Fiches d'informations

Climate change and sustainable development are the central challenges of our time. They are inseparably linked and need to be addressed together. Action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate impacts is essential for ensuring sustainable development. At the same time, only sustainable development can provide the stable political, economic, social and environmental conditions that all countries need to address climate change successfully and
build carbon-neutral economies. This is why the UN system is fully committed to supporting the international community as it confronts climate change while working to build a sustainable world for the twenty-first century.

IFAD is committed to gender equality. Women embody half the talent and energy at any country’s disposal. That’s why greater gender equality leads to higher economic growth and better lives.

This note provides an overview on lines of credit illustrating the the key issues and the main challenges, opportunities and benefits.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries affected by climate
change. During the monsoon period, the Haor region of Bangladesh becomes
completely inundated with 4-8 metres of water for around 6-7 months of the year.
Flash fl oods are common, and in some years 80-90 per cent of crops are lost
because of extreme weather events. The situation is expected to worsen as a climate
change-related shift towards pre-monsoon rainfall is coinciding with the paddy rice
pre-harvest period. This severely affects food output in the Haor, which provides up
to 16 per cent of national rice production.
 

The agricultural sector in Rwanda has been hit hard by climate change. Agricultural
production is increasingly exposed to drought, intense and erratic rainfall, high winds
and emerging seasonal and temperature shifts. If not addressed, climate variability
will mean signifi cant economic costs – estimated at up to US$300 million annually
by 2030.

The northern part of Nigeria is particularly vulnerable to climate change, which is reducing rural income as a result of decreased agricultural productivity – agricultural yields have declined by 20 per cent over the last 30 years in the north. ASAP interventions under CASP will strengthen the capacity of farmers to use climate information for the planning and promotion of climate-resilient farming techniques. It will also implement larger investments to reduce the impact of climate hazards on rural infrastructure, farms and livelihoods.

The project will increase the availability of adaptation assets and knowledge, which will enable target households to cope with the changing climate situation. 

The programme will support institutional capacity-building and greater public awareness on topics related to climate change resilience. Water users’ associations and farmer organizations, among other
members of the selected value chains, will benefit from activities such as the dissemination of climate change adaptation toolkits, national and international exchange visits, the dissemination of good practices
and training.

NICADAPTA will improve incomes and quality of life for rural families – and reduce their vulnerability to the impact of climate change – by facilitating access to markets for valueadded coffee and cocoa. It will introduce water efficiency and crop diversification measures such as coffee-cocoa intercropping in coffee plantations to buffer the effects of rising temperatures.

Kyrgyzstan is a food-deficit and low-income country, with a geographical position and topographical make-up that contribute to making it one of the most vulnerable
countries to the impacts of climate change in Central Asia. The country suffers from drought, land and mudslides. Flooding events and river erosion are set to increase in frequency and intensity. The mountainous nature of the country renders 45 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s land inhospitable. The majority of the population live in valleys and at the foothills of the mountains, where vulnerability to climate-related hazards is highest.

Viet Nam is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and among the countries hardest hit by climate change. Rising sea levels (between 75 and
100 centimetres by the end of this century) are expected to affect 20-50 per cent of the low-lying Mekong Delta. Changes in rainfall and temperatures are increasing the risk of fl oods, typhoons and droughts. Climate change has serious implications for Viet Nam’s socio-economic development, especially in the densely populated and productive Mekong Delta.  

The programme will support the design and implementation of participatory management plans for ecosystem conservation to alleviate stresses and increase the resilience of fragile habitats.

The programme will stimulate more sustainable economic growth for women and men in
rural communities. This includes increasing their resilience to climate change impacts by
helping communities to diversify their livelihoods options and improving the management
of natural resources. Investments in climate-resilient infrastructure will also support
agricultural development.

ASAP resources are complementing the first component (natural resource management, investment in assets and enterprise development) of ACCESOS. 

Between 2009 and 2012, the IFAD-supported Scaling up Micro-irrigation Systems (SCAMPIS) project developed a market approach for the dissemination of locally adapted drip irrigation kits. 

The approach identifies the technology that is best suited to the local context and appropriate for the most vulnerable rural inhabitants. It then builds a sustainable local supply chain for the irrigation equipment that makes the technology affordable and available, not just for the duration of the project but in the long term.

In just three years, the pilot project was able to dramatically change the lives of 30,000 farmers and their families (in total, around 150,000 poor rural people) on three continents.

The results of the studies highlighted the importance of agriculture as an economic activity to the reproduction of such units all over the continent, and showed that specialized family farmers are the largest group in relation to the total. Moreover, we verified the function of rural residency and the combination of activities and income sources as an important feature of all the countries studied.

Depuis 1981, le FIDA a financé 12 projets et programmes au Burkina Faso pour un montant total de 158,6 millions de dollars des États-Unis. 

The overall objective of the Lower Usuthu Smallholder Irrigation Project (LUSIP) is the 1.reduction of poverty and sustained improvement in the standard of living of the population in the Lower Usuthu Basin through commercialization and intensification of agriculture. The immediate objectives of LUSIP Phase I were: (a) the integration of smallholder farmers into the commercial economy through the provision of irrigation infrastructure, development of the policy and legal framework for smallholder irrigation, as well as the establishment of farmer-managed irrigation institutions; and (b) sustainable improvement in environmental health in the project area to ensure that the population derives the full benefits of agricultural commercialisation.

