Bangladesh, IFAD renew partnership to ensure rural jobs, climate resilience

Bangladesh and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have begun shaping the next phase of their nearly five-decade partnership, putting rural jobs, private investment and climate resilience at its core.

The direction was set during a three-day mission to Dhaka that concluded on Monday, led by Donal Brown, associate vice-president for country operations at IFAD, the United Nations specialised agency and international financial institution investing in the first mile of food systems to advance rural transformation, said a press release.

During the mission, Brown met Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, finance and planning minister, as well as the Asian Development Bank, private sector and rural finance partners, and development partners including the UN Country Team, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Embassies of Denmark and the Netherlands.

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Discussions centred on IFAD's next financing cycle, IFAD14 (2028 to 2030), private investment in rural value chains, and continued support to rural development as Bangladesh prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country status.

IFAD's full allocation of $121.4 million for Bangladesh under its current financing cycle (IFAD13) has been committed. Across IFAD's six ongoing projects in the country, with total financing of about $2 billion, every $1 from IFAD is matched by around $6 from the government and development partners.

Bangladesh has renewed its commitment to IFAD, reflecting a strong partnership over the last 48 years, with a $2 million pledge to the Fund's 14th Replenishment. The pledge reaffirms Bangladesh's commitment to building climate resilience in its most vulnerable rural areas, expanding rural finance and enterprise, and creating jobs for rural young people and women.

"Bangladesh has shown what strong national ownership can achieve. Rural people need decent jobs, fair access to markets and the means to withstand shocks, and no single institution can deliver that alone. Through IFAD14, we will use public resources to bring in development finance and private capital, so that small-scale producers and rural enterprises become full partners in the country's growth," Brown said.

"Our role at country level is to ensure IFAD's support responds to Bangladesh's priorities," said Valantine Achancho, IFAD country director and representative for Bangladesh.

"In line with the government's Five-Year Strategic Framework, we will begin preparing our next investments early next year under the leadership of the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance. Our focus is on faster delivery on the ground and stronger partnerships, so that every resource turns into jobs and resilience for rural people," Valantine added.

Since 1978, IFAD has invested $1.13 billion in 39 projects in Bangladesh, its largest country programme in Asia and the Pacific, reaching more than 11.7 million households.