France and IFAD share a commitment to ending poverty and hunger through sustainable rural development. Both place smallholder farmers and rural people at the centre of their agenda and recognize the crucial role of agriculture to increase food security, reduce poverty and mitigate climate change.

IFAD’s Executive Board approved its first loan to the United Republic of Tanzania in 1978 – the second loan ever approved by the board.

Denmark and IFAD share a long-standing partnership to fight poverty and hunger. Agriculture and the food sector are the basis of their common approach to promoting sustainable rural transformation, which is essential to tackling environmental degradation and climate change.

IFAD and Norway share a vision of a world without poverty and hunger.

IFAD and Switzerland are both advocating for a peaceful world with zero poverty and hunger. With more than 40 years of partnership, they are committed to working together for a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive future.

Sharing a vision on the importance of achieving a world without hunger and poverty – and the sustainable development interventions needed to get there – the United States and IFAD have been working together since IFAD’s inception in 1977.

Spain is a founding member of IFAD and has contributed a total of US$105.76 million to the regular resources of the Fund since it was established in 1977. The partnership between Spain and IFAD focuses on investing in smallholder agriculture to ensure food and nutrition security.

IFAD and Sweden share a vision of a world without poverty and hunger and a commitment to support small-scale farmers to improve their livelihoods through the establishment of inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems.  

Ireland and IFAD share a commitment to empower rural people to overcome poverty and hunger through sustainable development.

IFAD was the first international financial institution to lend to China. Since 1981, IFAD has worked with China to eliminate extreme poverty, increase food security and nutrition, and promote agricultural and rural development.

Canada and IFAD have a long-standing partnership to end poverty and hunger. Both are invested in inclusive and sustainable transformation, particularly for rural populations.

Since IFAD’s establishment in 1977, the Netherlands has been a reliable partner and contributor, supporting IFAD’s core budget with a total of US$717 million and placing itself among the Fund’s five top donors.

To date, 12 projects have been conducted in the country, at a total cost of US$950.48 million, with IFAD financing amounting to US$309.08 million. An estimated 1,565,500 households have benefited directly.

Germany and IFAD place small-scale farmers and rural people – especially women and youth – at the heart of their development priorities for achieving a world with no hunger (Sustainable Development Goal 2).    

IFAD’s strategic focus is closely aligned with Japan’s official development assistance priorities, including promoting food security and nutrition.

In Angola, IFAD loans support efforts to improve food security and rebuild the livelihoods of poor rural people through rural and agricultural development.

IFAD began operations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 1978. Our strategy is to invest in rural people, empowering them to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes.

IFAD began operations in Malawi in 1981 and has provided US$731.96 million in financing (including partner cofinancing) for 14 programmes and projects benefiting more than 2 million households.

IFAD supports Pacific Island countries to develop inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable food systems that are community-driven.

The Republic of Korea is one of the founding members of IFAD and currently sits on the Fund’s Executive Board. The Republic of Korea and IFAD remain committed to eradicating poverty and hunger, and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Altogether, IFAD has implemented 19 projects in Sri Lanka, benefiting 654,832 households at a total cost of US$654.57 million (with IFAD providing US$340.49 million in financing).

IFAD is a key partner in Haiti’s rural development. Its series of strategies, projects and programmes since 1978 testify to its long-standing commitment against rural poverty, with the active participation and inclusion of the Haitian rural population.

IFAD has been working in India for more than 40 years. The current country strategic opportunities programme is fully aligned with the government’s policy framework.

This country fact sheet outlines IFAD’s strategy to eradicate poverty in Viet Nam, which focus on developing market-led innovations that aid poor people.

IFAD’s strategy in Ethiopia focuses on providing smallholder farmers, pastoralists and agropastoralists with the critical assets they need to enhance productivity and resilience. These include natural resources, technology, finance, institutional capacity and access to markets.

Since 1981, IFAD has financed 19 rural development programmes and projects in Rwanda, for a total amount of US$358.04 million, and directly benefiting about 1,540,157 rural households.

Since 1979, IFAD has invested US$455.09 million in 20 programmes and projects in Kenya (at a total cost of US$980.31 million), in support of the Government’s efforts to reduce rural poverty.

Since 1979, IFAD has funded 17 rural development projects in Madagascar for a total of US$434.285 million. Four projects are currently ongoing.

IFAD has been engaged in Eritrea for the past 26 years, investing a total of US$165 million across seven projects.

IFAD and Slow Food share a vision of supporting small-scale, diversified production and consumption mechanisms that focus on improving the marketing of local products.

IFAD country programme in Egypt is the largest in the Near East and North Africa. In total, IFAD has invested in 14 agricultural development projects and programmes for a total Cost of US$ 1.1 billion, with IFAD direct financing of US$ 519.28 million benefitting around 7 million people.

