Études et dossiers

This Focus Note introduces some recent developments in this rapidly changing space. The featured case studies (i) identify traditional pain points in serving smallholder farmers (such as the cost and risk of making payments to farmers and delivering subsidized credit), (ii) discuss how DFS are being used to overcome these pain points, and (iii) highlight some initial obstacles and successes.

In 2014, Kenya was newly classified as a lower-middle-income country, with financial services and infrastructure expected to drive growth of 5 to 6 percent annually over the next five years. At the same time, the country is still in protracted crisis, with recurrent natural disasters, conflict, severe drought and hunger affecting livelihoods. Overall, about 10 million Kenyans suffer from chronic food insecurity and poor nutrition. Recurring drought means that a larger number of people in a growing population are unable to meet their food needs. Good seasons between droughts are increasingly rare, making it difficult for households to recover from crisis to crisis. Severe land degradation, primarily caused by deforestation, unsuitable agricultural practices and flooding, has had a negative impact on agricultural production.

Among the world’s developing regions, Asia and the Pacific region has witnessed the deepest and fastest structural transformation. The Green Revolution that began in the 1960s spurred the rapid spread of improved varieties of cereal crops, accompanied by public investments in and policy support to the agricultural sector. As a result, productivity of wheat and rice increased dramatically, stimulating economic growth and reducing rural poverty. In the following decades, and especially since 2000, the structural transformation further accelerated, leading to a declined share of the sector in both output and GDP and, to a lesser extent, in the total employment. Facilitated by a conducive institutional and policy environment, the process brought about a more diversified, market-oriented and high-value agricultural production; the expansion of food processing, agribusiness, food retailing and exports; and increased domestic and international competitiveness of agriculture – albeit with country and subregional differences. Nevertheless, poverty, deprivation and hunger remain widespread. Two thirds of the world’s poor and hungry people live in the region, mostly in rural environments. Income inequality has been rising fast in a number of countries, especially between urban and rural areas, with adverse effects on poverty reduction and increased risk of social conflict and political instability. Moreover, the countries and subregions are at different stages of the structural transformation process. In most developing economies, labour productivity in agriculture is still low and the shift of the agricultural workforce to other sectors is yet to take place. Therefore, agriculture remains a critical livelihood option and the largest employer sector for most rural people. 

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has undergone a transformation in recent years, adapting itself to an environment more complex and challenging than at any other point in its history: persistent hunger and food insecurity; rising and more volatile food prices; floods, droughts and the ever-more apparent effects of climate change; increasing competition for land; global financial crisis; and a growing human population that has surpassed 7 billion.

In 2001, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council approved the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as an executing agency under its policy of expanded opportunities for executing agencies. 

This publication illustrates IFAD’s experience in closing the gender gap and mobilizing the ‘gender advantage’ in climate change adaptation through ten case studies from across the world. 

This overview document represents a synthesis of 4 policy briefs produced by IFAD, complemented by joint work with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in the area of food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture in the post-2015 agenda. 

IFAD’s work in the post-2015 debate is inspired by its unique mandate to invest in poor rural people to enable them to overcome poverty and to transform their lives.

Article in F@rmletter - The E-magazine of the World’s Farmers (pg 12-13). It describes the Flexi Biogas system as an innovative portable biogas model. 

This was the result of small grant to pilot the technology as part of the Innovation Mainstreaming Initiative funded by the UK Department for International Development.

Annexes (Volume 2) of the Partnership in Progress: 2012-2013.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are funding a number of projects developed to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to improving food security, income generation and women’s empowerment, while respecting traditional knowledge and socio-cultural values. 

Family poultry production plays an essential role in some of these projects.

Le présent rapport constitue, de la part du FIDA, la plus complète des tentatives visant à dresser un bilan des différentes expériences de collaboration avec les OP et à recenser les tendances régionales qui émergent.

Cette démarche offre un point de départ pour la reproduction à plus grande échelle des approches réussies et leur élargissement à d'autres pays et d'autres contextes. Le rapport analyse les modalités du partenariat en cours pendant la période 2012-2013, et met en lumière les expériences réussies et les réalisations observées dans les programmes - pays du FIDA et dans son portefeuille de dons.

