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Viet Nam has seen remarkable progress in the reduction of rural poverty in recent decades, with the agriculture sector making a substantial contribution. In 2017, the sector had a growth rate of almost three percent per year, with the livestock sector being one of the fastest growing subsectors. However, the sector is faced by many challenges, including the growing demand for high-quality, safe and consistent livestock products, difficulties related to diseases, and growing environmental pollution caused by livestock waste from intensive livestock production and processing. Efforts to understand and manage changes in the livestock sector as a whole have been [...]

Strategic investments in the agriculture sector are a catalyst for sustainable, economic growth and poverty reduction.  Through their partnership, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have produced this comprehensive study on the State of Agriculture in the Caribbean, drawing upon decades of research on the many drivers of change affecting the CDB’s Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs), including international trade, institutional policies, and climate change. This report follows forty years of structural change in the agriculture sector of BMCs, and can support the development of an updated Agriculture Sector Strategy, by identifying [...]

This summary identifies key trends in agriculture in the Caribbean and the related opportunities for investments in support of growth, poverty reduction, and sustainability. It presents, to the extent to which available data and information allow, a sectorial review of agriculture in the region and identifies opportunities, prospects and investment priorities. The document presents a description of the structure of the rural environment, demography, the supply of goods and services, the main inequalities, levels of poverty, importance and role of family agriculture and other economic activities (diversification), the main features of rural society and the presence of the private sector. It [...]

The IGAD member states are situated in a region exposed to recurrent natural shocks, political instability and characterized by internal and cross-border population displacement. Conflict is the root cause of food insecurity in South Sudan where about 6 million people were estimated to be severely food insecure in September 2017. Internal and cross-border displacement prevents households from engaging in typical livelihood activities, inhibits economic growth and disrupts markets and trade routes. Consequently, income-earning opportunities are limited, and the Government’s earnings in United States dollars are very low, which has led to hyperinflation. The European Union funded “Strengthening the Livelihoods Resilience [...]

Gender equality is a key to eliminating poverty and hunger, as it has been demonstrated by the FAO throughout its research worldwide. As part of the FAO efforts on generating evidence and knowledge, and in compliance with the FAO Policy on Gender Equality, the purpose of the Country Gender Assessment for Uzbekistan is to contribute to the production of knowledge for better informed, targeted and gender sensitive actions in agriculture and rural development. It has been produced as it is required in the FAO Policy on Gender Equality. This Gender Assessment has served as a resource for the Country Programming [...]

Today, about 783 million people live in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is primarily a rural phenomenon, with 80 percent of the extreme poor living in rural areas, across greatly diverse rural landscapes. Despite great progress in poverty reduction, the standard of living of the poorest of the poor has remained almost unchanged in the past 35 years, signaling that a huge gap in policy making and programmatic approaches are leaving them behind.  FAO has established a Corporate Framework on Rural Extreme Poverty to orient and bring to bear the relevant work of the Organization towards reaching Target 1.1 of the SDGs. [...]

This course is the first in the Rural Poverty Reduction series, and provides an overview of rural poverty, and why it is so important to overcome it in rural contexts. The course describes the key concepts and definitions of rural poverty and how it can be measured, its drivers and cross-cutting themes. Finally, it considers the connection with gender issues and the way that gender shapes the way poverty is experienced by rural people.

The key drivers in food value chain development are the entrepreneurs. They create firms that are profitable and competitive, create many jobs, link in many smallholders and producer organizations as suppliers, generate tax revenues, improve the food supply to consumers (lower price, higher quality), and have a positive impact on the wider environment in which they operate (e.g., reduce rural poverty). Applied to Africa, the approach is to develop a publication that synthesizes a combination of literature review and 12 carefully selected cases of particularly successful entrepreneurs. The document will be organized around four sub-themes (scaling up, youth, women, challenging BEEs). [...]

In the Mediterranean, particularly in Albania, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, small-scale fisheries play a crucial role in sustaining economic activity and ensuring food security within coastal communities. However, their remuneration tends to be lower when compared to larger scale fisheries. Likewise, they face environmental, economic, social and political risks, and at times, they are unable to cope with the adverse effects of shocks.  Social protection can address these vulnerabilities in small-scale fisheries communities, through policies and programmes. However, there is limited availability of data on the sector, greatly due to the high levels of informality, irregularity and seasonal nature [...]

El propósito de esta nota es apoyar el diálogo para considerar el enfoque de igualdad de género y el enfoque cultural en las políticas para la seguridad alimentaria, la productividad, y el desarrollo rural. Exploramos elementos que deben ser tomados en cuenta para la incorporación de las mujeres rurales e indígenas al desarrollo rural en una perspectiva de no dejar a nadie atrás, a partir de las condiciones particulares del campo mexicano.  Esta nota se ha producido en el marco de la alianza estratégica entre la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO) y el Fondo [...]