En la actualidad Latinoamérica presenta diferentes retos para promover el desarrollo rural de sus comunidades, combatir la escasez de agua y garantizar su seguridad alimentaria. En los últimos años, México ha sufrido una serie de eventos hidrometeorológicos que han generado graves daños sociales y económicos que requieren de importantes inversiones para permitir a las regiones afectadas regresar a su condición habitual. Esto ha hecho evidente la gran vulnerabilidad del país así como la importancia que juega la capacidad de adaptación de la nación o en otras palabras, la resiliencia del país.

IFAD has committed US$71.4 million in loans to Jordan since 1981 to support agricultural development and reduce rural poverty. The funds have been used in six agricultural development programmes and projects with a total value of US$189.3 million. 

The Government of Jordan and project participants have contributed US$63.2 million. The programmes and
projects are designed by IFAD in collaboration with rural people, the government and other partners. They address poverty through promotion of sustainable natural resource management, particularly water and soil conservation. A seventh project is being designed.

An IFAD Supervision Mission visited the project from 20th June to 5th July 2013. The main 1.objectives of the supervision mission are to ensure that the development objectives of the projects are being met and to satisfy IFAD‟s fiduciary responsibilities, with a focus on: (i) assessment of the implementation progress of the project, including assessment of the achievement of outputs by component and outcome as per the logframe of the project; (ii) assistance to identify and remove implementation bottlenecks and constraints; and (iii) agree on a set of actions to be implemented by the project in the next six to twelve months period.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries. 

Que peuvent faire les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) pour les 900 millions de personnes extrêmement pauvres vivant dans les zones rurales? 

Méthodes innovantes d’amélioration sylvo-pastorale: Le cas du projet de lutte participative contre la désertification et de réduction de la pauvreté dans les écosystèmes arides et semi-arides des hauts plateaux de l’Oriental au Maroc.

IFAD’s experience shows that, with the right support, rural communities can transform their existence in a sustainable way. Supporting the development and ownership of a viable private sector in rural areas plays a fundamental part.

We have always supported the rural private sector, providing primarily small- scale operators with financial and technical assistance to help them
improve their livelihoods.

IFAD and the Government of Mauritius are moving towards a new form of partnership that differs from the standard model for low-income countries, which was followed in Mauritius until 2005. 

IFAD recognizes that the country now has sufficient national resources to address rural poverty, so the focus of interventions has shifted from financing projects towards developing a collaborative approach with the government to reduce the incidence of poverty.

This approach includes policy dialogue, knowledge management and sharing, and partnership-building.

IFAD first worked in Seychelles in 1991, when it began financing the Employment Generation Project, which was completed six years later.
More recently, stakeholders from Seychelles have participated in activities funded by an ongoing IFAD grant, which supports the Regional Initiative for Smallholder Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in the Indian Ocean Islands. This initiative is creating a regional knowledge-management platform on adaptation strategies for small-scale farmers.

The platform actively disseminates information on conservation agriculture practices such as farming with low or zero tillage, as well as composting, integrating livestock and farming activities, and other environmentally sustainable measures.

Les peuples autochtones, dont la richesse culturelle ne date
pas d’hier, considèrent que leur fonctionnement social,
économique, environnemental et spirituel forme un tout. Ils
apportent une contribution précieuse au patrimoine
mondial grâce aux savoirs traditionnels qu’ils détiennent
et à leur compréhension de la gestion des écosystèmes. Mais
les peuples autochtones sont aussi parmi les groupes de
population les plus vulnérables, les plus marginalisés et les
plus désavantagés au monde.
Nous devons faire en sorte que leur voix soit entendue,
que leurs droits soient respectés et que leurs
conditions de vie s’améliorent.

In parts of Kenya, local communities have been empowered to take control of their own development. The success of the project rests on community involvement
and mobilization of local financial, natural and human resources.

Strong links to markets for poor rural producers are essential to increasing agricultural production, generating economic growth in rural areas and reducing hunger and poverty. Improving these links creates a virtuous circle by boosting productivity, increasing incomes and strengthening food security.

Agriculture is a thirsty business, with irrigation alone accounting for about 70 per cent of freshwater withdrawals. 

Meeting demand from a world population expected to top 9 billion people by 2050 will require a 10 per cent increase in water for agricultural use. 

Enormous efforts will be needed to reduce water demand and improve water use efficiency.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)’.

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries.

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries.

Rural people generally need both secure individual rights to farm plots and secure collective rights to common pool resources on which whole villages depend. 

IFAD-supported projects and programmes have supported the recognition and documenting of group rights, focusing on range/grazing lands, forests and artisanal fishing communities. 

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the ‘Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)’. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries

IFAD and UN-Habitat, through the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN), have entered into a partnership to implement the „Land and Natural Resources Learning Initiative for Eastern and Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA)‟. 

The initiative aims to improve knowledge management strategies and approaches towards pro-poor and gender-sensitive land and natural resource tenure rights in selected East and Southern African countries. 