Le rapport s’appuie sur les résultats d'une enquête réalisée auprès des chargés de programme pays du FIDA, d'entretiens avec des membres concernés du personnel du FIDA et d'une étude sur dossier approfondie de documents concernant des projets en cours et de nouveaux projets, ainsi que certains dons régionaux et programmes - pays.

Le présent rapport constitue, de la part du FIDA, la plus complète des tentatives visant à dresser un bilan des différentes expériences de collaboration avec les OP et à recenser les tendances régionales qui émergent.

Cette démarche offre un point de départ pour la reproduction à plus grande échelle des approches réussies et leur élargissement à d'autres pays et d'autres contextes. Le rapport analyse les modalités du partenariat en cours pendant la période 2012-2013, et met en lumière les expériences réussies et les réalisations observées dans les programmes - pays du FIDA et dans son portefeuille de dons.

e rapport s’appuie sur les résultats d'une enquête réalisée auprès des c argés de programme pays du FIDA, d'entretiens avec des membres concernés du personnel du FIDA et d'une étude sur dossier approfondie de documents concernant des projets en cours et de nouveaux projets, ainsi que certains dons régionaux et programmes - pays.

These case studies present IFAD’s experiences in building PPPs in country projects and programmes around the world, from which we draw conclusions, lessons learned and the way forward.

Gender and rural development brief with specific focus on the Near East and North Africa.

Summary report on the workshop "Mainstreaming policy dialogue: from vision to action" organized by LAC and PTA on 17 October 2013.

Gender and rural development brief with specific focus on the Pacific Islands.

This paper seeks to draw on both the positive aspects of current practice and the critiques that have been made, to propose an action plan for strengthening IFAD’s engagement in country level policy dialogue.

It outlines a set of broad principles underpinning IFAD’s approach, the first of which is the reaffirmation that policy engagement must be shaped and led by the CPM.

It also makes specific proposals for more effectively integrating country-level policy dialogue in IFAD country programmes; for improving IFAD’s monitoring, reporting and knowledge management on the subject; and for strengthening in-house capacity for country-level policy dialogue.  

Describes what IFAD and the Policy and Technical Advisory division are supporting country-level policy engagement.

It also summarizes past experience and explains how Country Programme Managers can access funds to engage in country-level policy dialogue.

Le monde d’aujourd’hui est plein de paradoxes, parfois grotesques – ainsi, 870 millions de personnes souffrent de la faim alors qu’un tiers de l’ensemble de la production alimentaire est perdu ou gaspillé. Nous nous émerveillons devant les taux de croissance des pays à revenu intermédiaire; pourtant, des dizaines de millions de personnes y vivent en situation d’extrême pauvreté. Près de 75% des personnes les plus pauvres du monde vivent en milieu rural et tirent principalement leurs moyens d’existence de l’agriculture, tout en produisant plus de 80% de la nourriture consommée en Afrique subsaharienne et en Asie. Et ils
sont nombreux à être eux-mêmes des acheteurs nets de denrées alimentaires.

Brochure illustrating IFAD's support to coffee value-chain development.

Small-scale producers in the development of tea value chain partnerships 

Brochure illustrating IFAD's support to cocoa value-chain development.

The thesis of this article is that governments of countries that plan their agricultural and rural development programmes on a large scale – typically covering the entire agriculture sector and including all or most of the important ingredients for agricultural growth and rural development – do better in terms of agricultural production and reduction of rural poverty and hunger than do country governments that do not invest broadly and at scale in such development.

Based on the successful experience in 2005 in reviewing the IFAD-funded projects with indigenous peoples by indigenous experts, independent studies were conducted on selected IFAD-funded projects in each region. The studies on IFAD-funded projects with indigenous peoples are aimed to support IFAD in enhancing its development effectiveness in its engagement with indigenous peoples. In general, the case studies:
a) Identified existing policies and institutions, good practices, key success factors and innovations in selected on-going IFAD-funded projects with indigenous peoples with a potential for scaling up and replication;
b) Assessed the implementation of the IFAD Policy on Engagement with Indigenous Peoples in IFAD-funded projects taking into account that the selected project has been approved before the approval of the policy; and,
c) Identified challenges and suggested areas of improvement in strengthening partnership between IFAD and indigenous peoples in order to address poverty and sustainable development with culture and identity.

