The publication forms part of FAO’s effort to assist its member countries, FAO emergency staff and humanitarian partners to improve emergency preparedness and response effectiveness. The aim of Part I of these Guidelines is to enable Field Officers to clearly identify and describe the agricultural hand tools required for the emergency projects with which they are involved. It is brief in text but amply illustrated with photographs so that each tool can be clearly specified even by non-technical staff. Part II contains more technical details and is designed for use by FAO staff in Headquarters, Regional and Country Offices together with suppliers, manufacturers and inspection companies. Its objective is to clearly indicate FAO procurement procedures, to provide detailed technical specifications for a range of agricultural hand tools and to describe how the quality of these tools may be tested.