Publications
The State of the World
FAO’s State of the World collection comprises the Organization’s flagship reports. Published annually or biennially, these are data-rich and analytically complex publications: they provide a global snapshot of topics associated with food and agriculture.
The collection is increasingly structured to gauge progress towards the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is aimed at policymakers; donors; international organizations; academia; and journalists and researchers specializing in food security, agrifood systems, the environment and international development.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets
The State of Food and Agriculture
Revealing the true cost of food to transform agrifood systems
The State of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Blue Transformation in action
The State of the World's Forests
Forest pathways for green recovery
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets
The geography of food and agricultural trade
The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security
The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security
Avoiding and reducing losses through investment in resilience
This biennial report puts numbers on the losses that disasters – ever more frequent and intense in recent years – have produced in global agriculture. It also outlines strategies to reduce disaster-related risk in the sector.
Recent Publications
Shaping sustainable agrifood futures: pre-emerging and emerging technologies and innovations for impact
10/2024
FAO’s Office of Innovation is working with CIRAD (International Cooperation Centre of Agricultural Research for Development) and other partners on foresight on pre-emerging and emerging agrifood technologies and innovations, aligned with UN 2.0 and The Future of Food and Agriculture 2022, engaging all key actors of agrifood innovation systems in the foresight on pre-emerging and emerging technologies and innovations (PETIAS).
Food safety aspects of cell-based food
04/2023
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), has developed this document to engage with respective Members and relevant stakeholders by proactively sharing the current knowledge to identify concrete ways to inform consumers and all other stakeholders about the food safety considerations for cell-based food products.
Climate-change impacts on plant pests: a technical resource to support national and regional plant protection organizations
10/2024
To facilitate safe international trade in plants and plant products, it is imperative to strengthen national, regional and international phytosanitary capacities regarding climate change. The aim of this document is to provide technical and operational advice to NPPOs and RPPOs on how to effectively assess and manage the pest risk that is a consequence of climate change.
La Niña: Anticipatory Action and Response Plan, September–December 2024
09/2024
FAO’s La Niña Anticipatory Action and Response Plan requires urgent funding to deliver immediate support in a number of identified countries around the world, based on analysis of historical trends, latest seasonal forecasts, agricultural seasonality and the vulnerability of populations at risk.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024
07/2024
SOFI 2024 provides time-critical recommendations for more efficient use of innovative financing tools, and for reforms to the food security and nutrition financing architecture. Agreement on how food security and nutrition financing is defined, along with methods for tracking, measurement and implementation, is an unmissable first step towards sustainably increasing the financing flows needed to end hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition and ensure access to healthy diets for all.
CODEX - 60 years of standards
11/2023
The Codex Alimentarius Commission marks its 60th anniversary in 2023. This seventh edition of the CODEX magazine looks back at origins and looks forward to what the future may bring for the international food standard setting. It captures six decades and a year in the life of the Commission and the Codex Secretariat – working to protect health and facilitate trade.
The State of the World’s Forests 2024
07/2024
This edition of The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) provides highlights on the state of the world’s forests and explores the transformative power of evidence-based innovation in the forest sector, ranging from new technologies to creative and successful policies and institutional changes, to new ways of getting finance to forest owners and managers.
OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2024-2033
07/2024
The Agricultural Outlook 2024-2033 is a collaborative effort of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It brings together the commodity, policy and country expertise of both organisations as well as input from collaborating member countries to provide an annual assessment of the prospects for the coming decade of national, regional and global agricultural commodity markets.
Food Outlook | Biannual Report on Global Food Markets - June 2024
06/2024
Food Outlook a biannual publication focusing on developments affecting global food and feed markets.
Action Plan for the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors 2024–2027
04/2024
The Action Plan for the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors 2024–2027 sets out the concrete actions through which FAO is operationalizing the strategy.