This document reports on the remarkable achievements of the Financing Facility for Remittances (FFR) in its five years of operation. It provides an overview of the importance of remittances to development, the strategy that the Facility has adopted to date, and the lessons. 

The FFR Brief learned from the innovative projects it has financed. Looking forward, the report highlights the tremendous opportunities offered by large-scale distribution networks, adoption of new technologies, mobilization of migrant capital and partnering with the private sector. Each chapter has been designed to be readable as a stand-alone discussion of the specific topic area it addresses. As a number of projects resulted in lessons learned in multiple areas, projects may be mentioned more than once, and their impact in each topic area will be discussed separately.

Le présent rapport résume une compilation à venir d’études sur les transferts de fonds vers l’Asie et le Pacifique. Ses conclusions reposent sur une série d’études commandées par le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) et réalisées par Developing Markets Associates, le Dialogue interaméricain (IAD), la Banque mondiale et l’Institut mondial des caisses d’épargne ainsi que d’études et d’analyses de la Banque mondiale.

This report summarizes the first global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD in February 2013. 

The report provides an overview of the main messages conveyed, the key topics discussed, the recommendations put forward by indigenous peoples’ representatives and the regional action plans jointly agreed upon by IFAD and indigenous participants. 

For those interested in learning  more, the report provides links to background documents, case studies, videos, photos, interviews and further reading. 

This brief paper presents the main phase of SFOAP (2013-2015). 

During this period the Programme will help African FOs to evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises. 

This paper summarizes the results of the IFAD Institutional Scaling Up Review (Phase 2), which was conducted under a grant from IFAD to the Brookings Institution.

This paper presents the Learning Route, ‘Managing Forests, Sustaining Lives, Improving Livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Groups in the Mekong Region’, undertaken in November 2012 by PROCASUR and AIPP with the support of IFAD. 

It describes the Learning Route process, outputs and outcomes, as well as lessons learned, in addition to two case studies – one in Lao PDR and the other in Thailand – of community-based forest management, communal land titles and sustainable livelihoods. 

The document also provides a general overview of the land tenure system and its effect on the traditional livelihoods of indigenous peoples and ethnic groups in Asia, with particular focus on Lao PDR and Thailand.  

An analysis of lessons learnt from field application of IFAD’s sourcebook on institutional and organizational analysis for pro-poor change.

Farmers’ Africa is a capacity-building programme that aims to improve the livelihoods and food security of rural producers in Africa. It works with farmers’ organizations (FOs) to help them evolve into more stable, performing and accountable organizations that effectively represent their members and advise them on farming enterprises. 

The programme supports the main functions of FOs, promotes their engagement in policy processes and contributes to their professionalization. It also supports the efforts of FOs to provide economic services to their members. The total cost of the programme is estimated at EUR 40 million over five years and includes an overall contribution of EUR 26.9 million from the European Union (EU). 

El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), ha definido como misión el diseño de herramientas que aporten a la construcción de capacidades para el empoderamiento de la población rural como ruta para mejorar su calidad de vida, a través de procesos de autodesarrollo.

Dentro de la población rural los pueblos indígenas, se identifican en contexto con más desventajas en relación a acceso a servicios básicos y recursos necesarios para salir de la pobreza, sumado a la situación de exclusión histórica y negación de sus derechos a la cual han estado enfrentados.

Como respuesta a esto, se define la Política de Actuación en relación a Pueblos Indígenas, que tienen como fin que los procesos de desarrollo impulsados desde el FIDA tengan mayor efectividad, la cual cuenta con procedimientos, instrumentos y mecanismos para su aplicación.

La Sistematización de Buenas Practicas del Programa Desarrollo Rural Sustentable para la Región del Norte -PRODENORTE- se constituye en un aprendizaje colectivo y de beneficio para la población indígena de los pueblos mayas Q´eqchi´, Pocomchi´, Achi y Ki´che´.

El programa se desarrolla bajo los lineamientos descritos en el Programa Sobre Oportunidades Estratégicas Nacionales del FIDA, COSOP 2008-2013. 

The rapid growth in consumer demand for sustainable agricultural products represents an enormous opportunity for small-scale farmers and producers in developing countries.

