Hunger and malnutrition are global challenges that have grave and pervasive consequences on human, rural and economic development.

Hunger affects up to 811 million people and two billion people worldwide experience moderate or severe food insecurity. Millions of children are afflicted by stunting, wasting and underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies continue to affect billions of people, while overnutrition is on the rise.

The rural population and particularly the smallscale farming households in developing countries are among the most vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity.

Malnutrition is a multi-dimensional problem resulting from the complex interplay between economic status, household and individual decision-making, and agri-food, health, and environmental systems that determine access to and use of services and resources.  Climate change and its associated impacts, alongside fragility, economic slowdowns and persistent inequalities have contributed to increased food and nutrition insecurity in the last three years. Malnutrition is inextricable from poverty and inequality, and is exacerbated by the impacts of climate change.

The programme Nourishing People and the Earth through Inclusive and Sustainable Agriculture aims to improve intake of diverse and nutritious foods by rural households in order to reduce malnutrition in all its forms. 

This programme is financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) to accelerate mainstreaming of nutrition in selected IFAD’s funded projects. It will strengthen capacity on implementing evidence-informed nutrition-sensitive interventions and generate and disseminate knowledge from IFAD’s investments, to influence programming and policy, ultimately enhancing the quality and sustainability of interventions.

Through this programme, IFAD tops-up existing nutrition-sensitive loan projects in selected countries to address the developmental problem of limited capacities by rural farmers to improve their intake of diversified and nutritious diets.