Ethiopia has signed a $69.2 million grant agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to finance the second phase of the Lowland Livelihoods Resilience Project (LLRP II), a major initiative aimed at improving climate resilience and livelihoods in the country’s most vulnerable lowland communities.

The funding, cofinanced with the World Bank, will support targeted interventions in eight regional states, reaching an estimated 3 million pastoralists and agropastoralists. The project focuses on four key pillars: climate-smart livelihoods, commercialization and diversification, integrated rangeland management, and disaster risk reduction.

The agreement was signed in Addis Ababa by Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and IFAD President Alvaro Lario, who was in the capital for the global Food Systems Summit.

The grant builds on the achievements of LLRP Phase I, which helped communities respond to climate shocks through early warning systems, sustainable rangeland practices, and climate-adapted farming techniques. With Phase II, the government aims to scale up impact and deliver tangible improvements in food security, income, and resource management across drought-prone zones.