IFAD Annual Report 2015: Cheat sheet

Go to the IFAD Annual Report 2015

IFAD’s Annual Report and Highlights for 2015 have just been published. People from across the organization have contributed and the report contains a wealth of information on our work and our results – stories, facts, figures and analysis. This short blogpost is a cheat sheet, giving you all the big numbers from the main report, plus some tasters from the stories.

These are the big numbers, correct as at 31 December 2015:

• 231 ongoing programmes and projects funded by IFAD in partnership with 98 governments
• IFAD investment of US$6.2 billion in the ongoing portfolio and domestic contributions and external cofinancing worth US$7.6 billion
• 39 new programmes and projects approved in 2015 with loans, DSF grants and ASAP grants worth US$1,330.6 million
• 70 new grants approved in 2015 worth US$73.6 million

At the time of publication (June 2016), total IFAD loan and grants approved since 1978 were worth  nearly US$17.7 billion and the programmes and projects we support had reached about 459 million people.

If you’re looking for the details behind those figures, or information on our new sovereign borrowing framework, recent replenishments, cofinancing or disbursements – take a look at the Financing Data and Resource Mobilization chapter.

Here's the breakdown of the numbers region by region.

West and Central Africa

• 47 ongoing projects in 22 countries
• US$1,270.7 million invested by IFAD in the region’s ongoing portfolio
• 7 new programmes and projects for a total IFAD investment of US$184.4 million

East and Southern Africa

• 46 ongoing projects in 17 countries
• US$1,463.1 million invested by IFAD in the region’s ongoing portfolio
• 7 new programmes and projects for a total IFAD investment of US$399.4 million

Asia and the Pacific

• 66 ongoing projects in 21 countries
• US$2,142.2 million invested by IFAD in the region’s ongoing portfolio
• 14 new programmes and projects for a total IFAD investment of US$552.2 million

Latin America and the Caribbean

• 36 ongoing projects in 20 countries
• US$535.8 million invested by IFAD in the region’s ongoing portfolio
• 7 new project for a total IFAD investment of US$116.6 million

Near East, North Africa and Europe

• 36 ongoing projects in 18 countries
• US$773.7 million invested by IFAD in the region’s ongoing portfolio
• 4 new programmes and projects for a total IFAD investment of US$78.0 million

Not just numbers
The Annual Report is more than just numbers, however. It’s also about IFAD’s engagement in policy processes and dialogue on global and regional issues, including the SDGs, climate change, financing for development and more. And it spotlights key areas of activity in each region, with results and stories.

A theme that comes up in several of the stories from the field in the 2015 report is how IFAD is supporting the production, consumption and marketing of local, traditional crops like millet in Senegal, sorghum in Kenya and Tanzania and the red-seeded shrub achiote in Ecuador. Read the stories to find out how IFAD-funded projects enable farmers to improve cultivation and processing techniques at the same time as they raise awareness about the benefits of the crops, which often include resilience in the face of the effects of climate change. Connecting farmers to value chains and markets is also a key part of such projects.

You’ll also find stories that bring to life our commitment to empowering women and young people. In Moldova, ambitious young  farmer Anastasia Gilca is building her blackberry business with IFAD support. In Indonesia, businesswoman Ratna Sari Dewi Bani is leading a successful fish-processing group. And in Central Asia women spinners, knitters and felt-producers are exporting their high-quality products to Europe and America.

If you're interested in the details of new initiatives, all newly approved programmes, projects and large grants are summarized. To see which countries we’re working in and where we have country offices, take a look at the map.

If you want more than this one-page cheat sheet, there are plenty of other options  to explore from the Annual Report landing page. There are the 12-page Highlights, the 64-page print report, and the full report (which includes a wealth of information and detail, including Member States and their representatives, the Financial Statements and more).

I’d like to close with a big thank you to the many people who have contributed to AR2015: the focal points who pull together the information and give guidance during the writing phase, those who write their own sections, the people who give us the numbers and the directors who give support and clearance. Then from the production phase, the production teams in the four languages, the production coordinator, the editor, the photo editor, the sub-editor, the translators, the in-house and external designers, the editorial assistant and the proofreaders. Everyone has contributed a huge amount and I hope you will all be happy with the end result. Feel free to send suggestions for next year's report – work starts on that in September.

As usual, we’re launching the Annual Report on social media. Take a look at our Facebook page and join the conversation on twitter. Use hashtag #AR2015 and tweet your favourite quotes, facts and figures to your followers.