This report provides an overview of the achievements and learning from the Phase 1 of the Tenure Security Learning Initiative - East & Southern Africa (TSLI-ESA) Project. 

It also looks ahead to strategies for scaling up initiatives, and to the second phase of the TSLI-ESA project.

Participatory mapping uses a range of tools including data collection tools, such as mental mapping, ground mapping, participatory sketch mapping, transect mapping and participatory 3-dimensional modelling. 

Recently participatory mapping initiatives have begun to use more technically advanced geographic information technologies, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), aerial photos and use of remote-sensing images, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other digital computer-based technologies. 

IFAD supported projects and programmes are increasingly making use of these technologies for mapping land and natural resource rights, use and management.

IFAD has supported rural poverty reduction and agricultural development initiatives in the Republic of Guatemala since 1986. During its first decade in the country, IFAD’s work was oriented towards supporting the government in consolidating the peace process and rebuilding the social fabric in zones that were affected by Guatemala’s 36-year armed conflict. 

It also focused on constructing an economic and institutional platform for the development of marginalized rural and indigenous communities.
Over the years, IFAD operations have evolved from localized rural development.

En los últimos treinta años, el FIDA así como sucesivos gobiernos peruanos han desarrollado programas en la sierra, donde los niveles de pobreza son severos. Esto se construye sobre modelos de desarrollo comunal, lecciones aprendidas sistemáticamente y ampliando tanto las áreas cubiertas como el alcance de las intervenciones. Los proyectos FEAS, MARENASS, CORREDOR y SIERRA alcanzaron 120,000 hogares en más de 1,600 comunidades pobres en la sierra sur. Estos proyectos han sacado de la pobreza extrema al 30 por ciento de los hogares objetivos, y 35 por ciento salieron completamente de la pobreza. Estos proyectos secuenciales representan el sendero de un proceso de escalonamiento complejo, pero exitoso.

Au cours des cinq dernières
années, le monde a été touché par
une série de crises économiques,
financières et alimentaires qui ont
ralenti, et parfois contrarié, les
efforts mondiaux pour réduire la
pauvreté et la faim. Aujourd’hui, la
volatilité des prix et les chocs
climatiques – telle la sécheresse
dévastatrice qui a récemment
frappé la Corne de l’Afrique –
continuent à compromettre
gravement ces efforts. Dans ce
contexte, promouvoir l’adaptation
des moyens de subsistance ainsi
que la sécurité alimentaire et
nutritionnelle est devenu la priorité
des programmes gouvernementaux.
Pour être opérants, ces
programmes doivent placer les
petits exploitants agricoles au centre
de l’action et leur faire jouer un rôle
de premier plan dans les efforts
d’investissement requis.

À ce jour, le FIDA a financé neuf programmes et projets au Burundi pour un montant total de 141 millions de dollars. Cette expérience dans le pays confirme que, même dans l’adversité, des programmes et projets conçus sur la base de consultations adéquates avec les communautés rurales peuvent améliorer la sécurité alimentaire des ménages.

Pendant les onze années qu’a duré le conflit armé dans le pays, le FIDA n’a jamais interrompu ses programmes et activités. En accomplissant son mandat en faveur du développement rural et agricole, l’organisation a permis de maintenir la cohésion sociale des communautés rurales qui ont été, directement ou indirectement, victimes de massacres et de combats. En restant dans le pays, malgré l’insécurité et les contraintes de l’embargo international à l’encontre du Burundi, le FIDA a également favorisé le maintien d’un sentiment de normalité parmi la population.

IFAD is currently one of the two largest donors supporting Yemen’s rural agricultural sector. IFAD has worked in Yemen since the Fund’s creation, and has acquired a wealth of experience and knowledge of the economy and society, and developed a wide network of partners in the country. IFAD’s goal in Yemen is to achieve improved, diversified and sustainable livelihoods for poor rural women, men and young people, especially those who depend on rainfed agriculture and livestock production systems in the poorest areas. 

IFAD has three main strategic objectives in Yemen:
• empowering rural communities by strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations and using community-driven approaches so that poor rural people can manage local community development activities;
• promoting sustainable rural financial services and pro-poor rural enterprises by developing savings and credit associations for disadvantaged groups in remote rural areas and developing rural enterprises that provide jobs for the unemployed, especially young people and women;
• enhancing food security for poor households by restoring the productive agricultural base and improving productivity so that poor households can produce enough for household needs and a surplus that can be sold.

IFAD loans and grants have supported the government’s investments in poverty reduction programmes since 1979. Before 1998, when Hurricane Mitch devastated the country,IFAD was almost the only institution investing in rural development and poverty alleviation in Honduras.

IFAD also designed one of the first projects to be implemented after the disastrous hurricane: the National Fund for Sustainable Rural Development Project (FONADERS).

Climate variability and change are expected to compromise agricultural production and food security severely in many African countries. 