Hunger Hotspots: FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity (June-October 2024)
06/2024
In the current edition of a regular joint bi-yearly report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP)warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 18 hunger hotspots, including a total of 17 countries or territories and one regional cluster which comprises 4 countries, during the outlook period from June to October 2024.
Towards digital inclusion in rural transformation
06/2024
Rural residents and marginalized groups have the most to gain from digitalization but are also the most at risk of falling further behind due to digital divides. This report helps rural development practitioners and decision-makers work through this paradox. It does so by highlighting the factors that lead to digital exclusion, providing evidence regarding how digital divides play out, and providing recommendations on how to improve digital inclusion for rural areas and marginalized groups.
FAO-WFP Anticipatory Action Strategy
09/2023
Recognizing that the increasing number of food crises require resources and capacities far beyond the reach of any individual organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are partnering together to scale up the reach of Anticipatory Action. This means acting ahead of predicted hazards to mitigate acute humanitarian impacts before they fully unfold. The two agencies are committed to further strengthening collaboration on selected strategic...
Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators 2023
09/2023
At the mid-point of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, there is an urgent need to understand where the world stands in eliminating hunger and food insecurity, as well as in ensuring sustainable agriculture. The new report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), titled Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators, offers analysis and trends on indicators across eight Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – in particular, SDGs 1,...
The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2023 - Avoiding and reducing losses through investment in resilience
11/2023
Disasters are resulting in unprecedented levels of destruction across the world. These shocks and disruptions affect the functioning and sustainability of agricultural production and threaten the livelihoods of millions of people reliant on agrifood systems. Reducing the impact of disasters in agriculture requires a better understanding of the extent to which these events produce negative impacts in agriculture and necessitates an investigation into the underlying risks that make agriculture vulnerable to the effects of disasters. The...
The State of Food and Agriculture 2023: Revealing the true cost of food to transform agrifood systems
11/2023
Agrifood systems generate significant benefits to society, including the food that nourishes us and jobs and livelihoods for over a billion people. However, their negative impacts due to unsustainable business-as-usual activities and practices are contributing to climate change, natural resource degradation and the unaffordability of healthy diets. Addressing these negative impacts is challenging, because people, businesses, governments and other stakeholders lack a complete picture of how their activities affect economic, social and environmental sustainability...
El Niño: Anticipatory Action and Response Plan, October 2023–March 2024
11/2023
The latest forecasts point to a greater than 80 percent chance of El Niño continuing through March–May 2024, following declaration of the onset of El Niño conditions in early July 2023 by the World Meteorological Organization. The strength is expected to be comparable to the top six strongest events in recorded history, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather and climate hazards, ranging from drought to floods and storms. By disrupting rainfall and temperature patterns,...
Loss and damage and agrifood systems: Addressing gaps and challenges
12/2023
The purpose of this report is to stimulate discussions on the central role of agrifood systems in the loss and damage debate and identify the gaps in data, knowledge and finance that need to be addressed. The report provides an overview of the loss and damage concept, the status of analytical methodologies and tools, a summary of the reporting on loss and damage in nationally determined contributions (NDCs), an outline of the policy needs...
Pathways towards lower emissions: A global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems
12/2023
This FAO report presents a comprehensive global assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems, utilizing FAO’s Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM) based on the most recent available data. GLEAM also considers indirect emissions from upstream activities, such as feed and other inputs, and part of the downstream processes including post-farm transport, processing and packaging of raw products. Drawing from an extensive literature review, this publication illustrates pathways towards lower emissions through a...
Achieving SDG2 without breaching the 1.5C threshold: A Global Roadmap
12/2023
Unveiled at the United Nations Climate Conference COP28, the Global Roadmap for Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) without Breaching the 1.5°C Threshold outlines a comprehensive strategy spanning the next three years that encompasses a diverse portfolio of solutions across ten distinct domains of action. The roadmap calls for a transformative shift in agrifood systems. It challenges the prevailing narrative that increasing production is synonymous with higher emissions and environmental degradation. Instead, it emphasizes the opportunity within agrifood...