What makes farmers’ organizations such powerful drivers of rural transformation? Small-scale farmers, pastoralists and rural producers generate value at the first mile of our food systems. Yet their scale often limits their ability to access market opportunities, and this is where farmers' organizations make the greatest difference. By bringing small producers together, these organizations unlock services that individual farmers could not afford on their own. They also enable producers to aggregate their output and seize market opportunities that require a level of scale or quality unattainable alone. IFAD investments in #Morocco, for example, have helped producers increase their incomes through cooperative-run processing units, enabling young people and smallholders to package apples, produce apple vinegar, process olive oil and store meat. The results speak for themselves: average income per apple tree rose by 26%, per olive tree by 30% and sheep prices increased by 45%. In #Cambodia, the IFAD-financed ASPIRE programme supported the creation of producer organizations that are helping farmers move from informal local trading to structured commercial partnerships. Through cooperatives, producers can aggregate supply, meet quality standards and negotiate directly with buyers. Participating farmers increased market sales volumes by 41% and incomes by more than 50%. These investments do not simply expand assets, they fundamentally change how those assets are valued. By rallying producers and creating added value, farmers' organizations position smallholders in higher-value markets, turning subsistence into opportunity. Read the full brief at bit.ly/4nBs24r

Ahead of the International Day of Family Remittances, IFAD joined partners in Rabat to highlight how remittances can drive greater financial inclusion, entrepreneurship and rural development across #Morocco. With remittance inflows reaching approximately MAD 122 billion (around US$13 billion) in 2025, these resources play a vital role in supporting millions of households and strengthening economic stability. The event brought together government representatives, financial actors, development and private sector partners and members of the Moroccan diaspora to explore practical solutions to expand the impact of remittances for rural communities. Unlocking their full development potential requires stronger partnerships, innovative financial services, digital solutions and greater opportunities for recipients to save, invest and build resilient livelihoods. Learn more at bit.ly/4eARO5I #IDFR2026 #FamilyRemittances #FinancingTheFirstMile @BankAlMaghrib | @AmbaFranceMaroc | @UE_au_Maroc | @Agri_gov_ma

Concluding my visit to #Ireland, I had the opportunity to meet with several of @IFAD’s long-standing partners in Ireland and discuss how we can advance our shared work on food security, rural transformation and resilient food systems. In my meetings with @martinheydonfg, Minister for @agriculture_ie, Members of the Joint Committees on Agriculture and Foreign Affairs and Trade we discussed the importance of investing in rural markets, employment and resilience. I valued the opportunity to engage with Irish government partners. Their engagement matters. Food security is directly linked to climate, economic and conflict related shock. Investment in food security and rural transformation present an important opportunity for economic prosperity and stability. Ireland is an important and long-standing partner for IFAD. Its priorities are closely aligned with IFAD’s mandate and with the focus of #IFAD14. Out partnership shows what effective multilateral finance can do when it is focused, country-led and linked to clear results. IFAD’s work is practical. We invest in rural people so they can increase incomes, access markets, adapt to climate shocks and build stronger local economies. Between 2022 to 2024, IFAD-supported investments increased the incomes of 49 million rural people by an average of 34%. Market access and agricultural production also improved for tens of millions more. IFAD14 is about scaling what works. Connecting capital with results, strengthening rural economies and building resilience where food systems begin. @dfatirl @GovIE #FinancingTheFirstMile

What happens when rural youth are given the tools to build their own future? With 1.2 billion young people worldwide – nearly 89% in developing countries – targeted investment in rural youth is a strategic imperative. That is why IFAD invests in youth following a tailored 3Es approach: 🔹Employment – creating decent, stable jobs in agri-food value chains 🔹Entrepreneurship – fostering youth-led start-ups and scaling existing youth-owned businesses 🔹Empowerment – enabling young women and men to participate in decision-making at local, national and global levels The results speak for themselves: In #Cameroon, the Youth Agropastoral Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme offered fully subsidized education, blended financing and start-up coaching to young entrepreneurs, as well as zero-interest start-up loans and productive credit. The programme delivered: ✔️ 20% higher food security ✔️ 48% increase in annual income ✔️ US$3,000 avg annual profit, with 38% annual growth Learn how IFAD invests in rural youth at bit.ly/4xgGQty #FinancingTheFirstMile #IFADImpact

