International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); 11th Replenishment

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

IFAD was established in 1977 as a United Nations special agency to develop and finance programs and projects aiming at improving food security and nutrition and reducing poverty in developing countries. Most of IFAD's funding is provided in the form of concessional loans; the poorest countries also receive grants. IFAD-supported projects focus particularly on smallholders in developing countries, but also the rural landless, pastoralists, small-scale fishers, indigenous peoples, and in all these groups, especially rural women. IFAD's work is closely related to the UN Millennium Development Goals and the future Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. There are still 1.3 billion poor and the 840 million hungry people in the world. Nearly three-quarters of them live in rural areas. 80 per cent of developing countries' food is produced by smallholders. Population growth, the scarcity of natural resources and cultivable areas, natural disasters and climate change continue to create pressure on food prices and poverty. IFAD operates in more than 90 countries in partnership with governments, local communities, the private sector and other organizations in order to improve rural poor people's access to markets, finance, technology, land and other natural resources. IFAD's resources are replenished every three years through a consultation process. IFAD's largest donor countries are the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, United States, Italy and Sweden. The replenishment target for IFAD 11 was set at USD 3,5 billion, of which the member states' contribution is 1,2 billion. IFAD's key objective in the IFAD-11 replenishment period is to lift 80 million people out of poverty. As cross-cutting themes IFAD will emphasize the adaptation to climate change, nutrition and gender equality and the empowerment of women. Finland pledged EUR 6 million to IFAD-11 in 2018. In 2019 Finland decided to pledge an additional EUR 4,62 million to IFAD-11.