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Agriculture remains the single most important employer in many developing country, as there are about 200 million unemployed nowadays and many more underemployed. Opportunities arise in agriculture and food systems thanks to a growing middle class, who demands processed, packaged and convenience food and agricultural goods. A significant share of the labor-aged population earns their income and livelihoods by engaging in the sector, why the future lies with the components of the food system and the food value chain that extends beyond primary agricultural production. See the complete series here.

In Lesotho, social protection plays an important role in protecting poor and vulnerable people from natural hazards saving lives and livelihoods, while also enhancing families’ capacity to cope, respond and withstand threats and crises.  In 2009 rural poor in Lesotho started receiving cash transfers through the Child Grant Programme. This brought positive impacts on the local economy, education and school enrolment, children living standards and agriculture production.  Cash transfers are a powerful tool to combat hunger and poverty. This video highlights and raise awareness on how social protection impacts can be maximized. 

The economic empowerment of rural women is critical for the continuing improvement of agriculture and further development of the rural sector. Increased participation of women in value-added productive activities requires an understanding of all of the barriers that limit their participation along the value chains. Addressing these barriers can transform women’s role in this sector and catalyse their economic empowerment. This study was conducted to contribute to the generation of knowledge for informed policies and interventions, which can close the gender gap in rural areas in order to strengthen the livelihoods of rural populations, reduce poverty and generate sustainable rural [...]

Agroecology has been gaining interest in recent years among governments, research and civil society organizations worldwide and many actors present it as a strategic pathway to transition to sustainable food and agriculture systems for achieving food security and nutrition. Following the First International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition, held in Rome in 2014, FAO organized a series of regional multistakeholder seminars in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, China, Europe and Central Asia, and the Near East and North Africa from 2015 to 2017. These seminars provided many opportunities for exchange and debate and revealed that while the scientific [...]

The study summarizes the results emerging from the 2017 update of the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) indicators for the 2005-2016 period for 14 sub-Saharan African countries. These indicators - comparable across commodities, countries and years - are commonly used to assess the extent of policy support in agriculture. They measure the effect of trade and market policies and inefficiencies on the degree of price incentives faced by farmers in key commodity value chains, as well as the level and composition of public expenditures in support of the agriculture sector. Despite results being very heterogeneous across countries [...]

Les écarts entre l’engagement politique en faveur de l’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes et leur concrétisation, et la disponibilité limitée de données ventilées par sexe et d’indicateurs sensibles au genre pour éclairer l’élaboration des politiques et des programmes et l’allocation des budgets, contribuent à la marginalisation des femmes dans de nombreux secteurs. Le manque d’une situation de référence basée sur des données fiables empêche de mesurer les progrès accomplis vers l’autonomisation des femmes dans l’agriculture, la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition, le développement rural et la gestion des ressources naturelles. Ce rapport a été conjointement préparé par la FAO et la Commission de la [...]

Gaps between policy and implementation, and limited availability of sex disaggregated data and gender-sensitive indicators to inform sound policies and budgets have kept women marginalized in many sectors. No baselines mean no measurement of progress in effectively implementing the array of commitments towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture, food security and nutrition, rural development and management of natural resources. This report reveals gender disparities in access to critical agriculture and rural resources, knowledge, opportunities, services and markets. It explores the existing gender relations and gaps in the various sub sectors of agriculture, and their possible causes and impact on food and nutrition [...]

Gaps between policy commitment and implementation, and limited availability of sex disaggregated data and gender-sensitive indicators to inform sound policies, programmes and budgets have kept women marginalized in many sectors. No baselines mean no measurement of progress in effectively implementing the array of commitments towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture, food security and nutrition, rural development and management of natural resources. This report was jointly prepared by FAO and the ECOWAS Commission within the framework of their technical cooperation project on “Gender responsive regional and national agricultural investment plans for meeting the Zero Hunger challenge in the ECOWAS region”. It reveals gender disparities in access [...]

This FAO-IOM two-pager examines the nexus between agriculture, climate change and migration. It further showcases what we know to date and what are the gaps on agriculture, climate change, and migration nexus, for effective policy and technical intervention. Key policy processes and a framework for collaborative action among multiple stakeholders are suggested.

This technical note explores the impact of trade on nutrition, addressing the role of trade in the “nutrition transition” and the extent to which trade policies affect nutritional objectives.  See all Trade Policy Technical notes