UN agency promotes climate-smart agriculture

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Country Director Fernanda Thomaz has said that the organisation promotes climate-smart agriculture to strengthen food security while enabling farmers to adapt to changing conditions.

"This includes supporting resilient infrastructure, water storage, irrigation systems, market access and climate-resistant crop varieties," she told APP in an interview.

The country director said that since 1978, the IFAD has focused on fighting rural poverty in Pakistan, where over 80% of the poor population resides in rural areas.

Smallholder farmers face challenges such as limited market access, small landholdings and climate-related threats, she said, adding that the IFAD aligns its programmes with Pakistan's development goals to address these issues effectively.

She indicated that strengthening food security initiatives helps ultra-poor communities improve livelihoods through sustainable agricultural practices, with a focus on women and youth.

To improve market access, she said, the IFAD develops value chains to enhance farmers' productivity and connect them to larger markets. In Gilgit-Baltistan's Hunza Valley, the IFAD has helped women apricot farmers form cooperatives, improve product quality and reduce food loss. These cooperatives now link themselves with private companies to access bigger markets, benefiting everyone in the value chain.

Thomaz said that to promote climate-resilient practices in remote mountainous areas, the IFAD introduces innovations that enable year-round vegetable cultivation, ensure steady incomes and access to nutritious food.