International Fund for Agricultural Development

Why in news?

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has announced that it is committing 30 per cent of its climate finance to support nature-based solutions in rural small-scale agriculture by 2030.

About International Fund for Agricultural Development:

• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
• IFAD was one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.
  • The conference was organized by the United Nations in response to the food crises of the early 1970s, when global food shortages were causing widespread famine and malnutrition, primarily in the Sahelian countries of Africa.
• IFAD was set up as an international financial institution in 1977.
• IFAD is the only specialized global development organisation exclusively focused on and dedicated to transforming agriculture, rural economies and food system.
• Headquartered in Rome, Italy, IFAD is involved in over 200 projects across nearly 100 countries.

Objectives:

• IFAD have three-fold objectives:
  • To increase the productive capacity of poor people.
  • To increase benefits for them from market participation.
  • To strengthen the environmental sustainability & climate resilience of their economic activities

Members

• IFAD has 177 member states and works in partnership with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

IFAD and India

• IFAD has been in India since 1979
• Its focus areas in India are:
  • Rural poverty
  • Agriculture
  • Tribal development
  • Women’s empowerment
• The nodal agency for the IFAD in India is the Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding ‘International Fund for Agricultural Development’ (IFAD)?

1. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations

2. It was one of the major outcomes of the World Food Conference, 1974.

3. The nodal agency for the IFAD in India is the Department of Economic Affairs

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer