The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) has signed a cooperation agreement with the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This will expand the existing partnership between the two agencies and strengthen the joint financing of food security and climate resilience projects, to support smallholder farmers around the world. Smallholder farmers are responsible for the production of 33% of the world’s food.

“Food security and climate action are cross-cutting strategic themes for the OPEC Fund,” highlighted Fund president Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. “We are committed to supporting a sustainable and just energy transition while ensuring vital food supplies worldwide. We will boost our long-standing partnership with IFAD by working faster and smarter to deliver our support where it is needed most.”

“Small-scale food producers understand better than anyone the links between food, water, and energy,” stressed IFAD president Alvaro Lario. “Helping them adapt to accelerating climate change requires collaboration between diverse partners. OPEC Fund member States helped found IFAD at a similar moment of crisis and this new agreement presents an excellent opportunity to renew our commitment to those men and women who must provide us all with healthy and nutritious food.”

The two funds have been cooperating since 1978, with the OPEC Fund being one of the main contributors to the IFAD. To date, OPEC has provided IFAD with $1.03-billion, to support more than 120 projects, in rural areas in developing countries.

The OPEC Fund was created in 1976. It is the only development institution with a global mandate that uses funds from its member countries to invest exclusively in non-member countries. So far, it has invested some $27-billion in development projects in more than 125 countries – projects that have a total cost estimated at more than $200-million.

The IFAD was created in 1978. It is a specialised agency of the UN, focused on investing in rural people, to increase food security, cut poverty, boost nutrition and reinforce resilience. Since its foundation, it has issued grants and low-interest loans, with a total value of more than $24-billion, to projects in developing countries.