Près de 30% des pauvres de la planète vivent dans des États
fragiles. Bien qu’il existe plusieurs mesures de la fragilité,
la plupart des pays classés dans cette catégorie ne
disposent pas de certains des outils essentiels au renforcement
des capacités nationales: la bonne gouvernance, des
politiques solides, du personnel qualifié, des infrastructures et
des services fonctionnels, des citoyens instruits, une société
civile active et un secteur privé compétitif. Les troubles civils et
les conflits frontaliers sont trop souvent la réalité. Les pauvres
qui vivent dans les zones rurales des États fragiles sont
particulièrement vulnérables, car ils ne sont guère en mesure
de s’adapter à la situation engendrée par la fragilité.

À présent, le défi que le pays doit relever est de créer les conditions de la croissance économique – et le Gouvernement du Togo pense que la meilleure manière de parvenir à une croissance durable est d’augmenter la production et d'améliorer la productivité du secteur agricole.

Pour ces raisons, après être resté à l’écart du pays pendant plus de dix ans, le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) collabore étroitement avec la République du Togo afin de mettre en bonne voie le développement agricole et rural.

There is a growing need to investigate different crop production systems that prevent soil degradation while increasing productivity. Conservation agriculture (CA) offers a promising solution. Conservation agriculture is a climate resilient technology and management system that has demonstrable potential to secure sustained productivity and livelihood improvements for millions of climate-dependent farmers working in semi-arid areas around the world. Success stories are recorded for some countries in Asia, and in Australia and Brazil. However, for sub-Saharan Africa adoption of the technology has lagged behind these other countries, and concerns have been raised as to the suitability of the technology within the smallholder farming context.

Déjà vulnérable, le Sahel est très exposé aux impacts des changements climatiques, sa population étant fortement dépendante de l’agriculture pluviale et de l’élevage. La variabilité des précipitations, la dégradation des sols et la désertification sont quelques-uns des facteurs clés qui influent négativement sur les moyens de subsistance des populations locales. Des sécheresses, avec des degrés variables de gravité, se produisent deux années sur cinq, ce qui rend les récoltes des cultures vivrières et de rente très aléatoires. Les sécheresses récurrentes des années 1970 et 1980 ont provoqué des pertes énormes de produits agricoles et d’animaux, des pertes en vies humaines causées par la famine et la malnutrition, des déplacements massifs de population, et ont eu des impacts économiques graves. De plus, la plupart des modèles climatiques prévoient que le Sahel sera encore plus sec au cours de ce siècle.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the central issues around land tenure and management in Argentina, in light of the global changes in agriculture and rural
territorial development. In addition, a series of policy options are put forward to address the most conflictridden  situations, keeping in mind the goals of equity
and development.

Food price trends have a major impact on food security,
at both household and country levels. Many of the world’s
poorest people spend more than half their income on food.
Price hikes for cereals and other staples can force them
to cut back on the quantity or quality of their food.
This may result in food insecurity and malnutrition,
with tragic implications in both the short and long term.
Undernourishment increases disease and mortality, lowers
productivity and can have severe lifelong effects, particularly
for children. Price spikes can also limit the ability of poor
households to meet important non-food expenses, such
as education and health care. When they occur globally,
price hikes can affect low-income, food importing
countries, putting pressure on their limited financial
resources. Higher food prices have a particularly negative
impact on food security when prices spike suddenly or
reach extremely high levels.

Les petits agriculteurs sont l’épine dorsale de l’économie rurale, mais
ce sont eux qui sont le plus durement touchés par les effets du
changement climatique. Au niveau mondial, 500 millions de petites
exploitations subviennent aux besoins de quelque 2 milliards de
personnes. Ces agriculteurs vivent dans les zones qui sont le plus à
risque – versants collinaires, déserts et plaines inondées. Le changement
climatique multiplie les menaces auxquelles ils doivent faire face,
mettant en danger les actifs naturels dont ils dépendent et accélérant la
dégradation environnementale.

L’évolution des prix des produits alimentaires a une forte
incidence sur la sécurité alimentaire, tant au niveau des
ménages que des pays. Nombre des habitants les plus
pauvres de la planète consacrent plus de la moitié de leurs
revenus à la nourriture. Ils sont parfois contraints de réduire
la quantité ou la qualité de leurs vivres du fait de la hausse
des prix des céréales ou d’autres aliments de base.
L’insécurité alimentaire et la malnutrition qui peuvent
s’ensuivre ont des répercussions dramatiques à court et à
long termes. La sous-alimentation entraîne une
augmentation des taux de morbidité et de mortalité, réduit
la productivité et peut avoir de graves conséquences tout au
long de la vie, en particulier pour les enfants. La flambée des
prix peut aussi limiter la capacité des ménages pauvres à
couvrir des dépenses non alimentaires importantes, comme
l’éducation et les soins de santé. Lorsque ces hausses se
produisent à l’échelle mondiale, elles peuvent nuire aux pays
à faible revenu importateurs de produits alimentaires, en
pesant lourdement sur leurs ressources financières limitées.
Lorsque les prix grimpent brusquement ou atteignent des
niveaux extrêmement élevés, le renchérissement des denrées
alimentaires a un effet particulièrement préjudiciable sur la
sécurité alimentaire.

