At the EAT Stockholm Food Forum on 3 October 2025, Gerardine Mukeshimana, Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), emphasized the critical role of investments and partnerships in creating resilient food systems that feed a growing global population while generating jobs, stability, and hope for future generations. She highlighted the launch of the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission Report on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems, which reinforces IFAD’s long-standing advocacy that food systems offer opportunities to tackle climate change, sustainability challenges, and inequality. Mukeshimana underscored the importance of investing in initiatives that deliver tangible results for small-scale producers, rural women, and young entrepreneurs in rural areas, bridging scientific research with practical, on-the-ground solutions.
Between 2022 and 2024, IFAD’s investments directly created nearly 390,000 jobs and enabled 1.1 million households to adopt climate-resilient practices. Average income for participants rose by 34 percent, with almost half of projects achieving “transformational” income gains of over 50 percent. By combining finance, training, infrastructure, and market access, IFAD demonstrated that holistic interventions are most effective for sustainable livelihoods, increasing both production and market access by 35 percent. Mukeshimana called on governments, investors, and development partners to scale up support for rural communities along the “farm-to-fork” value chain to ensure long-term food security, socio-economic transformation, and climate resilience.
IFAD’s work is supported by major financial commitments, including US$17.8 billion disbursed in 2023 to strengthen food systems, unlock business opportunities, mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and promote healthier diets. Sweden has been a key partner in these efforts, contributing to IFAD’s pioneering sustainable development bonds. Since 2022, Swedish insurers and pension funds, including Folksam, Skandia, and Kåpan, have collaborated with IFAD to issue bonds totaling over US$200 million, channeling private capital toward poverty reduction, climate adaptation, and rural development initiatives.
Mukeshimana highlighted that Sweden’s partnership extends beyond finance, emphasizing a shared commitment to addressing poverty, hunger, climate change, and women’s empowerment. IFAD is also designing Ukraine’s first rural recovery programme, targeting smallholders, women, youth, and internally displaced people, illustrating the Fund’s capacity to deliver sustainable solutions in fragile contexts. With a reaffirmed AA+ credit rating in 2025, IFAD continues to convert every US$1 of donor contributions into US$6 in on-the-ground investments, demonstrating efficiency, effectiveness, and a proven track record in transforming rural communities globally.
