The United Nations’ agricultural development fund is racing against time to convince the United States to make a pledge for its latest replenishment cycle despite a dysfunctional Congressional budget process — which the fund fears could lead to delays in other major donors’ pledges, too.
The fund’s President Alvaro Lario visited Washington last week for whirlwind meetings with U.S. government officials and lawmakers. He was making the investment case for the country to continue supporting the specialized U.N. agency at a time where the global food crisis and climate change heavily strain smallholder farmers, who produce the majority of the world’s food.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development, or IFAD, is a Rome-based international financial institution which provides grants and low-interest loans to support food security and resilience. IFAD, which refills its coffers every three years, hasn’t yet set a target fundraising figure for its next replenishment, which kicked off in February. The last cycle raised over $1 billion from international donors, with a $129 million pledge from the U.S.