The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.
The conference resolved that “an International Fund for Agricultural Development should be established immediately to finance agricultural development projects primarily for food production in the developing countries.
Since it was created in 1977, IFAD has focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives. The Fund has designed and implemented projects in very different natural, socio-economic and cultural environments.
IFAD provides a strong global platform for discussing rural policy issues – and for increasing awareness about why investment in agriculture and rural development is critical to reducing poverty and improving food security.
Focus Topics
- AgTalks
- Climate and environment
- Community-driven development
- Country level policy engagement
- Desertification
- Farmers Organizations
- Food and nutrition security
- Food prices
- Gender
- Indigenous peoples
- Knowledge notes
- Land
- Livestock and rangeland
- Market access
- Multidimensional poverty assessment tool
- Participatory Impact Assessment and Learning Approach
- Platform for agricultural risk management
- Rainfed agriculture
- Remittances
- Rural finance
- Rural institutions
- Small Island Developing States
- South-south and triangular cooperation
- System of rice intensification
- Targeting
- Trade liberalization
- Water
- Young people
- Zero carbon imprint
Focus Regions
- Asia and the Pacific
- East and Southern Africa
- Latin america and the Caribbean
- Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia
- West and Central Asia