As the world moves into an era of spending restraint, IFAD will need to tell a convincing story of its impact on rural poverty reduction. A strong body of evidence on IFADs ‘real effect on peoples lives’ will need to be developed. At the same time, the movement for the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics to accumulate credible knowledge of what works and what doesn’t has gained momentum.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries and its mission is to enable poor rural people to overcome poverty.
