Rosemary Vargas-Lundius Senior Research Coordinator

Office of Strategy and Knowledge Management, IFAD

CARITAS WORKING GROUP MEETING FOR ANTI-POVERTY CAMPAIGN

16TH APRIL 2012 ROME

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an IFI and a UN specialised agency, was established in 1977 as an outcome of the 1974 World Food Conference

IFAD’s mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty

For more than 40 years, IFAD has been exclusively focused on rural and agricultural development.

We work with governments, providing low interest loans and grants

Since 1978, IFAD have invested US$13 billion in projects and programmes that have reached over 400 million poor rural people

1. 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty 2. 70% of the developing world’s poor people

are living in rural areas3. 33 countries in the world still in a

permanent state of food insecurity4. In the Least Developed Countries, more

than 350 million people live on less than $1.25 a day and nearly 80 % of them live in rural areas.

Growth generated by agriculture is at least twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors.

Profound changes in agricultural practices giving rise to new opportunities for the developing world’s smallholder farmers to significantly boost their productivity

Urgent need to invest more and better in agriculture and in rural areas.

Creating new opportunities for rural poverty reduction and economic growth requires a broad approach to rural development

Enhancing environmental sustainability and resilience in small-scale agriculture

Promoting win-win contractual arrangements to help small agricultural producers seize opportunities at lower risk in agricultural value chains

Supporting the development of technologies for sustainable intensification of small-scale agriculture

Increasing the capacity of financial institutions to provide a broad range of inclusive services to poor rural people;

Promoting the capabilities of rural women and men, including young people and

Capitalizing on opportunities to use renewable energy sources at the farm and community levels, and promoting low-cost technologies using local resources to provide energy at the village level.

43 % of agricultural labour force in the developing countries are women

Production on women’s farms could increase by 20 to 30 % if women had the same access as men to agricultural resources and inputs

Giving women equal access would reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 100 to 150 million people

Studies show that when women earn money, they are more likely than men to spend it on food for the family

Improve results on the ground through better integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment into our strategic framework, country programmes, and monitoring and evaluation systems

Strengthen women's leadership and decision-making influence in agriculture and natural resource management at all levels

Lend our voice through our strategic communications and advocacy in favour of increased investment in rural women, for sustainable agricultural development and food security

Increase our own investment in technology development and capacity strengthening for gender equality and rural women’s empowerment through our grants programmes.

Over 1.2 billion young persons (15-24 years of age) in the world today

More than 85 % are born in developing countries, where around half of the total population lives in rural areas

Youth, the future leaders, entrepreneurs and farmers

Rural youth facing constraints in accessing quality education and training, financial assets and land

IFAD supporting vocational training for young people, both in on-farm and non-farm activities.

Need for 70 % increase in global food supply by 2050 to meet demand from more than 9 billion people

Smallholder farmers can play a central role in a global food security agenda

500 million small farms in the developing world, i.e. 97 % of agricultural holdings, supporting around 2 billion people

Smallholder farmers feed up to 80 % of the population in much of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere

IFAD doing its part: invested more than US$13 enabling approximately 400 million poor rural people to grow and sell more food, increase their income and wellbeing.

Environment and agriculture are tightly bound together, and one cannot be addressed without the other

Need of a new Green Revolution: approach tailored to local communities, climatic conditions and ecosystems

Mix of traditional and new technologiesLow-input, high-output, pro-poor

technologiesIFAD is working to scale-up climate-smart

practices

Need for establishing effective partnerships

IFAD closely working with developing country governments, poor rural people’s organizations, NGOs, and research institutions

Expanding partnerships with the private sector

Agricultural and rural development is not just about food security

It is the pathway to economic growth and social cohesion

Smallholder agriculture is central to the solution for achieving global food security and eradicating poverty and hunger

We need to act now!