IFDC Annual Report 2015 | Page 4

A MESSA OUR PA J. Scott Angle IFDC President and CEO In 2015, IFDC achieved significant progress in its mission to increase global food security and agricultural sustainability. With a budget of $74 million, we implemented more than 25 development projects and research initiatives. 2015 represented a momentous year for the development community at large. With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the successes resulting from the United Nations Climate Change Conference, we have challenged ourselves to effect lasting and meaningful change in the world in the next 15 years. SDG 2, “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture,” speaks to our core activities. In 30 countries, our projects are tapping into the transformative power of agriculture to better the lives of millions of people, from agribusiness dealers to smallholder farmers. For example, our Feed the Future Ghana Agriculture Technology Transfer project helps farmers boost agricultural productivity and incomes through increasing the availability and use of new agricultural technologies. By partnering with nearly 100 private enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other agriculture sector actors, 3 more than 30,000 farmers applied improved technologies or management practices. Farmers, agro-dealers and others across the value chain in Northern Ghana are reaping the rewards of these efforts, experiencing significant sales of seed, fertilizer and other inputs. We see inclusive development as a key to the long-term success of global development. Ensuring that our projects provide men, women and youth with the right tools, knowledge and opportunities, we put the odds in their favor, helping them sustainably achieve better livelihoods. Our USAID C-4 Cotton Partnership (C4CP) project worked with lead women farmers to establish 22 women-owned and -focused demonstration farms in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali. The project is coaching women from each of these countries to be senior trainers and is producing gender-inclusive guides and modules for them to use in training others. The Toward Sustainable Clusters in Agribusiness through Learning in Entrepreneurship (2SCALE) project is helping 265,000 smallholder farmers improve crop yields – 30 percent of these producers are women. More than 1,000 small and medium enterprises are involved, injecting millions of