To help them seize this and other opportunities, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funds a range of projects in rural areas. A growing number of projects support smallholder production of commodities that are certified under programmes such as Fairtrade, Organic, UTZ Certified and Rainforest Alliance, including:

• Cocoa and coffee in Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone

• Fruits in the South Pacific and Madagascar

• Cosmetic and medicinal plants in India and Southern Africa.

This review examines the impact of water-related projects on women, women’s role in managing water resources and the constraints women face in gaining access to water. It highlights the innovative activities and catalysts that have helped to address gender issues in water programmes and projects. 

The most common type of biogas system, and the most widely adopted in China and India, is a fixed dome system. Its construction requires skilled technical expertise and complex logistics, making installation expensive and time-consuming. Fixed dome systems are permanent installations, so secure land tenure is a prerequisite. These challenges make it difficult to adopt fixed dome systems in developing countries, particularly in Africa. As a result, many systems have failed and adoption rates have been low.

Another type of biogas system, manufactured in Kenya, is Flexi Biogas, a flexible above- ground system that is simpler and less costly to build and operate. This system does not require agitation and the digester is not a sealed tank but simply a 6m x 3m plastic bag made of PVC tarpaulin.
For more information please click on the link below.

Un des enjeux majeurs auquel l’humanité sera confrontée au cours de ce nouveau millénaire, est sans conteste la gestion durable des ressources en eau face aux demandes pressantes d’une population sans cesse croissante. 

Over 50 experts from more than 20 countries convened in Salzburg, Austria, in November 2011 for a special Dialogue for Action meeting entitled Transforming Agricultural Development and Production in Africa: Closing Gender Gaps and Empowering Rural Women in Policy and Practice. Designed to accelerate rural and agricultural development in Africa, the meeting focused on investment in women.

It was organized by the Salzburg Global Seminar (SGS) with support from the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)/Belgian Fund for Food Security (BFFS) Joint Programme. This report aims to reflect the complexity of the discussions that took place during the event and the outcome of those discussions.

Le développement peut favoriser la paix, car les deux vont de pair. Si par nos programmes nous aidons les populations à vaincre les obstacles qui freinent leur propre développement, nous leur donnons du même coup les moyens de se battre contre la pauvreté et la faim et non pas entre eux. Nous les détournons de la tentation de riposter par la violence et la destruction à des situations certes intolérables. Personne ne devrait aller se coucher le soir le ventre vide. Personne ne devrait voir le potentiel d’un enfant s’étioler sous l’effet de la malnutrition, de l’analphabétisme et de la désespérance. Aucune
femme ne devrait être privée d’accès aux ressources au simple prétexte qu’elle n’est pas un homme. Aucun être humain ne devrait être interdit de parole simplement parce que son silence arrange un tel ou un tel.

The paper highlights the issues arising from the Global Gathering of Women Pastoralists (2010) which brought together over 100 women from herding communities across 32 different countries to discuss the challenges faced by pastoralist women and girls, and their potential opportunities.

It aims to support development practitioners in planning specific interventions and mainstreaming issues that potentially affect pastoralist women into the implementation stages of development initiatives. 

The paper is part of the IFAD Livestock Thematic Papers on Livestock and Pastoralists and Gender and Livestock, which offer an in-depth view of the broader context.

This Thematic Paper is part of a toolkit for development practitioners, created to support the design of appropriate livestock development interventions. It has been developed to assess existing synergies between livestock and the renewable energy sector and consider the potential benefits that could arise from their interactions, such as mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental preservation (soil restoration), and availability of clean, affordable and reliable energy sources (e.g. biogas). 

The paper is divided into two sections. The first part looks at the livestock’s potential as a renewable energy source. Through, for example, the use of cost-effective technologies such as biogas systems that can stem methane emissions from livestock manure by recovering the gas and using it as an energy source in alternative to wood/charcoal or fossil fuel. 

The second part, given the climate change scenario, considers viable applications of Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) addressed for small-scale farmers and livestock keepers at different levels of the value chain that can provide multifunctional benefits for households, community and environment. 

What does gender equality look like? Gender equality exists where women and men have equal access to opportunities and services, equal control over resources, and an equal say in decisions at all levels. 

Evidence demonstrates that where gender equality is greater, there is higher economic growth and a better quality of life for all.

Ce manuel est un complément au “Manuel de suivi et d’entretien des petits barrages en Mauritanie” publié dans la même série.

El presente estudio se basa en el análisis sobre la incorporación de los principios de actuación por los que ha de guiarse el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), en su labor con Pueblos Indígenas y Afrodescendientes. El Programa de Desarrollo Rural en la Costa Caribe de Nicaragua, NICARIBE, fue el proyecto de referencia para el análisis. 

NICARIBE es un programa que se implementa en siete territorios de Pueblos Indígenas y Afrodescendientes de la Costa Caribe, y tiene como meta mejorar los niveles de ingreso de 10,580 familias que viven en estos territorios, enfocando en el apoyo en el incremento de la producción, el manejo y aprovechamiento sostenible de los recursos naturales y fortalecimiento de sus organizaciones (territoriales y comunales) locales.

This factsheet presents the main outcomes of the Scampis project that aimed to improve the food security of 30,000 vulnerable smallholders in three countries through the use of micro-irrigation systems (MIS) and natural fertilizers and pesticides.

Este es un documento sobre las Buenas Prácticas del proyecto de Desarrollo Corredor Central (PDCC) implementado en Ecuador y financiado por el Gobierno Nacional y por el Préstamo 650/EC proveniente del Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA), a través de la ejecución de sub-Proyectos de Turismo Comunitario con Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas.

Los tres segmentos geográficos que conforman el corredor central, desde la región de la costa a la región amazónica: (i) Portoviejo y La Maná; (ii) Pujilí y Pelileo; (iii) Baños y Puyo.

Il est de plus en plus admis que le changement climatique est en train de transformer le contexte dans lequel s’inscrit le développement rural; il remodèle les paysages physiques et socio-économiques et rend plus coûteux le développement de la petite agriculture. Mais il n’existe guère de consensus quant à la manière dont les pratiques de l’agriculture paysanne devraient s’adapter. Une question est souvent posée: en quoi l’agriculture “intelligente face au climat” pratiquée par les petits exploitants est-elle vraiment différente et va au-delà des meilleures pratiques habituelles du développement? 

Ce document est un document de travail préparé pour la session jeunesse du Forum Paysan 2012. Il propose un résumé des conclusions du projet conjoint MIJARC/FIDA/FAO intitulé « Faciliter l’accès des jeunes ruraux aux activités agricoles ».

Ces conclusions seront complétées et insérées dans un rapport final qui sera publié après le Forum Paysan. 

La croissance démographique, l’urbanisation et l’augmentation des revenus continueront à exercer une pression sur la demande alimentaire. Les prix mondiaux de la plupart des denrées de base agricoles devraient se maintenir à leur niveau de 2010, voire augmenter, tout au moins au cours de la prochaine décennie (OCDE-FAO, 2010). Les petits producteurs de nombreux pays en développement n’ont pas pu tirer parti de la hausse des prix lors de la crise causée par l’envolée des prix en 2007-2008. Pourtant, la flambée des prix aurait pu être pour eux l’occasion d’accroître leurs revenus en contribuant à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire. Mais cette opportunité d’utiliser la hausse des prix des produits alimentaires comme levier pour se libérer de la pauvreté ne s’est pas concrétisée pour les petits producteurs. 

The Syrian Arab Republic, like other countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, is a dry country that is prone to drought, with large areas of desert or semi-desert that are too fragile to be cultivated but will support grazing for a restricted number of livestock. These areas of ecological fragility, if overgrazed and poorly managed, can quickly become degraded and desertified and, in the worst case scenario, can eventually become biologically sterile. Good management of these resources is therefore critical to maintaining healthy ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend on them.

This report is the fruit of that endeavour and builds on efforts by IWMI, IFAD and many others to document and understand the impacts of PIM. 

Through the systematic review of 24 IFAD-funded PIM interventions and field observations from 5 project sites in the Asian region this study sheds new light on what works, where and why. 

Our study examines WUAs that have been created by IFAD projects and those which pre-date it’s interventions but are the main focus of capacity building or restructuring. 

L’accès qu’ont les agriculteurs aux ressources hydriques est déterminé par de nombreux facteurs. Le cadre politique national et les stratégies adoptées par le gouvernement ont, entre autres, un impact important sur l’accès à l’eau, et sur les projets et programmes qui travaillent dans ce domaine. Au fur et à mesure qu’évolue le contexte politique, il est donc nécessaire de revoir la mise en oeuvre de ces projets, en particulier ceux qui ont trait à la construction d’ouvrages hydrauliques, afin de s’assurer que l’environnement politique et stratégique reste adapté aux besoins locaux et permette la mise en place d’une gestion locale, durable et efficace de l’eau agricole.

