The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) pushed G20 leaders to ramp up support for sustainable agriculture and rural development during the Agriculture Ministerial Meeting in Brazil, according to the organization’s media release. IFAD President Alvaro Lario spoke at the September 13 gathering in Brazil’s Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso, pitching the organization’s plan to pump $10 billion into rural communities over three years. The money will go to family farmers, smallholders, indigenous groups, and local communities to ramp up productivity and help them weather climate shocks.
Family farms grow 80% of the world’s food by value and keep over 2 billion people fed and employed. But small-scale producers make only 6.5 cents for every dollar of food they grow, creating a huge income gap in farm value chains. Climate change makes things worse as extreme weather hits farming communities hard, yet these vulnerable producers get just 0.8% of all climate funding.
IFAD has helped nearly 7 million small farmers in 41 countries toughen up against climate problems through nature-based fixes and soil-friendly farming methods. The group mixes grants with loans to back rural adaptation work.
“Global initiatives such as the UN Decade of Family Farming and the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty need robust support and political commitment,” Lario said.
The fund works as the only specialized UN agency focused entirely on rural issues and teams up with the G20 Agriculture Working Group on food security, sustainability, and climate adaptation. IFAD-backed projects link producers to local and regional markets while building stronger value chains.
