New Swedish support to food security and rural development
SWEDEN, December 12 - Published
The Swedish Government has decided to contribute funds to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Over the next three years, Sweden will provide SEK 615 million to IFAD, a UN agency that promotes food security and creates livelihood opportunities for women and men living in poverty in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and donations, IFAD supports people in poor and disadvantaged rural areas, such as women smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups.
The increasing food insecurity in the world requires renewed efforts to reduce poverty and strengthen the resilience of the people affected. IFAD’s projects help boost production capacity and enhance livelihood opportunities, enable people living in poverty to access markets for their products, and enhance environmental sustainability and resilience to climate change in rural areas. In 2025–2027, IFAD’s activities will prioritise measures for climate change adaptation and enhanced biodiversity and promote private sector contributions to development results by mobilising private investment. Activities will also more strongly address drivers of fragility.
“People in rural areas are hit hard by food insecurity and climate change. At the same time, they produce a large proportion of the world’s food. The Swedish Government remains a strong partner of IFAD, which contributes effectively to the self-sufficiency of individuals, sustainable agriculture and rural development in developing countries. The Government particularly welcomes the fact that Ukraine recently became a member of IFAD, allowing IFAD to support Ukraine in strengthening its agricultural smallholder sector,” says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa.
The support that IFAD can offer to small-scale agriculture in rural areas will play an important role for food security and local economy in Ukraine and, in the long-term, in mitigating the food crisis that has escalated as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
IFAD has activities around the world, usually in vulnerable areas and often where other development actors are not present. These activities contribute to Sweden’s development policy priorities, including creating better living conditions for people suffering from poverty, while safeguarding the environment and climate.
