Why integrate rural development, climate change, and sustainable natural resources management?Sheila Mwanundu, IFAD2 November 2010

©IFAD/G.M.B. Akash

The Green Revolution more than doubled agricultural output in just three decades. Still, there is growing evidence that such gains were inherently unsustainable, based on “brown” technology, particularly inorganic fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation, and mechanisation.

©IFAD/Paolo Marchetti

Agriculture-new era• Climate change

multiplies the risks farmers face.

• Land degradation, water scarcity and pollution, and biodiversity loss further deplete the natural resources on which rural communities depend.

• Increasing market volatility and consumer demand- on land add to existing vulnerabilities.

Some 2 billion people live on an estimated 525 million small farms. 87 per cent of these farms are in Asia. Already suffering from high rates of absolute poverty and undernourishment, the rural poor are most at risks in the face of global scarcity trends.

IFAD/GMB Akash 2008

Lack of participationand political

representation

Inappropriatepolicies

Lack of accessto markets and

credit

Lack of organisationand social capital

Lack of accessto knowledge and

technology

Lack of accessto natural assets

Natural disasters,conflict and crises

Rural poverty

To continue empowering small farmers and the rural poor to overcome poverty, IFAD and its partners must integrate rural development, climate change and natural resources management.

©IFAD/Qilai Shen

1. Governance©IFAD/Anwar Hossain

2.Ecological/Landscape approaches

©ICRAF/S. Mkomwa

©IFAD/Horst Wagner ©©IFAD/Lana Slezic

3.Environmental value chains and access to marketsInput and adoption

Production

Post-harvest

Manufacturing

Consumption©IFAD/Lana Slezic

4 Access to information and technology

©IFAD/Hiroshi Yoshino

5.Baselines, monitoring and evaluation

©IFAD/Horst Wagner

6. Partnerships and finance

Researchinstitutes

Private sector Government

NGOs andCSOs

MFIs andUN agencies

Rural poor

IFAD responseSince the 2008: (i) established ECD; (ii) updated its ESA procedures; (iii) developed IP and Land policies; (iv) launched climate change strategy; (v) reviewed environmental performance; (vi) consulted internal and external stakeholders; and (vii) embarked on an new ENRM policy.

Thank you©IFAD/G.M.B. Akash