L’un des plus importants
partenariats du FIDA est celui qu’il a
noué avec les États membres de
l’Organisation des pays exportateurs de
pétrole (OPEP) et de l’Organisation de
Coopération Islamique (OCI)1. Ces
pays, qui sont répartis sur trois régions
géographiques, le Proche-Orient et
l’Afrique du Nord, l’Afrique
subsaharienne et l’Asie, sont des
partenaires actifs et de fermes partisans
du FIDA, à la fois comme contributeurs
et comme bénéficiaires du financement
de projets de développement. Le FIDA
travaille aussi en partenariat étroit avec
de nombreuses institutions et fonds de
développement arabes et islamiques
pour le financement, la conception,
l’exécution et le suivi de ses projets de
développement rural.
Le partenariat à long terme établi
entre le FIDA et les États membres et
institutions de l’OCI est devenu, ces
dernières années, plus important que
jamais. Les problèmes sont aujourd’hui
plus graves qu’ils ne l’étaient il y a trois
décennies, lors de la création du FIDA.
Mais les possibilités de produire un
impact encore plus grand sur la vie des
populations rurales pauvres sont tout à
fait à notre portée.

Lorsqu’elles sont
économiquement et socialement
autonomes, les femmes
deviennent de puissants
vecteurs de changement. Dans
les zones rurales de nombreux
pays en développement, elles
contribuent largement à faire
vivre les ménages et occupent
une place centrale dans
l’activité agricole. Mais leur
statut subalterne par rapport
aux hommes les empêche
souvent de réaliser pleinement
leur potentiel.

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. 

 

Les jeunes, femmes et hommes, qui vivent en milieu rural sont les agriculteurs, entrepreneurs et dirigeants du monde de demain. C’est à eux qu’il incombera de relever des défis s’agissant de satisfaire la demande alimentaire, développer des centres ruraux dynamiques et promouvoir une croissance économique diversifiée dans les pays en développement. Il est donc impératif de placer les jeunes ruraux1 et la petite agriculture au premier plan des stratégies mondiales en faveur de la sécurité alimentaire, de la réduction de la pauvreté et de la croissance des revenus.

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.

La désertification se produit lorsque l’on supprime le couvert forestier et végétal qui sert de liant au sol. Elle se produit lorsque l’on coupe les arbres et les buissons pour en faire du bois de feu ou de construction, ou pour nettoyer des terres en vue de les mettre en culture. Elle se produit lorsque les
animaux dévorent les herbages et provoquent, avec leurs sabots, l’érosion des terres arables. Elle se produit lorsqu’une exploitation intensive provoque l’épuisement des éléments nutritifs du sol.

L’érosion éolienne et hydrique aggrave les dégâts, emportant la couche superficielle du sol et laissant derrière elle un mélange très peu fertile de poussière et de sable. Ce sont ces facteurs conjugués qui transforment des terres dégradées en désert.

Institution spécialisée des Nations Unies vouée à
l’éradication de la pauvreté rurale dans les pays en
voie de développement, le FIDA apporte son
soutien à des programmes et projets comprenant
d’importantes composantes consacrées à la
gestion des ressources naturelles. Les efforts de
lutte contre la déforestation, la dégradation des sols
et la désertification, en particulier, sont des éléments
centraux dans les opérations du FIDA. Dans tous les
exposés des options et stratégies d’intervention par
pays, qui orientent dans chaque pays les activités de
prêt et de don du FIDA, l’attention se porte sur une
approche intégrée de l’amélioration des moyens
d’existence passant par un meilleur accès aux
ressources naturelles et leur gestion durable.

This report was prepared for informing IFAD‘s Country Strategic Opportunities Program (COSOP) 2012 – 2017 for Viet Nam. In preparation of this report a brainstorming workshop was held on 9 May 2011 in Hanoi bringing together key national research institutes working on climate change (CC) and environment related issues, ministries of agriculture and environment and bilateral and multilateral donors.

Une grave crise alimentaire menace actuellement le sud du Soudan. En Afrique de l’Est, où des millions d’individus dépendent déjà de l’aide alimentaire, un fort renchérissement des denrées de base se profile à l’horizon. Ce n’est là qu’un des derniers exemples d’une période agitée qui a débuté il y a
deux ans, lorsque l’escalade mondiale des prix a provoqué des pénuries alimentaires dans de nombreux pays d’Afrique et d’Asie. La flambée des prix alimentaires a plongé dans une misère encore plus noire les pauvres, déjà aux prises avec mille difficultés pour satisfaire leurs besoins les plus élémentaires. Elle a laissé dans son sillage la crise financière mondiale, qui les a à nouveau pénalisés le plus durement. L’agriculture est le principal employeur, créateur d’emplois et exportateur de la plupart des pays en développement. D’un point de vue historique, elle est le moteur économique de nombreux pays, générant une croissance qui s’est avérée au moins deux fois plus efficace que celle d’autres secteurs pour la réduction de la pauvreté. Les investissements dans le développement agricole et rural sont par conséquent essentiels pour la sécurité alimentaire et un développement économique durable.

