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In December 2020, FAO and JR Farms Limited signed a letter of intent to promote youth agri- entrepreneurship in Rwanda. JR Farms is a thriving youth-led agri-enterprise providing food processing, agricultural commodity trading and consultancy services in Rwanda, Nigeria and Zambia, working towards the realization of agricultural transformation in Africa. Youth will have access to equity funds through JR Farms’ Green Agribusiness Fund for innovative agribusiness ideas across a variety of agrifood value chains. They will also benefit from training and capacity- development opportunities and be able to connect with wider networks and agri-entrepreneurs.  The collaboration with JR Farms arose from the...

As drivers of innovation, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can play a critical role in achieving food security, improving nutrition and helping to make our current food systems more inclusive and sustainable. However, when it comes to food systems transformation, it’s important to ensure that these enterprises have a seat at the table - and this is where Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) comes in. Zubair SEC, a social impact initiative by The Zubair Corporation, joined forces with FAO in 2020 to strengthen the role of MSMEs in achieving food security in the Sultanate of Oman. The organization provides...

The agriculture sector remains one of the world’s largest employers, but many who enter the sector often find they face significant challenges in generating a profit. Rabobank, a cooperative bank founded in 1895 by farmers and horticulturalists in the Netherlands, understands the challenges that farmers face: with an international focus on the food and agricultural sectors and a stated mission to promote healthy nutrition and enhance the stability of the food industry by increasing the availability and access to food, the bank is a natural partner for FAO. FAO and Rabobank began working together in 2013, when the Rabobank Foundation, a...

As the world entered lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains around the globe faced serious disruptions, and many producers lost access to markets. The potential closure of wholesale food markets - which supply between 50 and 60 percent of fruits and vegetables in Latin America - posed a major risk to food systems in the region.  In response, FAO and FLAMA, which had initially joined forces to reduce food waste in Latin America, worked together to ensure that wholesale markets could continue to operate safely and efficiently during the pandemic. These markets represent the keystone of food systems,...

Since 2002, the Mountain Partnership, a United Nations voluntary alliance of partners whose Secretariat is hosted by FAO, has worked to improve the lives of mountain peoples and protect mountain environments around the world. Now, with the support of EcorNaturaSi, the partnership is able to leverage private sector expertise to better address some of the challenges that mountain communities face. EcorNaturSì has played a key role in improving the Mountain Partnership Products (MPP) initiative, a certification and labelling scheme based on environmentally and ethically sound approaches. The MPP initiative promotes conservation of agrobiodiversity and preservation of ancient techniques while bolstering short,...