International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) 12 Core contribution 2022 - 2024


IFAD aims at transforming rural economies and food systems by making them more inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable. During 2022-2024, IFAD plans lifting 68 million poor rural women and men out of hunger and poverty, en route to doubling its impact by 2030. IFAD is one of the 15 priority multilateral organizations of the Swiss international cooperation and shares its priorities of leaving no one behind; addressing issues of climate change, nutrition, gender and youth; and engaging more with the private sector and promoting innovation.

Pays/région Thème Période Budget
Monde entier
Agriculture et sécurité alimentaire
Emploi & développement économique
Développement agricole
Services agricoles & marché
Développement rural
01.01.2022 - 31.12.2024
CHF  47’000’000
Domaine de compétences

IFAD is the only multilateral organization with a universal mandate specialised on smallholder agriculture. As a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) and international finance institution, IFAD has a dual mandate: it invests in development opportunities for poor rural people in the form of loans and grants to partner countries while also engaging on policy processes at both global and national levels. The partnership of 177 member states from the OECD, OPEC, and developing countries, of which 50% contribute to the Fund, gives IFAD strong backing and ownership.

With FAO and WFP, IFAD, is one of the three UN Rome-based agencies engaged in agriculture and food security. They recently developped a common strategy to collaborate in the delivery of the SDGs. FAO plays its role in developing norms, providing expertise and sharing knowledge. WFP is specialized in humanitarian aid and disaster risk reduction.

With its focus on promoting rural transformation and empowering extremely poor and food-insecure rural people, IFAD focusses on contributions to SDGs 1(eradicate extreme poverty), 2 (end food insecurity). 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and inclusive economic growth) and 10 (reducing inequalities), 13 (climate), 14 + 15 (natural re-sources) and 17 (effective partnerships).

Priorités stratégiques de la Suisse et de l'organisation et leur cohérence

IFAD is one of the 15 multilateral priority organizations of Switzerlands International Cooperation Strategy 2021-24.

The clear mandate of IFAD on smallholder agriculture, its mission to transform rural economies and food systems is reflected in the organization’s approach to reach the remotest areas and support millions of rural people increasing their productivity (while sustaining and safeguarding the natural resource base) and incomes, access markets, finding jobs and building resilience to climate and other shocks (including the current Covid pandemic).

These objectives and areas of work are all central to the mandate of the Swiss development cooperation and are well aligned with the four main objectives of Switzerland’s International Cooperation Strategy (ICS) 2021-2024. In addition, IFAD12's specific focii on increasing the engagement with the private sector and promoting innovation (including digitalization) resonate well with specific priorities of Switzerland’s ICS 2021-2024.

More specifically, IFAD represents one of the key multilateral partner of the Global Programme Food Security (GPFS), with fully compatible objectives promoting agroecology, healthy nutrition, inclusive markets, especially in favor eand empowering women and youth.

Résultats de l'engagement déployé à ce jour par l'organisation

IFAD10 (2016-2018) investment impact on rural people shows that 62 million benefited from positive economic mobility (target was 40 million); 47 million achieved better or higher production (target: 43); 50 million gained market access (target: 42); and 22 million increased their resilience (target: 22).

In 2019, IFAD supported initiatives reached 132 million people of which 47% are female and 20% young people. In 2018, 2.6 million people were trained in improved agricultural practices; 2.6 million people have been supported in coping with the effects of climate change; 3.1 million hectares of land were brought under improved management; 163’600 microenterprises gained access to business promotion services.

Résultats de l'engagement déployé à ce jour par la Suisse

1.    IFAD has launched its Agricultural Business Capital (ABC) Fund which will lead to higher incomes and more jobs notably for youth and women as well as increased food security, contributing to improved livelihoods of an estimated 430'000 smallholder households applying more sustainable farm practices.

2.    Building on the success of the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), IFAD has launched ASAP+, a specific fund for building climate resilience among small-scale agricultural producers in the lowest-income countries.

3.    IFAD has consolidated the reform of its financial architecture including the possibility to access the private capital market and the development of a new Private Sector Financing Programme (PSFP).

Effets directs de l'engagement actuel de l'organisation

During IFAD12, the Fund aims to reach 127 million poor rural people (through a Programme of loans and Grants (PoLG) amounting 3.8 billion USD) and achieve significant attributable impact across each of its strategic objectives, as defined in the IFAD12 Results Management Framework (RMF):

-      51 million with improved agricultural production;;

-      55 million with improved market access

-      68 million with increased income;

-      28 million with greater resilience;

-      11 million with improved nutrition.

Relevant transversal mainstreaming targets are:

-      Climate finance representing 40% of PoLG;

-      35% of projects designed to be gender transformative;

-      25% of women reporting minimum dietary diversity;

-      60% of new investments projects explicitly prioritizing youth and youth employment;

-      25% of core resources allocated to countries with fragile situations;

-      Developing specific agrobiodiversity initiatives.

To finance these objectives, IFAD will improve its financial architecture notably by prudently accessing to the private capital market (valorizing its first ever AA+ credit rating) and leveraging private-sector co-financing.

Effets directs de l'engagement actuel de la Suisse

1.    IFAD portfolio takes well into account the post-Covid agricultural and economic realities, linked with the Swiss contribution to the Rural Poor Stimulus Facility.

2.    Switzerland closely follows IFAD’s operationalisation of its new financial architecture (i.e. from the new borrowing framework, graduation policy to financial sustainability) and the launch of respective new programmes and projects.

3.    IFAD has substantially enhanced its engagement with the private sector and has sufficiently leveraged the Swiss contribution to the PSFP for additional private sector investments in IFAD’s programme portfolio.

4.    IFAD has included agroecology (AE) - including nutrition and gender - in its new projects and is ready to give it bespoke programmatic discussion and application, linked with GPFS focus and the Swiss JPO currently engaged at IFAD in this field.

Direction/office fédéral responsable DDC
Partenaire de projet Partenaire contractuel
Organisme des Nations Unies (ONU)
  • Fonds international de développement agricole


Budget Phase en cours Budget de la Suisse CHF    47’000’000 Budget suisse déjà attribué CHF    47’000’000
Donateurs

Core contribution ranking IFAD12:

1. USA (129 mill.); 2. France (106); 3. Germany (101); 4. Italy (96); 5. China (85); and 12. Switzerland; out of 69 donors (status February 16 2021, to be confirmed with final engagements in September 2021).

Coordination avec autres projets et acteurs

Switzerland is an active Member of List A (OECD countries. It is part of a constituency with Germany, Luxembourg and the Russian Federation. Switzerland will be an alternate Executive Board member for the period 02.2022-01.2024.

Phases du projet Phase 13 01.01.2022 - 31.12.2024   (Phase en cours) Phase 11 01.01.2016 - 31.12.2018   (Completed) Phase 10 01.01.2013 - 31.12.2015   (Completed)