IFAD Issues Largest Sustainable Bond to Date for Rural Transformation

(Credit: International Fund for Agricultural Development)

The United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has issued around $123 million to Amundi Asset Management, a European asset manager and advocate for responsible investments, with a plan to increase financing for inclusive and sustainable rural agricultural transformation.

The organization said the funding is its largest sustainable bond to date and combined with contributions from IFAD’s member states, will support the organization's investment program of up to $3.5 billion planned for the years 2022 through 2024 in rural areas of more than 90 developing countries.

The investment program will:

• Share and implement climate-resilient agricultural techniques.
• Rehabilitate land and protect coastal areas from harsh weather.
• Develop agricultural value chains.
• Provide small farmers access to markets to sell their produce locally.
• Promote nutritious and sustainable diets.
• Enable women to access financial resources and make decisions.

The organization acknowledges the relationship that climate change, a growing global population, and changing food and energy prices have with global poverty and hunger. A new initiative by IFAD will also help developing countries lower their methane emissions from agricultural and small-scale farming practices. IFAD, which works in remote areas of the world to assist rural countries in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, is also dedicated to erasing poverty and hunger in these developing countries.

According to IFAD, around 3 billion people live in the rural areas of developing countries and rely on small-scale farming for their food and livelihoods. These small-scale farmers, who often live in poverty and hunger, produce up to 70% of the food in low- and middle-income countries as well as one-third of the world’s food. The World Health Organization and UN report says around 828 million people suffered from hunger in 2021, 46 million more than in 2020, and 150 million more than in 2019.

The investment, which has a 15-year issuance, completes IFAD’s 2023 funding plan.

Global leaders will be at the international Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris from June 22-23 to discuss ways to channel additional funding to the world’s poorest countries and reform the global financial architecture, facilitating these countries to finance climate action and their development.