The objective of this report is to identify, characterize, and evaluate best practices in smallholder private irrigation in West Africa. The report presents a comparative assessment of the smallholder private irrigation initiatives in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. 

Issues discussed include: the potential and impacts of new technologies; the successes and challenges of different approaches to develop smallholder private irrigation (promotion of technologies, institutional arrangements, advisory and financial services, and environmental impact mitigation); and the lessons learned.

Plus de 35 ans sont passés depuis la première conférence mondiale de la femme des Nations Unies au Mexique en 1975, et de nombreuses autres conférences et événements se sont succédés, avec comme résultats des engagements politiques, des documents d’action et des
recommandations. 

Malgré cela, nous sommes loin de pouvoir affirmer que l’objectif d’égalité entre les sexes ait été atteint. En ce qui concerne les pays en voie du développement, le Sommet mondial du développement social, en 1995 a été déterminant. C’est alors que le monde a pris conscience de la nécessité d’établir des indicateurs pour pouvoir analyser la situation des femmes dans le monde à diverses échelles.

Le Mécanisme de financement pour l’envoi de fonds (MFEF) cherche à étendre la portée des services financiers aux zones rurales mal desservies du monde entier. Pour la plupart des types d’institutions financières, il est extrêmement coûteux de maintenir un
réseau d’agences spécialisées traditionnelles dans de vastes zones peu peuplées, à une importante exception près: les bureaux de poste.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Sur les terres jadis arides du désert égyptien, Ahmad Abdelmunem Al-Far explique, avec d’autres agriculteurs, comment une agriculture axée sur le marché peut transformer la vie et libérer les gens de la pauvreté.

Les jeunes d’aujourd’hui – dont la génération est définie par l’ONU comme étant celle des 15 à 24 ans – a atteint un nombre sans précédent dans l’histoire. Dans l’ensemble du monde en développement, les jeunes représentent en moyenne 20% de la population. Les jeunes sont dynamiques et obstinés. Lorsque les conditions sont réunies, une génération substantielle de jeunes constitue pour un pays une ressource inestimable sur le plan du développement économique et du progrès social. Toutefois, dans le contexte actuel et pour des raisons diverses, de nombreux pays développés et en développement éprouvent des difficultés à assurer l’avenir de leur jeunesse, tant dans les villes que dans les campagnes.

Depuis de nombreuses années, le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA) fait de l'innovation, des savoirs et de leur transposition à plus grande échelle des éléments essentiels de sa stratégie de lutte contre la pauvreté rurale dans les pays en développement. Le présent examen au niveau de l'institution de la stratégie adoptée par le FIDA pour promouvoir des changements à plus grande échelle est le premier du genre. Une équipe d'experts en matière de développement, financée par un don de faible entité octroyé par le FIDA, a été chargée d'évaluer le parcours suivi par le Fonds pour promouvoir la transposition à plus grande échelle des opérations couronnées de succès et la diffusion de ses politiques et processus opérationnels, instruments, ressources et mesures d'incitation. Elle devait ainsi formuler, à l'intention de la direction, des recommandations quant aux mesures à prendre afin que le FIDA devienne une institution promotrice de changements à plus grande échelle. Au-delà du FIDA, cette étude menée à l'échelle d'une institution est un exercice pilote qui pourra servir d'exemple pour d'autres organismes de développement.

Conformément à sa mission, à savoir étendre la portée des services financiers aux zones rurales, le Mécanisme de financement pour l’envoi de fonds (MFEF) montre la voie en testant des produits qui sont destinés à acheminer de manière rapide, sécurisée et pratique, pour le coût le plus bas possible, les envois de fonds des migrants à leur famille.

This publication looks back at three decades of experiences in introducing labour-saving technologies and practices to rural women and persisting gender discrimination in access and control. It also takes into account major developments in science, technology and innovation over the last several years and shows they can benefi t women.