Dans le monde, on compte 1,4 milliard de personnes en situation
d’extrême pauvreté, qui subsistent avec moins de 1,25 dollar par jour. Près
d’un milliard de ces hommes, femmes et enfants vivent dans les zones
rurales des pays en développement.
Quelque 2 milliards de ruraux vivent avec moins de 2 dollars par jour. La
plupart d’entre eux sont de petits cultivateurs qui, avec leurs familles, ne
subsistent que grâce à l’agriculture.
Aujourd’hui, ils doivent faire face à des changements rapides et sans
précédent. Sous l’effet du changement climatique, de la croissance
démographique mondiale et de la volatilité des prix des denrées
alimentaires et de l’énergie, le nombre de personnes vivant dans l’extrême
pauvreté et souffrant de la faim va croissant.

 Since 1982, IFAD has supported seven projects in Syria with loans totalling US$126.2 million for projects with a total value of US$474 million. The organization has also provided a number of grants, including technical assistance grants to support women’s empowerment.

IFAD works in partnership with the government, other donors, NGOs, local institutions and civil society organizations. It finances initiatives which enable poor rural people in Syria’s agricultural settlement areas to improve their incomes and living conditions.

IFAD is working towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and its interventions endeavour to reduce poverty and promote gender equality and environmental sustainability.

The project will reverse the decline in productivity of Eritrea’s soil resources;
restore vegetative cover and habitat diversity in areas of degraded rangelands,
forests and woodlands; and increase biodiversity within crop, livestock and
forest production landscapes.

The GEF-funded Agricultural and Rural Rehabilitation and Development
Initiative, which will complement the ongoing IFAD-financed Agricultural and
Rural Rehabilitation and Development Initiative Project (ARRDI), will similarly
focus on southern Niger’s Maradi region – home to 20 per cent of the nation’s
population – targeting poor and extremely poor communities vulnerable to
environmental risk, with special emphasis on women and youth.

Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest countries, with an annual per capita income of only US$174. Nearly half of the population lives under the poverty line, and more than 12 million people are
chronically or periodically food insecure. Agriculture generates approximately 50 per cent of the GDP and 90 per cent of export earnings. Despite its importance, agricultural performance has improved little over the past 50 years and food security has deteriorated. Low agricultural productivity and chronic food insecurity are direct results of the ongoing degradation of natural resources in the
Ethiopian highlands.

This Decision Tools document is  the final outcome of five years of studies, debates and workshop discussions. These Tools will prove useful to Governments, development practitioners and field technical staff that are financing, designing or implementing CDD projects for rural poverty reduction.

Mobile signal coverage is expanding fast. More and more people own and use mobile phones and some are finding innovative ways to use them to enhance their earning potential. In the Republic of Tanzania, Internet connectivity is evolving rapidly, but few people in rural areas have access to the technology. The use of mobile phones and text messages, or SMS, is still far more widespread than e-mail. Yet the speed of change is dramatic. Communication technologies that allow wireless access within a 30-km radius are being extended throughout Tanzania and tests are verifying the feasibility of using GPRS modems in remote districts.

“It was important that we adapt quickly, looking for ways to ensure that everybody benefits
from these changes,” says Clive Lightfoot, technical advisor of the First Mile Project. “We want
to make certain that groups of people are not left behind and that the revolution is also
directed towards reducing rural poverty.”

The Arab countries account for more than 5 per cent of the world’s population, but less than 1 per cent of global water resources. And as a consequence of the phenomena associated with climate change, the region is facing an even greater water shortage.

For 30 years now, IFAD and its partners in the region have worked to develop effective, replicable solutions to help poor rural communities manage their scarce water resources. More than half of IFAD’s programmes and projects in the region include a focus on water. 

IFAD has approved six loans to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for an approximate total of US$80.0 million. The organization also approved two technical assistance grants in 1991 and 1998 for the Regional Training Programme in Rural Development, implemented by the Foundation for Training and Applied Research in Agrarian Reform (CIARA), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land.

IFAD’s mandate to reduce poverty by improving the living conditions and incomes of poor rural people faces vigorous challenges and opportunities. IFAD works in partnership with the government and other donors, financing programmes and projects that target the poorest of the poor, particularly small farmers, landless people, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities, and rural women in general. CIARA, one of IFAD’s principal partners in recent rural development projects, plays an important role as administrator of decentralized development programmes for the country's Ministry of
Popular Power for Agriculture and Land.

IFAD is currently engaged in over 230 loan operations in 85 countries. About two thirds of that portfolio is related to community-based natural resource management.

Poor rural people and their institutions are at the core of this approach. Water is critical to these men and women pastoralists, fishers, farmers, young and old, part- or full-time, urban or rural, indigenous, tribal or otherwise often marginalized people. It is the key entry point for improving their livelihoods.

Climate change represents an additional challenge to rural people in SSA – and a further reason for investment in water control. Smallholder farmers, pastoralists and artisanal fishers are among the most vulnerable to this threat. 

While projections of changes in annual rainfall vary across Africa, these groups will experience the negative effects of increased temperature and
extreme events. For them, enhanced control of water will become critical in building resilience to increased climate variability.

Women constitute two-thirds of the 1.2 billion poor people in the world. The great majority live in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions that are also home to most of the world’s ‘water poor’ – those with limited access to reliable, safe supplies of water for productive and domestic uses. The role women play in reducing food insecurity and poverty – through their knowledge of multiple uses of water, crop production, local biodiversity, soils and local water resources – is recognized internationally. However, despite this, they are often still excluded from decision-making processes in new water management approaches and other natural resource allocation projects and initiatives. Globalization, changing market dynamics and climate change are altering the rural context for most poor rural people, resulting in increased vulnerability to natural hazards and economic uncertainties, above all for women. 