It was a pleasure to meet President Connolly during my visit to Dublin this week. I enjoyed very much our conversation on #Ireland’s priorities on food security, nutrition, and rural transformation. I hope the President will be able to visit soon some of our investments in a remote rural area in one of the least developed countries. Ireland is an important partner for @IFAD. Its priorities on sustainable food systems, climate adaptation, biodiversity, and support for women, youth and vulnerable groups are closely aligned with IFAD’s mandate and the focus of #IFAD14. Ireland’s own famine experience and experience of An Gorta Mór gives Ireland a strong voice in global development. Hunger is not only a failure of production. It can also be the result of structural and political failure, with consequences that include forced emigration, dispossession and the loss of livelihoods. This vision also aligns closely with IFAD’s role as an international financial institution focusing on investing before crises deepen, strengthening rural economies and helping countries build more resilient food systems. Ireland has been part of IFAD since the beginning, as a founding member. Its support helps IFAD finance large-scale, country-led investments that improve rural livelihoods, expand market access and build resilience for small-scale producers. Concessional finance translated into practical investment, stronger rural markets and better resilience where food systems begin. @PresidentIRL @dfatirl @GovIE #FinancingTheFirstMile

What happens when small-scale producers are connected to private agri-processing enterprises? In #Nepal, a US$18.9 million initiative co-financed by IFAD, the Government of Nepal, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and other partners delivered measurable results. As part of this investment, a commercial-scale spice processing unit was established with a Dutch joint-venture partner, a key step in transforming local value chains. By 2022, production had grown from 300 metric tons to 2,400 metric tons – an increase of more than 700%. Farmers’ incomes rose by 37%, and crop earnings increased by 50%, supported by stronger market linkages and more reliable buyers. In #Cambodia, similar models are linking small-scale pepper farmers to international markets through structured private sector partnerships. Rural development is not only about producing more, but about building the commercial linkages that make growth sustainable. Keep reading at bit.ly/3S0gQT6 #IFAD14 #IFADImpact #FinancingTheFirstMile

Last week at the #GEFAssembly2026, IFAD highlighted a lesson learned from decades of rural investment: lasting transformation for small-scale producers happens when interventions address the entire value chain through access to finance, job creation and market opportunities. And the strongest results emerge when rural communities are part of the design process from the start. For 25 years, IFAD and @theGEF have partnered to bring environmental finance to the first mile of food systems through a joint portfolio of more than US$270 million across 50 projects, supported by nearly US$1.9 billion in co-financing. Together with @FAO, IFAD and GEF also co-lead the Food Systems Integrated Program, supporting 32 countries in advancing more resilient and sustainable food systems. At the event, IFAD emphasized the critical role of small-scale producers in delivering climate, biodiversity and land restoration outcomes, and the importance of financing approaches that connect global ambition with locally led action. As discussions on #GEF9 advance, IFAD remains committed to mobilizing investment that strengthens livelihoods, resilience and natural resource management where it matters most – at the first mile. #FinancingTheFirstMile ©IISD/ENB | Danny Skilton

📢 IFAD is #hiring! As a specialized International Financial Institution, IFAD invests in rural development to drive sustainable impact in rural communities worldwide. We are looking for experienced professionals to join our team in the following roles. Click the links below to learn more and apply: 🔹Managing Director of Development Effectiveness and Corporate Strategy 👉 bit.ly/49GHdU7 🔹Lead Global Technical Specialist 👉 bit.ly/4vkmRs0 🔹Lead Portfolio Advisor 👉 bit.ly/4uL3ZCN 🌐 Learn more about IFAD’s work: ifad.org/en/what-we-do #JoinIFAD #IFI #Careers