Drawing on a literature review, this report examines a range of business models that can be used to structure agricultural investments in lower- and middle-income countries, and that provide an alternative to large-scale land acquisitions. A business model is the way in which a company structures its resources, partnerships and customer relationships in order to create and capture value – in other words, a business model is what enables a company to make money. Business models are considered as more inclusive if they involve close working partnerships with local landholders and operators, and if they share value among the partners.

IFAD’s goal is that rural women and men in developing countries are empowered to achieve higher incomes and improved food security at the household level. In this way it will contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goal #1: “The eradication of extreme poverty”. (IFAD, Strategic Framework 2007-2010)

Since IFAD began operations in 1978, it has supported, as part of its mandate to reduce poverty, many rural development programmes in which indigenous peoples have played an important role as stakeholders. 

Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in public and private-sector investment in agriculture. Concerns about longer-term food and energy security and expectations of increasing returns from agriculture underpin much recent agricultural investment. Some have welcomed this trend as a bearer of new livelihood opportunities in lower- and middle-income countries. Others have raised concerns about the possible social impacts, including loss of local rights to land, water and other natural resources; threats to local food security; and, more generally, the risk that large-scale investments may marginalise family farmers. The recent debates about “land grabbing” – the media characterisation of large-scale farmland acquisitions in lower- and middle-income countries – illustrate these trends and positions. 

This Thematic Paper is part of a Toolkit for Project Design (Livestock Thematic Papers: Tools for Project Design) which reflects IFAD’s commitment to developing a sustainable livestock sector in which poor farmers and herders might have higher incomes, and better access to assets, services, technologies and markets.

The paper indents to be a practical tool for development practitioners, project designers and policymakers to define appropriate livestock development interventions. It also provides recommendations on critical issues for rural development and also possible responses and actions to encourage the socio-economic empowerment of poor livestock keepers.

This paper presents the outcomes of the Special Session of the 2010 Farmers’ Forum, Promoting Women’s Leadership in Farmers’ Organizations and Rural Producers’ Organizations,  that was convened on 12 and 13 February in conjunction with the Thirty-third Session of IFAD’s Governing Council. The session was co-organized by IFAD and the non-governmental organization Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources (WOCAN).
In plenary session and working groups, over 60 participants – including 35 women farmer representatives, members of the Farmers’ Forum Steering Committee, observers from NGOs and FAO, and many IFAD staff – had a rich discussion that generated important recommendations. 

IFAD will follow up on those recommendations not only as a matter of equity, given women’s enormous contribution to agriculture, but also because a stronger women’s voice and leadership in agriculture are essential to making smallholder agriculture more productive and sustainable.

Desertification is the process of land degradation that affects dryland areas and is caused by poverty, unsustainable land management and climate change. Drylands lose their productive capacity in a spiral of destruction that twins increased land degradation with increased poverty and food insecurity. Drought and desertification threaten the livelihoods of more than 1.2 billion people in 110 countries. 

The problem is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia Desertification is the process of land degradation that affects dryland areas and is caused by poverty, unsustainable land management and climate change. Drylands lose their productive capacity in a spiral of destruction that twins increased land degradation with increased poverty and food insecurity. Drought and desertification threaten the livelihoods of more than 1.2 billion people in 110 countries. The problem is particularly acute in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.  

In addition to caring for their families, women across the developing world spend considerable proportions of their time and energy using and preserving land for the production of food and fuel and to generate income for their families and communities.

These activities include crop production, growing fruits and vegetables, raising small livestock, tending trees, processing products for food and markets, and managing and collecting water and fuel. Women are usually responsible for the plots in which food crops are grown, while men are responsible for the plots on which cash crops are grown. The latter account for a major part of the threat of soil nutrient depletion and desertification.

Le présent rapport se fonde sur les résultats d’une étude commandée par le FIDA et réalisée par Manuel Orozco, d’Inter-American Dialogue.

Factsheet illustrating how IFAD is exploring more innovative ways of working with remittances.

La volatilité des cours constatée dernièrement sur les marchés internationaux fait peser une menace sur la sécurité alimentaire mondiale. Pour les deux milliards de personnes qui vivent et travaillent sur de petites exploitations dans les pays en développement, l’existence est devenue plus précaire.
Cependant, des investissements, des politiques et des programmes de développement adaptés offrent une immense possibilité aux petits agriculteurs qui souhaitent accroître leur production vivrière et améliorer ainsi leurs conditions de vie tout en contribuant à assurer la sécurité alimentaire pour tous.