IFAD has worked in Bangladesh for almost 40 years. It has supported 34 projects, costing a total of US$2,356 million, with IFAD financing of US$913 million.

Sudan became a Member State of IFAD in 1977, with the first IFAD loan being approved in 1979.

This brochure provides an overview of our work with Spain to invest in poor rural youth, women and men and assist countries in achieving the SDGs.

In Burkina Faso, IFAD loans help better manage natural resources, in addition to building inclusive and sustainable institutions through pro-poor investments and policies and supporting innovation and education.

IFAD’s strategy in Papua New Guinea is to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers by increasing production volumes and quality, and to improve access to markets, technologies and services in order to increase farmers’ share of added value.

Over the last 40 years, IFAD and the Government of Indonesia have invested more than US$1 billion in rural people to strengthen inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic growth.

IFAD partnered with the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) and UN-Habitat to conceptualize and develop gender-responsive and fit-for-purpose tools and approaches to evaluate the impact of land tenure and governance interventions.

The State of Qatar is one of the founding members of IFAD. Qatar’s support of IFAD is critical for combating poverty and strengthening development in developing countries.

IFAD has invested in rural development in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1996.

IFAD is the only one of China’s development partners dedicated exclusively to reducing poverty and increasing food and nutrition security in rural areas.

The strong partnership between IFAD and Brazil is based on a shared commitment to reducing poverty and pursuing innovative ways to assist rural communities.

Saudi Arabia played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been a key supporter of the Fund for the past 43 years.

Collaboration between the Republic of Moldova and IFAD began in 1999. IFAD has supported seven projects totalling US$196.8 million, with IFAD financing of US$109.2 million.

IFAD and Finland have a shared vision of a world without poverty and hunger. Their joint development work rests on multiple key pillars.

This initiative's goal was to develop and disseminate innovative tools and approaches to strengthen tenure security in target communities using low-cost and gender-sensitive technologies.

India is a founding member of IFAD, and the IFAD–India partnership spans more than 40 years. India is not only the largest recipient of IFAD’s investments, but also a significant contributor,

The United Arab Emirates played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been one of its key supporters since then. Its support of IFAD has been fundamental in combating poverty and strengthening development activities in developing countries.

Kuwait played a major role in the establishment of IFAD in 1977 and has been a key supporter of IFAD for the past 43 years.

The Russian Federation and IFAD share a common commitment to reducing poverty, improving food security and achieving more sustainable economic growth for small-scale farmers and other vulnerable rural populations.

IFAD remains one of the most important technical and financial partners in Sao Tome and Principe's rural sector, and its work has sparked the development of strategies and mechanisms to support poor rural populations, especially women, and their effective inclusion in relevant development interventions.

Since IFAD began its operations in Pakistan in 1978, the focus has been on combating rural poverty by promoting integrated participatory rural development.

Nepal was one of the first countries to benefit from IFAD loans, beginning in 1978.

Depuis 1984, le FIDA a investi 174,65 millions d’USD dans 11 programmes et projets en Côte d’Ivoire, pour un financement total de 384,37 millions d’USD.

Since 1982, IFAD has supported 10 programmes and projects in The Gambia totalling US$93 million and directly benefiting more than 155,000 rural households.

The current IFAD country strategy note for Guinea-Bissau is based on the political priorities defined by Terra Ranka, as well as the sectoral priorities and programmes of the National Agricultural Investment Programme.

IFAD began operations in Guinea in 1980. Since then, it has invested US$244 million in 14 projects for a total cost of US$469.6 million, directly benefiting 651,450 rural households.

Depuis 1980, le FIDA a financé 14 projets et programmes en Mauritanie pour un coût total de 342,3 millions d’USD, dont 136,2 millions d’USD octroyés sous la forme de dons ou de prêts concessionnels.

Au Sénégal, le FIDA suscite et accompagne les initiatives locales qui visent à améliorer la sécurité alimentaire, à augmenter les revenus des ruraux pauvres, à créer des emplois pour les jeunes et les femmes notamment et à améliorer leurs conditions de vie.

The E-Project for Agricultural Development and Economic Empowerment (E-PADEE) is a US$380,000 programme implemented in Cambodia with funding from the Republic of Korea in partnership with IFAD.

Depuis 1978, le FIDA a financé 5 projets et programmes de développement rural au Cabo Verde, pour un montant total de 49,9 millions d’USD.

Depuis 1982, le FIDA a financé 13 projets au Mali pour un coût total de 537 millions USD, dont 229 millions sous forme de prêts à conditions particulièrement favorables.

The IFAD-funded SWAZI BEEF project set out to increase the quality of livestock and meat products and to diversify farmers’ incomes in the sugar-cane-producing areas of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) through targeted support to farmers and other value chain actors (livestock producers, butchers/meat processors, financial institutions and input providers).

