International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s poor live in rural areas in developing countries, yet only 4% of official development assistance goes to agriculture.

It's strategic policy is detailed in [http://www.ifad.org/sf Strategic Framework for IFAD 2007-2010] : Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome Poverty. Its headquarters is in Rome

Goal

IFAD's goal is to empower [http://www.ifad.org/story/index.htm poor rural women and men] in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security.

Objectives

IFAD will ensure that poor rural people have better access to, and the skills and organization they need to take advantage of:

• Natural resources, especially secure access to land and water, and improved natural resource management and conservation practices
• Improved agricultural technologies and effective production services
• A broad range of financial services
• Transparent and competitive markets for agricultural inputs and produce
• Opportunities for rural off-farm employment and enterprise development
• Local and national policy and programming processes

All of IFAD's decisions - on [http://www.ifad.org/operations/index.htm regional] , [http://www.ifad.org/operations/projects/regions/country.htm country] and [http://www.ifad.org/rural/ thematic strategies] , poverty reduction strategies, [http://www.ifad.org/operations/policy/index.htm policy dialogue] and development partners - are made with these [http://www.ifad.org/sf/index.htm#9 principles] and objectives in mind. As reflected in the strategic framework, IFAD is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target to halve the proportion of hungry and extremely poor people by 2015.

Underlying these objectives is IFAD’s belief that rural poor people must be empowered to lead their own development if poverty is to be eradicated. Poor people must be able to develop and strengthen their own organizations, so they can advance their own interests and dismantle the obstacles that prevent many of them from creating better lives for themselves. They must be able to have a say in the decisions and policies that affect their lives, and they need to strengthen their bargaining power in the marketplace.

Working in partnership to eradicate rural poverty

Through loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance [http://www.ifad.org/operations/projects/index.htm programmes and projects] that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10 billion in 770 projects and programmes that have reached more than 300 million poor rural people.

But this represents only part of the total investment in IFAD projects and programmes. In the past 30 years, a further US$16.8 billion in cofinancing has been contributed by partners.

Governments and other financing sources in recipient countries, including project participants, contributed US$9.3 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors provided approximately another US$7.5 billion in cofinancing. This represents a total investment of about US$26.8 billion, and means that for every dollar IFAD invested, it was able to mobilize almost two dollars in additional resources.

IFAD tackles poverty not only as a lender, but also as an [http://http://www.ifad.org/pub/brochure/corporate/e.pdf advocate for rural poor people] . Its multilateral base provides a natural global platform to discuss important policy issues that influence the lives of rural poor people, as well as to draw attention to the centrality of rural development to meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

Membership

[http://www.ifad.org/governance/ifad/ms.htm Membership] in IFAD is open to any State that is a member of the United Nations or its specialized agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency. The [http://www.ifad.org/governance/ifad/gc.htm Governing Council] is IFAD’s highest decision-making authority, with the 164 Member States each represented by a governor and alternate governor. The Council meets annually. The [http://www.ifad.org/governance/ifad/eb.htm Executive Board] , responsible for overseeing the general operations of IFAD and approving loans and grants, is composed of 18 members and 18 alternate members. The [http://www.ifad.org/governance/internal/president.htm President] , who serves for a four-year term (renewable once), is IFAD’s chief executive officer and chair of the Executive Board. The current President of IFAD is Lennart Båge, who was re-elected for his second four-year term in 2005.

oaring food prices and the rural poor

The prices of basic food commodities have increased rapidly over the past three years. In only the first quarter of 2008, wheat and maize prices increased by 130 percent and 30 percent respectively over 2007 figures. Rice prices, while rising moderately in 2006 and more so in 2007, rose 10 percent in February 2008 and a further 10 percent in March 2008. The threat to food security in developing countries increases in stride. Coordinated action by the international community, and by the United Nations in particular, is essential.

IFAD’s immediate response has been to make available up to [http://www.ifad.org/operations/food/response.htm US$200 million] from existing loans and grants to provide an urgent boost to agricultural production in the developing world, in the face of [http://www.ifad.org/operations/food/index.htm high food prices] and low food stocks. But IFAD will also continue to press for rapid and urgent longer-term investment in agriculture, including access to land, water, technology, financial services and markets, to enable the 450 million smallholder farms in developing countries to grow more food, more productively, and thereby increase their incomes and resilience, and respond to the increasing global demand for food.