What does rural transformation look like when systems work together? During a recent visit to #India, IFAD Associate Vice-President Donal Brown saw firsthand how connecting producers to markets, entrepreneurs to finance and communities to opportunity can unlock lasting economic growth. From women-led enterprises in Maharashtra to farmer organizations in Telangana and entrepreneurship hubs in Meghalaya, the visit showed that rural prosperity is built when finance, infrastructure, technology, markets and community institutions work in concert. This integrated "Finance Plus" approach, which combines investment with institution-building, partnerships and long-term systems development, is at the heart of the India-IFAD partnership and the new Country Strategic Opportunities Programme, which aims to reach more than 3 million people through climate-smart value chains, inclusive finance and strengthened rural institutions. As India demonstrates, investing in rural transformation means investing beyond production and creating the connections that allow rural people, businesses and communities to thrive. Read Donal Brown's reflections from his visit and learn more about the future of the India-IFAD partnership at bit.ly/4uYAZrs

Very glad to meet with Baroness @JennyChapman, UK Minister of State for International Development and Africa and to see her strong interest in deepening cooperation around practical solutions that build resilience before the next shock becomes another food crisis. The conflict in the Middle East shows again how quickly energy and fertiliser shocks can become food security shocks for rural communities. For smallholder farmers, this translates immediately into reduced fertilizer use, lower yields and falling incomes. This leads to a rippling effect through agri-food value chains, food prices and supply and functioning local economies. That is why investing at the first mile matters. Together we are aligned by recognizing the need to invest earlier, closer to where food systems begin. ’s investments support access to inputs through adaptive financing, promote locally adapted fertilizer solutions and integrated soil management, and promote longer-term resilience. This makes rural economies more productive, more resilient and better connected to markets. @IFAD stands ready to turn public investment into wider impact, mobilizing partnerships and helping countries build food systems that are less vulnerable to the next global shock. #IFAD14 is central to this approach. It is an investment in rural jobs, market access, climate resilience, nutrition and overall stronger local economies – closely aligned with the UK’s development priorities and our partner countries. @FCDOGovUK #FinancingTheFirstMile

At the launch of the Ghana #AgriConnect Compact, IFAD reaffirmed its partnership with the Government of #Ghana, the @WorldBank and other partners to accelerate the transformation of agri-food systems and drive inclusive economic growth in the country. The Compact sets out a private sector-led, government-enabled approach to position agriculture as a key driver of jobs, resilience and structural transformation. It targets major value chains including cocoa, oil palm, rice, maize, and poultry, alongside fisheries, tree crops and the forest economy. By 2030, the initiative aims to improve food and nutrition security for nearly 3 million people and create more than 2.6 million jobs across production, processing and market systems. Building on their long-standing partnership, IFAD and Ghana will continue to invest in increasing agricultural productivity, strengthening rural finance and improving market linkages as part of a broader effort to advance inclusive and resilient rural transformation in the country. Continue reading at bit.ly/3RKctvq #IFADImpact #FinancingTheFirstMile | @WorldBankAfrica

For 25 years, IFAD and @theGEF have worked together to bring global environmental finance to the first mile – where nature, climate, food security and livelihoods intersect. This week, IFAD is at the #GEFAssembly2026 – joining partners from around the world to advance solutions for rural people and their communities. That partnership is already delivering at scale. The Food Systems Integrated Programme (FSIP) – developed jointly with @FAO and funded by GEF – is working across 32 countries to transform agrifood systems from farm to table: sustainable, nature positive, resilient, inclusive and pollution-free. With around US$280 million in GEF grants and roughly US$2.2 billion in total investments, the programme shows what integrated approaches can unlock. As discussions on #GEF9 begin, there is a clear opportunity to move from levers to markets. IFAD is calling for rural people and small-scale producers to be placed at the centre of climate, biodiversity, land, water and food systems solutions. Throughout the Assembly, IFAD will contribute to discussions on: 🔹Food systems transformation 🔹Blended finance and investment mobilization 🔹Policy coherence and integrated approaches 🔹Inclusive rural development #FinancingTheFirstMile