IFAD has been investing in the rural poor in Tajikistan since 2008, by strengthening local institutions and grass-roots organizations, and expanding their access to land, productive technologies and resources.

IFAD has enjoyed a long history of a strong and successful partnership with the Government of Azerbaijan in rural poverty reduction and overall agricultural development efforts, with focused interventions in remote and sometimes difficult to reach areas of the country where extreme pockets of poverty exist.

IFAD has been investing in Uzbekistan since 2012, providing financing worth US$81.7 million to three loan-financed projects/programmes that are intended to directly benefit 98,800 households at a total cost of US$81.7 million.

Since 1980, IFAD has financed 13 rural development programmes and projects in Tunisia for a total cost of US$453 million, with an IFAD investment of US$194.6 million directly benefiting 125,850 rural households.

The grant mainstreamed climate-smart, tree-based agricultural good practices into the climate adaptation and mitigation programmes of governments, NGOs and the private sector in Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

Niger covers a landlocked 1,267,000 km² tract of the Sahel north of Nigeria. With a poverty rate of 48.9 per cent and income per capita of US$420, Niger is one of the world’s poorest nations. In 2015, it ranked last among 188 countries measured by the United Nations Human Development Index

The China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility was established in February 2018 and is the first Facility in IFAD dedicated to SSTC.

The project “Connecting Fairtrade Communities to ICT” in Papua New Guinea is a small grant of US$360,000 funded by the Republic of Korea in partnership with IFAD.

Italy and IFAD share a commitment to a world where people have access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Italy is IFAD’s host country and top donor. It also plays a key leadership role in strengthening IFAD’s financial architecture and enterprise risk management, and in affirming the Fund as the primary global vehicle for investments in smallholder agriculture.

The project aimed to promote a more dynamic insertion of small rural producers into value chains as a way to foster structural change in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This programme, also known as FinServAccess, aimed to enhance access to sustainable rural financial services for smallholder producers and agroentrepreneurs, so they are better equipped to face emerging challenges and benefit from new opportunities.

The grant is one of three projects implemented under a broader regional programme (Adaptation to Change) financed by IFAD, the Government of Norway, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

The programme Strengthening Knowledge Sharing on Innovative Solutions Using Learning Route (LR) Methodology1 in Asia and the Pacific (ROUTASIA) is the second phase of a four-year IFAD-funded large grant to Procasur Corporation.

The programme aimed to intensify the cropping systems with grain legumes to improve the productivity and sustainability of rainfed agriculture while diversifying smallholder farmers’ income-generating opportunities.

The Outreach Project was implemented in selected African countries (Gambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania) and aimed to improve the financia inclusion strategies of ongoing IFAD-funded operations by transferring and adapting innovative solutions, tools and methodologies previously tested in various countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.

Peru has made great strides in poverty reduction over the past decade, leading to a significant decline in the national poverty rate from 42.4 per cent in 2004 to 20.7 per cent in 2015. Nevertheless, by 2016 the gap between rural and urban poverty had tripled, at 44 per cent versus 14 per cent. Income inequality among Peruvian households remained virtually unchanged between 2004 and 2015. The most salient result is differential access by urban and rural people to education, health care, financial services and productive assets.

The goal was to improve the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers through the adoption of integrated crop–livestock conservation agriculture.

Cameroon’s economy is mainly agriculture-based, with almost three quarters of the economically active population in rural areas employed in agricultural pursuits.

The overall goal of the grant funding was to strengthen the capacity of development practitioners in developing countries to identify, design and implement more effective interventions aimed at increasing access to rural and agricultural finance.

The goal of the project was to increase the income of rural smallholder vegetable producers through the improved safety and quality of vegetables in the supply chain for domestic markets.

The United Kingdom and IFAD are working closely together to meet Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2: ending poverty and hunger by 2030. They have made a special commitment to boost inclusive and sustainable economic paths and create jobs in the poorest rural areas of the world, especially in Africa, where 10 to 12 million young people enter the labour market every year.

Of the US$450 billion that migrant workers send home to developing countries every year, between 30 and 40 per cent goes to rural areas. At the starting point of the migration chain, people leave rural areas to seek opportunities elsewhere due to a lack of opportunities closer to home. Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are uniquely capable of serving the needs of remittance recipients, while reinvesting surplus funds to improve opportunities for the local community.

The MilkIT research for development project set out to improve dairy-centred livelihoods in India and Tanzania through intensification of smallholder production focused on enhancement of feeds and feeding using innovation platforms and value chain approaches. The project worked in the state of Uttarakhand in India and in Morogoro and Tanga regions in Tanzania. In both countries dairy has considerable potential to improve the livelihoods and nutrition of poor farming families but this potential has been underexploited. MilkIT focused on improving milk productivity through multistakeholder engagement to increase milk marketing and dairy cow feeding.

