International Fund for Agricultural Development

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), specialized United Nations agency, formally established in December 1977. The agreement creating IFAD was an outgrowth of the World Food Conference held in Rome in 1974. IFAD's major function is to lend money to help developing nations improve their food production, reduce malnutrition, and provide agricultural employment. Resources are channelled to the poorest rural populations. By 2005, IFAD had financed 676 projects in 115 developing countries, often working in conjunction with other funding institutions such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), to which it had committed a total of US$7 billion in loans and grants. IFAD is directed by a Governing Council, on which all the 164 member states are represented, and administered by an 18-member Executive Board. IFAD headquarters is in Rome.