International Fund For Agricultural Development - Objectives

Objectives

IFAD will ensure that poor rural people have better access to, and the skills and organization they need to take advantage of:

• Natural resources, especially secure access to land and water, and improved natural resource management and conservation practices
• Improved agricultural technologies and effective production services
• A broad range of financial services
• Transparent and competitive markets for agricultural inputs and produce
• Opportunities for rural off-farm employment and enterprise development
• Local and national policy and programming processes

All of IFAD's decisions - on regional, country and thematic strategies, poverty reduction strategies, policy dialogue and development partners - are made with these principles and objectives in mind. As reflected in the strategic framework, IFAD is committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, in particular the target to halve the proportion of hungry and extremely poor people by 2015.

Underlying these objectives is IFAD’s belief that rural poor people must be empowered to lead their own development if poverty is to be eradicated. Poor people must be able to develop and strengthen their own organizations, so they can advance their own interests and dismantle the obstacles that prevent many of them from creating better lives for themselves. They must be able to have a say in the decisions and policies that affect their lives, and they need to strengthen their bargaining power in the marketplace.