Rural development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (French: Fonds international de développement agricole; FIDA) (Italian: Fondo Internazionale per lo Sviluppo Agricolo) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. It was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. Seventy-five percent of the world's poor live in rural areas in developing countries, yet only 4% of official development assistance goes to agriculture.