FAQ

About IFAD

Q.What is IFAD and what does it do? The International Fund for Agricultural Fund (IFAD) is an International Finance Institution established in 1978 to provide assistance to Country Governments in agriculture and rural development. IFAD provides financial and technical assistance to Countries to implement programmes with a goal to enable the rural poor to overcome poverty.

Q.Is India, a member of IFAD? Yes, India is a founding member of IFAD and also a member of the IFAD Executive Board.

Q.How much assistance India gets from IFAD per year? IFAD assistance to a particular country is based on the Performance Based Allocation System. The PBAS rating for India is reasonably positive with regard to the macro, rural sector and portfolio performance indicators. The lending levels of IFAD to India would range from USD 110 to 119 million for the current programme cycle of 2005-09.

Q.What are the criteria for assistance? The assistance to India is based on the India Country Strategy. The major strategic thrust of IFAD would be on grassroots institution building amongst marginalized groups, institutional strengthening of support agencies, promoting and protecting access of marginalized groups to resources and promoting diversification of livelihood opportunities.

Q.What are the terms of financing for assistance to India? IFAD provides loan assistance to India on highly concessional terms repayable over a period 40 years with a 10-year grace period. IFAD does not charge any interest and only a service charge of 0.75% p.a. on the disbursed amount is levied.

Q.How does IFAD assist the programme implementation? After the request of the Government of India or the concerned State Government through the Government of India, IFAD fields a Mission consisting of technical experts from different sectors to formulate and appraise the project proposal. The Mission closely consults the primary stakeholders about the design and the likely components. Once the Government of India and the State Government have approved the programme proposal through their respective administrative mechanisms, IFAD Executive Board approves the assistance. The Country Programme Manager assisted by the IFAD Field Presence in New Delhi and the Government jointly review the progress of the programme at regular intervals and suggest improvements. Normally review missions are fielded once in a year and follow up missions are undertaken as required.

Q.What is the duration of the IFAD programme? IFAD Programmes have a long gestation period and will be implemented over a span of 8-10 years. IFAD has gained experience from all over the world that working with grassroots institutions and marginalized communities takes more time to instill the confidence in themselves and hence it is better to work over a longer time frame.

Q.What is IFAD's policy on anti-corruption and fraud? To carry out its mandate to help poor rural people overcome poverty, IFAD needs to ensure that development funds reach them in the most efficient, effective and transparent manner possible. There is no room for fraud and corruption, which divert resources elsewhere. In 2005 IFAD adopted an anticorruption policy. The policy's goal is to prevent fraud and corruption in IFAD-supported programmes and projects, and in contracts at the local, national, regional and international levels. The Fund shall apply a zero-tolerance policy where it has determined, through an investigation performed by the Fund, the borrower or another competent entity, that fraudulent, corrupt, collusive or coercive actions have occurred in projects financed through its loans and grants, and it shall enforce a range of sanctions in accordance with the provisions of applicable IFAD rules and regulations and legal instruments. 'Zero tolerance' means that IFAD will pursue all allegations falling under the scope of this policy and that appropriate sanctions will be applied where the allegations are substantiated. The Fund shall apply a zero-tolerance policy where it has determined through an investigative process that its staff, consultants or individuals acting as representatives of the Fund have engaged in fraudulent, corrupt, collusive or coercive practices. 'Zero tolerance' means that IFAD will pursue all allegations falling under the scope of this policy and that appropriate sanctions will be applied where the allegations are substantiated. IFAD shall enforce a range of disciplinary measures and sanctions for all such cases, in accordance with applicable IFAD rules and regulations and contractual provisions. Such measures will include referral to the competent national authorities where warranted. For more details on IFAD's Anti-Corruption Policy please access the following link: http://www.ifad.org/governance/anticorruption/

Q.What will happen after IFAD exits the programme? Any multilateral or bilateral institution cannot run a programme in perpetuity. However, during the programme cycle, the capacity of the communities and institutions will be promoted and strengthened and the communities will take informed decisions based on the empowerment. At the end of the programme cycle, only financial assistance from IFAD ceases. It has been observed that the successful implementation of the pilot will encourage the Governments to upscale the programme with its own funding.

