Ethiopian farmers gathering at a small market in the Western highlands.
Photo: ©Shutterstock/Stewart Innes

Substantial German support for small farmers in the Global South

The German KfW Development Bank is contributing 400 million euros to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to improve food security in developing countries, not least with regard to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the KfW Development Bank signed a further promotional loan agreement amounting to 400 million euros with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome/Italy in November. The same sum had initially been provided in 2014. 

As an international financial institution and specialised United Nations agency based in Rome, IFAD aims to improve food security in developing countries. Key issues in this area include increasing agricultural production and adapting farming and the food sector to climate change. Additional focus currently lies on tackling the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, which has negatively affected supply chains globally and thus also disrupted the food supply for poor rural populations in particular. 

Using the funds from KfW, IFAD will be able to finance a significant part of its planned investments – in total, up to 3.5 billion USD from 2022–2024. The funds help smallholders increase their production with improved crop cultivation and livestock farming techniques as well as modern water-saving irrigation systems, among other measures, and also enable them to better market their products and clarify land use rights. Furthermore, they are being used to establish rural finance systems. The funds from KfW support the IFAD’s work, thus contributing to food security for poor rural populations around the world.

Global food demand set to double over next 50 years


“Global demand for food will double in the next 50 years. Climate change increases production risks and reduces harvests,” said Christiane Laibach, Member of the KfW Executive Board. “Furthermore, smallholders are facing increasing challenges due to the progressive transformation in global and local food markets. For this reason, IFAD and KfW consider smallholders to be at the heart of agricultural development measures that serve to both increase food security and alleviate poverty.”

(KfW/wi)

Further information:
KfW Development Bank  
More information on IFAD

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