International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the government of Ethiopia signed a 305.7-million-dollar agreement for the Rural Financial Intermediation Programme III. The agreement was signed in Rome on January 8, 2020. Gilbert F. Houngbo, president of IFAD, and Zenebu Tadesse, ambassador and permanent representative of Ethiopia to the United Nations Food & Agriculture Agencies, signed the agreement. The programme is aimed at scaling up the delivery of rural financial services tailored to the needs of the most vulnerable smallholder farmers, particularly women and young people. IFAD has invested 795.5 million dollars since 1980 in 20 rural development programmes and projects in Ethiopia benefiting 12 million rural households.