Small-scale farmers manage some of the world's most important natural resources. Yet the environmental benefits they generate - from restoring ecosystems to protecting water sources and storing carbon - often go unrewarded. Through CompensACTION, supported by the Government of #Germany through IFAD's ASAP programme, IFAD is helping change that. By expanding access to Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) mechanisms and carbon markets, the initiative is creating new income opportunities for rural communities while advancing climate, biodiversity and food security goals. From cocoa producers adopting agroforestry practices in #Brazil to communities protecting critical watersheds in #Lesotho, CompensACTION is showing how aligning economic incentives with environmental outcomes can strengthen both rural livelihoods and landscapes. With new pilots underway in #Ethiopia, the initiative is contributing to sustainable financing models that recognize and reward the role of small-scale producers as stewards of the environment. Learn more at bit.ly/4x4OJlO #IFADImpact #FinancingTheFirstMile

A high-level IFAD delegation led by Donal Brown, IFAD’s Associate Vice-President for Operations, met with Mexican government officials to coordinate joint efforts under Mexico’s new country strategy. Developed by IFAD and the Government of #Mexico (@GobiernoMX), the new Country Strategic Opportunities Programme (COSOP) for 2026–2031 will guide IFAD’s investments in the country, with a focus on improving productivity, creating jobs, promoting private sector participation and strengthening resilience, particularly in Mexico’s southern states. The strategy will support small-scale producers through stronger market access, technological innovation, climate-smart solutions and greater social and economic inclusion. ”Mexico and IFAD have a long-standing partnership based on a shared vision of rural transformation. The COSOP for 2026–2031 reflects this shared vision and is aligned with national priorities aimed at strengthening agricultural production, generating employment and expanding opportunities in the most vulnerable rural areas,” said Donal Brown. Building on more than four decades of partnership, IFAD and the Government of Mexico are working together to create more resilient, inclusive and productive rural economies. Read the full press release at bit.ly/3RWbc4h #FinancingTheFirstMile #IFADImpact

What does it take to strengthen rural livelihoods at scale? In #ElSalvador, Rural Adelante shows how targeted investment in rural people can contribute to a broader strategy for poverty reduction, economic inclusion and resilience-building. With US$18.9 million in financing from IFAD and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the project reached nearly 20,000 rural households, supporting smallholder farmers to increase productive capacity, improve market integration and adopt more resilient agricultural practices. Its design placed particular emphasis on women, youth and Indigenous Peoples, groups that are often central to rural transformation, yet disproportionately excluded from opportunity. By combining productive support, access to finance, technical assistance and market linkages, Rural Adelante addressed multiple structural constraints at once – from limited liquidity and information asymmetries to weak market access. This approach helped unlock income opportunities, strengthen rural assets and enhance participants’ capacity to withstand shocks. The results point to more than household-level gains. They illustrate the value of coordinated rural investment as a pathway to inclusive rural development and longer-term poverty alleviation: 🔹77% increase in gross income for fishing, aquaculture and livestock 🔹52.1% increase in total production value When rural development interventions are designed to address interconnected constraints, they can generate impacts that extend beyond individual beneficiaries and contribute to more inclusive, resilient and sustainable national development pathways. Read more at bit.ly/49viv9c