El trabajo del FIDA en Uruguay se desarrolla en dos niveles distintos aunque complementarios:

• a nivel subregional, en el marco de las instituciones del MERCOSUR, promueve una plataforma de diálogo entre gobiernos y asociaciones de pequeños productores, con el fin de aumentar la relevancia política de la agricultura familiar y la inversión pública en su favor;
• a nivel nacional, proporciona financiación y asistencia técnica al gobierno para la ejecución de programas y proyectos que traduzcan en acciones las políticas públicas definidas en el ámbito de la subregión y adaptadas al contexto del país.

There is a general consensus that rural areas and rural livelihood systems
will bear the brunt of climate change across the globe. More frequent
extreme weather events such as heat waves and intense precipitation are
likely to place the livelihoods of many rural people at risk. Africa is
expected to be the most vulnerable continent to climate change, and will
face a decline in both food security and agricultural activity, particularly
in relation to subsistence farming.

The impact of climate change on agriculture is expected to be
devastating in many parts of the developing world. Especially in the
least developed countries, declining crop productivity and livestock deaths
associated with further global warming pose a serious threat to food
security and national economies.
Nonetheless, vulnerability to climate change can be exacerbated by poverty,
marginality and low adaptive capacity. An integrated approach is
therefore needed to bridge the gap between local development and the
global challenge of climate change.

As a signatory to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, IFAD is fully committed to management for development results (MfDR) as a means to improve development performance, not only in the programmes it supports, but also within IFAD itself: ‘focus on results’ is one of the organization’s core values.

IFAD has been working closely with the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) since they were established in July 2001, seeking new ways to combat rural
poverty across the continent. African leaders created NEPAD to promote sustainable development
and strengthen efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the international
community’s time-bound targets to meet the needs of the world’s poorest people. Within the
framework of NEPAD, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) was
prepared in June 2002.

The main objectives of IFAD’s operations in the country are to improve food security and family nutrition. Since 1980, IFAD has supported agricultural development by investing a total of US$64.3 million in seven programmes and projects to reduce poverty in the country’s rural areas.
Normally, Lesotho is not in a position to grow enough food to feed its growing population. 

Offsetting the effects on poor households of declining agricultural production, IFAD investments support the efforts of small-scale farmers to ensure food security for their families and improve their incomes. Increased productivity is a key to achieving these aims and to reducing poverty in rural areas. IFAD finances programmes and projects that encourage poor people’s participation in the planning and development of income-generating activities, including microenterprises.

In 2004 and 2005, IFAD underwent a comprehensive Independent External Evaluation (IEE). The evaluation was conducted to determine IFAD’s contribution to rural poverty reduction, examine the relevance of its mission and objectives, assess its corporate learning and performance, and make recommendations on policy directions and steps to improve IFAD’s performance. It was, at the time, probably the most ambitious exercise of its kind for a United Nations agency, breaking new ground in addressing institutional performance in terms of impact. 

Le SARDI est une réponse concertée, à la fois à court et à long termes, aux causes structurelles profondes des crises alimentaires dans la sous-région sahélienne, traduisant un engagement à en finir avec le spectre de la famine et la résurgence des crises.

L’initiative contribuera à réduire la pauvreté des ménages et à prévenir l’insécurité alimentaire conjoncturelle et la malnutrition à travers :
• l’accroissement de la production agricole, de la productivité et l’amélioration de l’accès des producteurs au marché
• l’amélioration des systèmes d’alerte précoce des Etats et le développement de systèmes de gestion des crises

IFAD’s intention is to help poor rural households by creating sustainable jobs, reducing poverty and guaranteeing food security. To meet this goal IFAD places emphasis on intensifying agricultural output and supporting smallholders within irrigation schemes, as well as helping develop small rural businesses. In particular, IFAD works to improve linkages to financial services and markets, to support providers of financial and marketing services and to strengthen the capacity of poor rural communities and their institutions.

The Government of Swaziland, key stakeholders and IFAD are jointly designing a new investment focusing on rural finance and enterprise development.

Le FIDA prend appui sur les communautés et leurs organisations pour développer des activités génératrices d’emploi, agricole ou non, et de revenus. Les cultures vivrières, la production laitière et la recherche de débouchés commerciaux pour ces produits dans les quatre îles de l’archipel feront l’objet d’une attention particulière, ainsi que la conservation et la transformation locale des produits. 

En ce qui concerne les cultures de rente, le FIDA financera sous forme de don la mise en relation des producteurs avec les marchés équitables.

Many rural development efforts in Western and Central Africa have focused on how to improve poor farmers’ yields. But better yields have not always translated into greater incomes. As the use of cassava has grown, the role of efficient markets and a better coordinated cassava chain have become increasingly important to producers and processors who depend on a stable cassava sector for income.

Secure access by rural poor people to both land and water is central to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target of reducing by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

Most of these people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

However, international debate continues to address land and water issues separately, and to view the significant use of water in agriculture as problematic.

