Since COVID-19 hit Afghanistan, it has posed a dreadful dilemma for the Afghan nomads, the Kuchis, get sick or go hungry. tells the experience of the Kuchis, who normally make a living by herding sheep, goats and camels around the country. Under lockdown, that lifestyle has become very difficult to maintain. For most people, the lockdown measures greatly reduce their exposure to the virus. But for the Kuchis, they pose the danger of blocking their usual trade of livestock and dairy products – and without trade, they have no income and face a shortage of food.
IFAD
Guadalupe Moller lives in Turco, a small community in rural western Bolivia, near the Chilean border. She’d spent most of her life in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital, but four years ago she moved back to Turco, where her family’s roots are. Now, at 61 years old – and thanks to an implemented by the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands – she’s begun a whole new life in the land of her ancestors. She produces charque – crushed and salt-dried llama meat.
Photo contest shows images from young people across Latin American and Caribbean
channels climate and environmental finance to smallholder farmers, helping them to reduce poverty, enhance biodiversity, increase yields and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Gilbert Houngbo, President of writes that "in most of Africa, people are more likely to die from starvation caused by the economic fallout from the pandemic than from the disease itself. An additional 23 million people are expected The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that our current food production, processing and distribution systems are vulnerable." He says investing in small-scale farmers can help boost food security on the continent.
The African continent looks like it could be the worst hit from the economic fallout of the crisis: 80 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty if action is not taken. And disruptions in food systems raise the prospect of more Africans falling into hunger. Rural people, many of whom work on small-scale farms, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis. therefore urges that the COVID-19 response address food security and target the rural poor.
Victoria Muteti, a 44-year old farmer living in Kenya’s Makueni County, has increased her harvest several times over. Luckily, she is able to keep farming during the COVID-19 pandemic, while observing all the necessary social distancing measures, and the extra income she’s made over the last two years has helped her improve her nutrition – along with many other facets of her life. Victoria owes these successes to her participation in an implemented by the Government of Kenya and jointly funded with and the European Union.
Empowering and protecting rural women in the time of coronavirus
Pandemics create both demand and supply shocks in all economic sectors. Although the agricultural sector tends to be more resilient than other sectors, the food system in developing countries can still take a significant hit. And for countries that rely on food imports, a food systems crisis may hit earlier than the effects of the pandemic itself. deems essential that all interventions to protect food systems and rural producers, link projects and be holistic in design.
Actor, filmmaker and humanitarian Idris Elba and actress, model and activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba have launched a new global coronavirus relief fund on behalf of the 51³Ô¹Ï’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (). With US$40 million in seed money from IFAD, the multi-donor COVID-19 aims to raise at least an additional $200 million from governments, foundations and the private sector to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on rural small-scale farmers and producers.
Despite being confronted with an unprecedented threat, the (IFAD) partners with Brazilian organizations to quickly coordinate small rural producers to create hairnets and gowns for the local health departments. These efforts would not enjoy nearly as much success without the solidarity they have demonstrated – and which, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminds us, is crucial to overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
Don’t Allow the Coronavirus to Open Up Another Front
Cacao – the key ingredient in chocolate, and a major cash crop – is making a comeback in Sao Tome and Principe, thanks to ’s assistance, tripling Sao Tome and Principe’s exports in comparison to just 12 years before.
Small family farms make up 85 per cent of all farms worldwide, and smallholder farmers make up the majority of the world’s rural poor. To mitigate the challenges that come with working in isolation − and to increase profitability and productivity − these smallholders often form organizations. Working together makes it easier for small-scale farmers to access raw materials, reach larger markets and reduce costs. And when farmers thrive, other players in the food system benefit, too.
Today we stand at a critical juncture – historic progress in reducing hunger has stalled, poverty remains stubbornly entrenched in some areas, and inequality is rising, while climate change is an existential threat to our food systems. invests in the millions of rural people, who are most at risk of being left behind: poor small-scale producers, women, young people, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups living in rural areas. During the period of its (2022-2024), IFAD is seeking to dramatically increase its impact to accelerate progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.