The mission of the organization is to "empower rural people to build resilient communities and attain socioeconomic equity through creative and community-led action.

[6] After World War II, Yen partnered with UNESCO to vaccinate the population of rural China and educate them about disease prevention practices.

[11] Working within rural communities, IIRR has undertaken food security projects, including those focused on climate resilience in Cambodia,[12] the Philippines,[13] Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, and Uganda.

[14][15] In collaboration with the United Nations Development Program and IBSA, IIRR has worked to tackle food insecurity in the Karamoja region while empowering women through women-led farming initiatives.

[23] In 2023, IIRR alongside ICIPE and Mastercard launched a program to train 1 million unemployed young people in Ethiopia in beekeeping.

[24] IIRR has also worked with the government of the United Kingdom to increase school attendance and retention in Arid and Semi-Arid areas in Kenya.