FAO’s approach to promoting decent rural employment is built around four pillars:

• Changing the discourse. Development strategies often neglect to address the employment needs of the rural poor. To rectify this, FAO supports empirical research and advocacy work geared towards highlighting the central role of decent employment in agricultural and rural development. FAO also identifies good practices in promoting decent rural employment that can be used to guide policymakers in their efforts to reduce rural poverty more effectively.
• Supporting governments. FAO strengthens governments’ capacities to formulate, implement and monitor policies, strategies and programmes that enhance decent rural employment. For example, FAO assists governments to integrate youth aspects into agricultural investment strategies and programmes, and supports them in extending the application of international labour standards to rural areas, including through the development of action plans to prevent and reduce child labour in agriculture.
• Developing field-proven approaches and methodologies. For governments, finding suitable and contextualized approaches for promoting decent rural employment can be a challenge. To overcome this obstacle, FAO designs, tests and promotes innovative ways of supporting the rural poor to access decent employment opportunities and launch rural micro, small and medium enterprises. FAO further supports governments to take ownership and scale up successful projects, and adapt FAO tools and methodologies to local circumstances.
• Building partnerships. FAO works in partnership with UN, regional, national and community-level actors to coordinate more coherent responses to address rural un- and underemployment and poverty.