Over the past 25 years, the Dominican Republic has enjoyed one of the strongest growth rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing and tourism.

Brazil is a major agricultural and industrial power, has the strongest economy in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is the seventh-largest economy in the world. It is the fourth-largest agricultural producing country, the main producer of coffee, sugarcane and citrus, and the second largest soybean, beef and poultry producer.

Mexico is the second-largest economy in Latin America. Despite being a large, upper-middle-income country, Mexico continues to have high rural poverty levels and wide social and economic disparities. While only about 21 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, they represent roughly two thirds of the extremely poor.

In Argentina, IFAD helps reduce rural poverty by investing in smallholder farmer organisations and indigenous communities to increase their income. The country programme strategy (2016-2021) is based on national priorities and has three strategic objectives focusing on income and strategic opportunities; human and social capital; and institutional development. The strategy emphasizes the central role farmer and community organizations play in rural transformation processes. Key activities include: • bolstering the economic sustainability of families and organizations by improving and diversifying productive activities, building resilience, improving their negotiating power in value chains, and promoting good nutritional practices • strengthening the capacity of poor rural people and organizations by improving their managerial capacity, socio-economic condition, and their ability to engage in dialogue with the public sector • building the capacity of government institutions to support rural development.

Austria and IFAD share a common commitment to reducing poverty, improving food security and achieving more sustainable economic growth for small-scale farmers and other vulnerable rural populations.

IFAD has a unique mandate and unmatched experience working in remote areas where others don’t go, and where poverty is most entrenched. IFAD-supported projects work directly with the most marginalized and disadvantaged people. They focus on rural women, youth and indigenous communities. Our loans and grants enable developing countries to increase food production, create jobs and protect resources.

With Fostering Agricultural Revitalization in Myanmar (FARM), the first project it has financed in Myanmar, IFAD is scaling up the best parts of regional and global projects, both its own and those of other organizations. For example, FARM has introduced a new method to complement pre-existing extension services. This is benefiting both farmers and landless microentrepreneurs across the project area. At the heart of FARM’s innovation is the establishment of Knowledge Centres (KCs). Built on the structure and network of public extension services, the KCs are staffed by a ministry extension worker – the KC Manager. The KC Manager brings together farmers and microentrepreneurs in common interest groups, and helps them make the most of newly available extension services.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa experience losses equivalent to 30- 40 per cent of total yields due to pests that attack their crops. They need help to diagnose the problem and identify practical, economic, feasible and environmentally safe measures to deal with them. The goal of this programme was to significantly increase the productivity of key crops and/or improve household incomes for smallholder farmers by establishing plant clinics and training plant doctors.

The Integrated Approach Programme on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is directly linked to opportunities for generating local and global environmental benefits.

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is often overlooked as a source of water supply. Yet it holds great potential to address the ever-increasing shortages of water globally. The huge potential of RWH for multiple-use services, such as food production, soil and water conservation and water, sanitation and hygiene, has not been adequately recognized, and certainly not implemented, as a solution for water problems on a wider and larger scale. RWH initiatives are still too scattered and the lessons and results not shared. Policies, legal regulations and government budgets often do not include RWH in integrated water resource management and poverty reduction strategies.

Over the past ten years, formal recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples has significantly advanced, beginning with the adoption in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). With more than 30 years of experience working with indigenous peoples, IFAD empowers communities to participate fully in determining strategies for their development and to pursue their own goals and visions. Over the last decade, IFAD has taken steps to support indigenous peoples’ control of their own development efforts. This publication touches on the evolution of IFAD’s engagement with indigenous peoples through the voices and perspectives of the people who worked together in this process of change. In line with the approach of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind, the IFAD Strategic Framework 2016-2025 reaffirms IFAD’s commitment to indigenous peoples’ self-driven development. The quotes and pictures contained here were gathered during the third global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, at IFAD from 10 to 13 February 2017.

A recent study by the National Institute for Disaster Management (INGC)1 of Mozambique suggests that within ten years the impact of climate change will be increasingly felt within the Limpopo Corridor. The soil moisture content before the onset of the rains is set to decrease and higher temperatures and droughts are expected to increase in the southern region. The goal of PROSUL is to improve the livelihoods and climate resilience of smallholder farmers in selected districts of the Maputo and Limpopo Corridors.

The programme, referred to as the Strengthening Rural Institutions (SRI) project, was implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Eastern and Southern Africa Region from 2011 to 2014. The project aimed to bring about a sustainable rural transformation process by strengthening the “institutional infrastructure” for integrated natural resource management, food security and poverty alleviation in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The project’s main goal was to support grassroots organizations to meaningfully participate in governance processes where their livelihoods and well-being, and the environment, are at stake, with an emphasis on enabling poor rural households to aggregate, mobilize and access rural services.