Le projet First Mile est destiné à aider les petits agriculteurs, les commerçants, les
transformateurs et les autres acteurs des zones rurales pauvres à mettre en place des filières
commerciales reliant les producteurs aux consommateurs. Une bonne communication est
vitale. Le projet encourage les membres de communautés rurales isolées à utiliser le téléphone
mobile, le courrier électronique et l'Internet pour s'échanger des données d'expérience et de
bonnes pratiques locales, dans le cadre d'un apprentissage mutuel. Si les technologies de la
communication sont importantes, le succès réel de l'entreprise dépend du renforcement de la
confiance et de l'esprit de collaboration tout au long de la filière commerciale. Les agriculteurs
et les autres intervenants finissent par acquérir les connaissances et l'expérience locales
nécessaires et par les partager – même avec les membres de communautés éloignées – pour
concevoir ainsi des idées nouvelles.

La FAO, le FIDA et le PAM redoublent d’efforts pour aider les pays à atteindre les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement (OMD). Plus d’un milliard d’êtres humains vivent dans un état de pauvreté extrême, sont victimes de la faim ou de la sous-alimentation. La grande majorité – environ 810 millions de femmes, d’hommes et d’enfants – vivent en milieu rural, et dépendent de l’agriculture et d’activités connexes. Les trois organismes siégeant à Rome conviennent qu’aucun des Objectifs ne peut être atteint si on n’aide pas les personnes démunies, en particulier celles qui vivent dans les zones rurales, à lutter pour sortir de la pauvreté et de la faim. En conséquence, les organismes concentrent leurs efforts sur le premier Objectif, à savoir réduire de moitié d’ici 2015 le pourcentage de personnes vivant dans une pauvreté et une faim extrêmes.

Une bonne communication est vitale pour les petits
agriculteurs qui ont besoin d'accéder plus facilement au marché
et de disposer d'une information fiable sur les prix, la qualité
des produits et les conditions du marché. Les nouvelles
technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC),
en particulier l'Internet, peuvent-elles y contribuer? First Mile
est un projet pilote de deux ans, appuyé par le Gouvernement
de la Suisse et exécuté en collaboration avec le programme de
développement des systèmes de commercialisation des produits
agricoles du Gouvernement de la République-Unie de
Tanzanie. L'assistance technique est assurée par l'association
International Support Group.
 

Au cours des 25 dernières années, au moins 80 guerres ont secoué le monde. Si leurs théâtres varient,
les conflits violents d'aujourd'hui présentent quelques similitudes frappantes: il s’agit presque
toujours de guerres civiles et la plupart des victimes sont des civils et non des combattants.

La plupart de ces conflits internes se sont déroulés dans des pays pauvres, ce qui a entravé

leur développement. En fait, plus de la moitié des pays où opèrent actuellement des organismes
internationaux d’aide au développement sont affectés par la guerre. Regrettablement, la majorité
de ces conflits sont des phénomènes continus et  non des situations d’urgence temporaire. En
moyenne, les conflits contemporains durent environ huit ans, c’est-à-dire deux fois plus qu’avant 1980.
Et beaucoup plus nombreux sont ceux qui meurent de faim et de maladie que par suite des hostilités
proprement dites.

Land degradation – often caused by human activities such as overcultivation of soil, deforestation, overgrazing and population growth – affects more than one billion people and 40 per cent of the Earth’s
surface.When this degradation occurs in the drylands where the earth is particularly fragile, rainfall is minimal and weather is harsh, desertification results.

Desertification directly affects the lives of more than 650 million people in 110 countries. Contrary to popular belief, desertification is a process that can often be reversed.There are many ways of combating desertification, including applying appropriate land-use technologies and water-use strategies. However, one of the most effective methods of combating desertification is by eradicating poverty.

A pesar de que las personas pobres que viven en las zonas rurales son los principales productores agrícolas del mundo, en muchos casos no tienen acceso a sus tierras y no ejercen control sobre los recursos naturales de los que depende su subsistencia.

Le FIDA est une institution financière internationale
appartenant au système des Nations Unies qui a
pour mission d’éliminer la pauvreté et la faim dans
les zones rurales des pays en développement.
Au moyen de dons et de prêts à des taux d’intérêt
favorables, le Fonds élabore et finance des
programmes et projets qui visent à mettre les
populations rurales pauvres à même de
surmonter elles-mêmes leur pauvreté.

La collaboration du Fonds avec les ONG a débuté peu après la création du Fonds, lorsque celui-ci a appuyé le
Projet de crédit agricole aux petits exploitants au Bangladesh.
En 1976, une ONG a lancé, sous la conduite du professeur Mohammed Yunus de l’Université de Chattagong,
une méthode novatrice de distribution de crédit aux ruraux pauvres, spécialement aux femmes et aux paysans
sans terre, dans un seul village. La constitution et l’éducation de petits groupes par l’intermédiaire desquels les
prêts étaient distribués formaient le pivot de cette initiative. Des agents mobiles de crédit ont mis des services
financiers à la portée des villageois et, grâce à une supervision efficace du recouvrement des prêts, les taux de 

remboursement avoisinaient les 98%.