At #RomeNutritionWeek26, @IFADPresident Álvaro Lario underscored nutrition’s central role in rural transformation. Nutrition starts long before the plate, with farmers who have access to quality inputs, markets that connect them to buyers, functioning value chains that move food reliably from field to kitchen, infrastructure that reduces losses and policies that make all of this possible. Aligned with national development priorities, #IFAD14 integrates nutrition across investments, and strengthens monitoring to track real progress on the ground. Because systems thinking without finance remains theoretical, and finance without functioning food systems delivers limited impact. Closing the nutrition gap doesn't stop at knowledge. It requires investment, coordination and collective action across the entire food system. #IFADImpact #FinancingTheFirstMile

African leadership is critical to #IFAD14 and to scaling investment at the first mile. Today, on the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, IFAD convened a high-level ministerial dialogue on “Financing Africa’s First Mile: Investing in Rural People for Food Security, Economic Growth and Stability.” The discussion focused on a central financing question for the continent, how scarce concessional resources can be used more strategically to unlock rural markets, employment, resilience, private sector investment and innovation. This is the core of the IFAD14 offer. It responds directly to Africa’s priorities by investing where growth, jobs and food security begin, while helping countries reduce vulnerability to climate, conflict and economic shocks. #Ethiopia’s leadership in co-hosting this dialogue sent an important signal. African Member States are central to IFAD as borrowers, partners and contributors shaping the ambition of the replenishment. African finance ministers recognized IFAD’s high multiplier effect, with every US$1 contributed to IFAD mobilizing around US$6 of investment on the ground. They also underlined their support for an ambitious IFAD14 replenishment and their readiness to do their part. That signal matters. Strong African ownership helps raise global ambition, catalyse broader partner investment and reinforce the case for investing at the first mile. @g_mukeshimana @MoF_Ethiopia #FinancingTheFirstMile

RT @IFADPresident: “Small-scale producers are not just beneficiaries. They are investable partners, central to the functioning of global fo…

School meal programmes demonstrate how nutrition-sensitive investments can deliver both human and economic returns. By generating consistent demand for food, schools create predictable market opportunities for local small-scale producers, helping to strengthen rural incomes, stimulate domestic food systems and anchor value creation within local economies. In contexts of fragility and crisis, school meals also serve as a strategic stabilizer – safeguarding children’s nutrition and well-being while supporting the livelihoods of rural communities. Crucially, when producers can rely on steady demand, they are better positioned to reinvest in their farms, improve productivity and build more resilient and profitable agricultural enterprises over time. This is why IFAD invests in school meals approaches that connect improved nutrition outcomes for children with sustainable market opportunities for local producers. Every US$1 invested in improving nutrition can generate an economic return of US$23, underscoring the social importance and economic value of nutrition investments. IFAD does not deliver school meals directly. Rather, we invest in stronger local food systems and rural economies so that small-scale producers can supply these programmes reliably, sustainably and at scale. Learn more at bit.ly/3Q0AvSb #FinancingTheFirstMile #RNW26 #RomeNutritionWeek #RomeNutritionWeek26

At a critical moment for global food security and nutrition, my discussions today at the Rome Nutrition Week with @sanchezcastejon, Prime Minister of #Spain, @FAODG, and @WFPChief, focused on the urgent need to strengthen food systems under growing pressure.   The Middle East crisis is exposing deeper vulnerabilities in global food systems. Across fragile and conflict-affected contexts, @IFAD sees these pressures reaching the farm gate through higher input costs, disrupted production and more volatile markets.   Our response must be both immediate and strategic. Protecting livelihoods today while investing in stronger, more resilient food systems for tomorrow. For IFAD, this means investing where food systems begin. In rural economies, small-scale producers, sustainable land and water use, and reduced dependence on volatile external inputs.   Spain has been a long-standing and strategic partner of IFAD, supporting food systems, resilience and inclusive rural development.   Together with committed partners such as Spain, and through the complementary mandates of the Rome based agencies, we can build more resilient food systems, stronger rural economies and a more secure world.   #FinancingTheFirstMile #RNW26 #RomeNutritionWeek @desdelamoncloa @SpainMFA