Over the past 12 months, large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia have made headlines in a flurry of
media reports across the world. Lands that only a short time ago seemed of little outside interest are now being sought by international investors to the tune of
hundreds of thousands of hectares. And while a failed attempt to lease 1.3 million ha in Madagascar has attracted much media attention, deals
reported in the international press constitute the tip of the iceberg. This is rightly a hot issue because land is so central to identity, livelihoods and food security.

Poverty poses a constant threat to economic growth, trade reform, private sector development, knowledge, governance and gender equality.
Poverty among the 22 members of the League of Arab States (LAS) is primarily a rural phenomenon. A quarter of the region’s population, or about 80 million people, live below national poverty lines. Between 60 and 70 percent of these poor people live in rural areas.

One of the most pressing challenges in the region is the high rate of unemployment, particularly among young people. Official unemployment rates average 13 per cent, and in some countries the jobless rate among young people is twice as high.

Working to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty, IFAD operates in the MERCOSUR countries at two levels:

• at the subregional level, within the institutional framework of MERCOSUR, it promotes a platform for dialogue between governments and smallholder farmers’ associations, with the aim of increasing public investment in family farming
• at the national level, it provides funding and technical assistance to governments for the implementation of rural development programmes and projects that translate into action the agreements reached at subregional level.

The objective of this study was to provide an overall and a country analysis of the needs of indigenous peoples and the solutions they propose to tackle rural poverty.

L’agriculture est devenue une activité rentable pour les petits agriculteurs vivant dans les régions arides du Sri Lanka depuis que des puits agricoles de grande dimension et bien construits ont été aménagés.

Le Projet régional de promotion économique (REAP), mis en oeuvre dans le district de Matale de 1999 à 2007, en est un exemple. Le projet a été financé en grande partie par un prêt du FIDA, d’un montant de 11,7 millions d’USD, au Gouvernement sri lankais. Assorti d’une enveloppe budgétaire de 14,5 millions d’USD au total, environ 30 000 ménages en ont bénéficié.

L’une des activités majeures de la sous-composante du projet consacrée à la conservation des sols et à la gestion de l’eau concernait la fourniture d’une assistance technique aux agriculteurs défavorisés pour les aider à construire des puits agricoles destinés à l’irrigation. Cette activité a démarré en 2001.

This report on remitance flows to developing and transition countries is based on a data research study commissioned by IFAD from Dr Manuel Orozco of the Inter-American Dialogue, in collaboration with the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank. 

Le potentiel irrigable du Haut Bassin du Mandrare est connu depuis très longtemps. 

La zone du Haut Bassin du Mandrare divisée en six sous-bassins versants qui alimentent le Mandrare bénéficie d’une bonne pluviométrie (normalement comprise entre 800 et 1100 mm) par rapport aux autres zones de l’extrême Sud de Madagascar. 

Les sols des vallées sont fertiles et se prêtent à la riziculture irriguée, activité agricole pratiquée par 60 % des habitants de la zone. 

IFAD’s work in the region is guided by the organization’s Strategic Framework, its four thematic priorities for the region and by individual country strategic opportunities papers (COSOPs), reflecting governments’ own priorities in rural development and prepared in consultation with governments, donors and other partners.

Le présent document esquisse dans leurs grandes lignes les raisons sociales et environnementales pour lesquelles la communauté internationale du développement devrait accorder une priorité plus élevée à l’aide aux pauvres, spécialement ceux qui vivent dans des régions matériellement marginales ou laissées en marge du progrès socioéconomique. Pour assurer un développement rural durable, il faut résoudre le double problème de la pauvreté et de la dégradation de l’environnement. Il existe dans le monde 1,2 milliard d’êtres humains qui vivent dans une pauvreté extrême, 900 millions d’entre eux dans des régions rurales où leur subsistance dépend directement ou indirectement de l’agriculture. L’on trouvera ci-après un bref aperçu du développement rural dans le contexte des objectifs de développement visés dans la Déclaration du millénaire et dans ACTION 21, qui prévoient la mise en oeuvre d’une action concertée pour s’attaquer aux problèmes des ruraux pauvres et des limitations de leurs bases de ressources naturelles.