Rural poverty country profiles

* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/europe/alb/index.htm Rural poverty in Albania]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/ago/index.htm Rural poverty in Angola]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/spanish/regions/americas/arg/index.htm Rural poverty in Argentina]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/arm/index.htm Rural poverty in Armenia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/aze/index.htm Rural poverty in Azerbaijan]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/bgd/index.htm Rural poverty in Bangladesh]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/ben/index.htm Rural poverty in Benin]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/btn/index.htm Rural poverty in Bhutan]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/spanish/regions/americas/bol/index.htm Rural poverty in Bolivia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/europe/bih/index.htm Rural poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/bra/index.htm Rural poverty in Brazil]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/bfa/index.htm Rural poverty in Burkina Faso]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/bdi/index.htm Rural poverty in Burundi]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/khm/index.htm Rural poverty in Cambodia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/cmr/index.htm Rural poverty in Cameroon]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/cpv/index.htm Rural poverty in Cape Verde]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/tcd/index.htm Rural poverty in Chad]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/chn/index.htm Rural poverty in China]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/com/index.htm Rural poverty in Comoros]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/cog/index.htm Rural poverty in Congo]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/spanish/regions/americas/ecu/index.htm Rural poverty in Ecuador]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/egy/index.htm Rural poverty in Egypt]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/spanish/regions/americas/slv/index.htm Rural poverty in El Salvador]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/eri/index.htm Rural poverty in Eritrea]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/eth/index.htm Rural poverty in Ethiopia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/gmb/index.htm Rural poverty in Gambia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/pse/index.htm Rural poverty in Gaza and the West Bank]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/geo/index.htm Rural poverty in Georgia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/gha/index.htm Rural poverty in Ghana]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/grd/index.htm Rural poverty in Grenada]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/gtm/index.htm Rural poverty in Guatemala]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/gin/index.htm Rural poverty in Guinea]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/hnd/index.htm Rural poverty in Honduras]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/ind/index.htm Rural poverty in India]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/idn/index.htm Rural poverty in Indonesia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/jor/index.htm Rural poverty in Jordan]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/ken/index.htm Rural poverty in Kenya]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/kgz/index.htm Rural poverty in Kyrgyzstan]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/lao/index.htm Rural poverty in Lao People's Democratic Republic]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/lso/index.htm Rural poverty in Lesotho]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/mdg/index.htm Rural poverty in Madagascar]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/mwi/index.htm Rural poverty in Malawi]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/mli/index.htm Rural poverty in Mali]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/mus/index.htm Rural poverty in Mauritius]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/spanish/regions/americas/mex/index.htm Rural poverty in Mexico]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/europe/mda/index.htm Rural poverty in Moldova]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/mng/index.htm Rural poverty in Mongolia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/mar/index.htm Rural poverty in Morocco]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/moz/index.htm Rural poverty in Mozambique]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/npl/index.htm Rural poverty in Nepal]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/nic/index.htm Rural poverty in Nicaragua]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/ner/index.htm Rural poverty in Niger]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/nga/index.htm Rural poverty in Nigeria]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/pak/index.htm Rural poverty in Pakistan]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/per/index.htm Rural poverty in Peru]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/phl/index.htm Rural poverty in the Philippines]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/europe/mkd/index.htm Rural poverty in the Republic of Macedonia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/europe/rou/index.htm Rural poverty in Romania]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/rwa/index.htm Rural poverty in Rwanda]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/sen/index.htm Rural poverty in Senegal]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/som/index.htm Rural poverty in Somalia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/lka/index.htm Rural poverty in Sri Lanka]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/sdn/index.htm Rural poverty in the Sudan]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/syr/index.htm Rural poverty in Syria]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/swz/index.htm Rural poverty in Swaziland]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/tza/index.htm Rural poverty in Tanzania, United Republic of]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/oceania/ton/index.htm Rural poverty in Tonga]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/french/regions/africa/tun/index.htm Rural poverty in Tunisia]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/tur/index.htm Rural poverty in Turkey]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/uga/index.htm Rural poverty in Uganda]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/ven/index.htm Rural poverty in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/vnm/index.htm Rural poverty in Viet Nam]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/yem/index.htm Rural poverty in Yemen]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/africa/zmb/index.htm Rural poverty in Zambia]

ee also

*Poverty
*Food security

External links

* [http://www.ifad.org IFAD website]
* [http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org Rural Poverty Portal] powered by IFAD