ production.

Sri Lanka is a small island nation in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean off India’s southeastern coast. Given that a large proportion of the population is concentrated in coastal areas, the country is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

Mapai is one of the driest districts of Mozambique, with an arid and semi-arid tropical climate where water for consumption, cattle and agriculture is the major challenge for the people living there.

The resilience of smallholder farmers, coupled with the support of development projects is allowing Peru’s rural people to progress towards better living standards. Women and youth are very often on the frontline of that effort.

Mohamed enjoys welcoming visitors to his vegetables garden in Fria town, in Guinea, and is proud to show every crop he has been growing. This 32-year-old rural entrepreneur recalls how his business succeeded thanks to an unexpected opportunity while he was pursuing a civil servant career.

The Haor region is a wetland ecosystem in north-eastern Bangladesh, which is located in a tectonic depression. During the monsoon period, the Haor gets between 3,000 and 4,000 mm of rainfall, together with the flow of monsoon river from the Meghalaya and Barak basins.

A new framework will guide practitioners to use a broad portfolio of crop species to bring nutrition back to the table.

Mangroves are one of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems and play an essential role to ecological balance and community livelihoods. But in many areas across West Africa, these wildlife-rich wetlands are under threat.

Breadfruit is one of the main staple foods of Kiribati. Breadfruit trees require a tropical climate to thrive and are therefore plentiful in the Pacific region. Breadfruit is a good source of vitamin C, thiamine and potassium for the local population.

The world is faced with a rising demand for food due to population growth, changes in dietary habits and the availability of agricultural resources. As a result farmers need to be more efficient and productive. 

The latest SOFI report confirms that the number of hungry people in the world continues to increase, highlighting the challenge of reaching the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Zero Hunger by 2030.

Try the Recipe at home: Ema datshi and millet momos - Bhutan

Climate change is one of the major dynamics of change affecting rural youth livelihoods. It is having significant effects on the countries in which the rural youth population is concentrated and on the sectors in which they will be looking for employment opportunities. 

Saran Condé is a 30-year-old smallholder farmer in Guinea's Faranah region. She has improved her farming skills and increased her productivity since joining an IFAD supported community garden.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) aims to facilitate the evolution of agricultural systems in the face of a rapidly changing climate. IFAD's approach to promoting CSA for smallholders focuses on three core objectives.

Datasets on crop production increasingly need to take climate change into consideration, given its potentially profound repercussions for agriculture.

In 1992, Khadim Thiam established a tiny workshop in Tambacounda, Senegal, to produce agricultural equipment, such as hoes, seed drills, ploughs and animal-traction carts.

In the Sierra Norte mountain range in Mexico lives a special breed of bee. Known locally as pisilnekmej, the Scaptotrigona Mexicana is a member of the family native to the American continent whose distinctive trait is that they have no sting.

Including smallholder farmers in Rwanda in the production and export of cash crops is vital to increasing their incomes and ultimately to reducing rural poverty. 

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will be held on 22 April to 3 May in New York. Here is our shortlist of books on the diverse issues affecting Indigenous Peoples around the world that will be discussed at the Forum.

Anyone who stops by Berefet notices how local people cherish the community garden in this small village in the western Gambia.

Climate change has made crop production more unpredictable – if rainfall helped this harvest, an unexpected drought could destroy the next. So how can one decide to invest in millet in Chad's Kanem region or if it's too risky put money in wheat in Lesotho's Thaba-Tseka?