Q.How can I contact IFAD ? Any institution/person who wants to contact IFAD may contact the Country Programme Manager, IFAD or the Coordinator, IFAD Field Presence India for further details. The details are provided in the Contact Us page. They are also encouraged to visit the IFAD website at www.ifad.org .

Civil Society Organizations

Q.What is the role of Civil Society organizations in the programme implementation? IFAD programmes do engage the Civil Society /NGOs for the crucial task of community mobilization and promotion of participatory processes. The Civil Society Organizations should be genuine long-term partners of the communities rather than mere service providers. Experience has also shown that NGOs need to be carefully selected based on proven track record and indicators to ensure that they have the correct orientation to fulfill the project's objectives.

Q.Does IFAD assist the CSOs directly? Though IFAD's financial assistance is through loans to Country Governments, IFAD does provide ECP Grants on strategically selective basis to institutions. The guidelines for Grants proposal provide more details.

Jobs and Opportunities

Q.How do I apply for a job in IFAD? IFAD advertises the job opportunities in major International magazines and newspapers. The vacancy announcements are also placed on IFAD website (www.ifad.org). Prospective candidates are advised to check the website regularly in this regard.

Q.How can I become a Consultant for IFAD? Individuals and Institutions with excellent credentials in the related fields could be engaged as Consultants to participate in IFAD's missions as Specialists or to assist IFAD in implementation support. They may send their latest CV and institutional profile respectively to IFAD Coordinator in India and IFAD will make every effort to bring in new talent and skills for its operations.

Publications, documents and newsletters

Q.How can I get IFAD documents and publications? All unrestricted documents and publications are available in pdf format online. Due to its concern for the environment, IFAD publishes only a limited number of print copies. In case you require some hard copies, please send a mail either to IFAD Coordinator in India or Distribution Services Via del Serafico 107, 00142 Rome, Italy email: publications@ifad.org Using documents/guidelines IFAD documents and publications can be used for personal and research purposes of non-commercial in nature. Wherever the contents of the documents and guidelines are used, proper acknowledgement to IFAD and the title of the document/publication/guideline needs to be provided. Using images and videos Images and videos featured in this website are not sold but could be licensed for one-time use only. These images and videos cannot be used for advertising or other commercial purposes without the specific permission of IFAD. Privacy Policy Personal information If you register for an email newsletter, or join a discussion group, you will be asked for personal information, such as your name, email address, and organization. The information provided is used for technical and customer administration of the site only and isn't shared with third parties. To participate to the discussion forums, users are required to disclose their name and email address. This information is not used for commercial purposes, is not shared with third parties and is only used for site administration.

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Q.How can I get IFAD documents and publications? All unrestricted documents and publications are available in pdf format online. Due to its concern for the environment, IFAD publishes only a limited number of print copies. In case you require some hard copies, please send a mail either to IFAD Coordinator in India or Distribution Services Via del Serafico 107, 00142 Rome, Italy email: publications@ifad.org Using documents/guidelines IFAD documents and publications can be used for personal and research purposes of non-commercial in nature. Wherever the contents of the documents and guidelines are used, proper acknowledgement to IFAD and the title of the document/publication/guideline needs to be provided. Using images and videos Images and videos featured in this website are not sold but could be licensed for one-time use only. These images and videos cannot be used for advertising or other commercial purposes without the specific permission of IFAD. Privacy Policy Personal information If you register for an email newsletter, or join a discussion group, you will be asked for personal information, such as your name, email address, and organization. The information provided is used for technical and customer administration of the site only and isn't shared with third parties. To participate to the discussion forums, users are required to disclose their name and email address. This information is not used for commercial purposes, is not shared with third parties and is only used for site administration.