Annex XII: Accreditation assessment of upgrade application from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

The Accreditation Panel recommends that the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) be upgraded to 'large' project size and 'high risk' (Category A/I-1) environmental and social risk categories. The assessment found that IFAD's fiduciary standards, project management capacities, and environmental and social safeguards fully meet GCF requirements for these expanded parameters.

• The Accreditation Panel recommends upgrading IFAD's accreditation to allow for 'large' individual projects or activities—defined as those with total projected costs above US$ 250 million—and a maximum environmental and social risk category of 'high risk' (category A/I-1).
• IFAD's basic fiduciary standards, including administrative and financial capacities, transparency, and accountability, were found to be appropriate for managing large-scale financial transactions. This includes the use of PeopleSoft for enterprise resource planning and Oracle Flexcube (FXC) for loan and grant financial management.
• The assessment validated IFAD's capacity to manage large-scale projects through its track record of implementing over 10 such projects since 2016 and the adoption of new Project Design Guidelines in January 2020, which include a Development Effectiveness Matrix and a risk-based project classification system.
• IFAD's specialized fiduciary standards for grant awards, funding allocation mechanisms, and on-lending/blending were found to meet GCF requirements for large-size projects. This is supported by its performance-based allocation system (PBAS) and its AA+ rating from Fitch and S&P in 2020.
• IFAD's environmental and social management system is based on the 'Updated Social, Environmental and Climate Assessment Procedures (Updated SECAP)', approved in December 2020. This system includes nine environmental and social safeguard (ESS) standards and a 4-tier risk rating system ('High', 'Substantial', 'Moderate', 'Low').
• IFAD has demonstrated a track record of managing high-risk (Category A) projects in several countries, including the Malawi Transforming Agriculture through Diversification and Entrepreneurship project and the Mozambique Inclusive Agri-food Value-Chain Development Programme.
• IFAD intends to support the readiness of several banks for GCF accreditation, including Banque Agricole du Niger (BAGRI), Banque Nationale du Mali (BNDA), Banque Agricole du Faso (BADF), ARB Apex Bank of Ghana, and Banque Nationale d'Investissement (BNI).

APA

Green Climate Fund (n.d.). Annex XII: Accreditation assessment of upgrade application from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/decision/b29/decision-b29-05-a12.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Annex XII: Accreditation assessment of upgrade application from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). n.d. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/decision/b29/decision-b29-05-a12.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Annex XII: Accreditation assessment of upgrade application from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/decision/b29/decision-b29-05-a12.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefundndannex, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Annex XII: Accreditation assessment of upgrade application from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/decision/b29/decision-b29-05-a12.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }