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Sub-Saharan Africa has a long history of internal and international migratory movements. Migration patterns and dynamics from, to and between rural areas are profoundly differentiated across regions, and flows have considerably evolved over time. Yet, more recently, rural migration takes place in the unique situation of a major rural and urban demographic increase, which results in critical socio-economic and environmental challenges. In this context, intertwined migration drivers emerge and call for a better understanding of on-going dynamics. This atlas offers a comprehensive analysis of the existing migration patterns as well as the diverse and multifaceted factors that impact on migration practices. It highlights the complexity of drivers at play and [...]

The aim of the Contract Farming Toolkit is to provide practical information to assist the design and implementation of contract farming schemes. The Contract Farming Centre provides access to sample farming contracts, briefs on different contract issues and a selection of presentation resources.  

Interest in contract farming as a mechanism to coordinate linkages between farmers and agribusiness firms has grown considerably in the recent past, in large part because of the international trends towards tighter alignment in agrifood supply chains. FAO has been responding to this growing demand for information and technical support on contract farming issues by means of actions that include a series of capacity building workshops on planning and implementing contract farming operations, the dissemination of knowledge through the Contract Farming Resource Centre and the development of publications on conceptual, operational and legal aspects of contract farming.  Building on the above, [...]

This brief aims to help regulators and policymakers to achieve a correct understanding of the legal aspects of contract farming (CF). It is based on information extracted from the Legal Guide on Contract Farming (UNIDROIT/FAO/IFAD, 2015), and from field experience in the implementation of contract farming projects by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). See also Legal Guide on Contract Farming

This paper reviews the history, organization and implementation mechanisms, policy development and innovations in fisheries and aquaculture insurance in China. With 25 years of practice, fisheries insurance in China has contributed significantly to risk management. It provides compensation for economic loss, life loss and medical expenses of injury, particularly heavy economic loss caused by disasters. The cases studies are of those of capture fishery mutual and finfish, crab, shrimp and seaweed farming. The development status, insurance scheme and performance evaluation are documented. The pilot programmes received technical support from professional associations and cooperatives, as well as professional service from commercial [...]

This review is the second in a series of publications devoted to the analysis of the latest developments in agricultural trade and in trade policy in the post-Soviet countries. This publication includes a chapter on the impact of macroeconomic factors on agri-food trade in the post-Soviet countries. The chapter considers changes in the macroeconomic situation in the countries of the region in 2014-2016 and the main factors of its influence on agri-food trade. Available only in Russian

This note provides a structured review of adoption trends of national policies aimed at promoting healthier diets and collates evidence on their effectiveness. We limit our focus to evidence exploiting data collected after the policy implementation, and using appropriate counterfactual methods to identify the policy effect. See all Trade Policy Technical Notes  

The document is based on the publication “Review of Agricultural Trade Policies in former Soviet Union countries 2015-16” available in Russian. The main economic and political factors influencing the patterns of agrifood trade in the region during 2014 generally continued to have an impact in 2015 and 2016. In particular, a further slowdown in economic growth was observed in all countries during 2015. In addition, the depreciation of all the national currencies against the US dollar and the euro, which began in 2014, continued in 2015 and, in some cases, in 2016. Due to weaker national currencies and falling consumer [...]

These Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication have been developed as a complement to the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code). They were developed to provide complementary guidance with respect to small-scale fisheries in support of the overall principles and provisions of the Code. Accordingly, the Guidelines are intended to support the visibility, recognition and enhancement of the already important role of small-scale fisheries and to contribute to global and national efforts towards the eradication of hunger and poverty. The Guidelines support responsible fisheries and sustainable social and economic development for the benefit of [...]

Market information can play an extremely important role in promoting agricultural development, especially among small-scale producers. Sound market information can help to enhance transparency, competitiveness and the more equitable sharing of benefits among key players in the marketing system. An effective Market Information System or Service (MIS) can increase competitiveness, reduce information asymmetries and improve market efficiency. This Literature Review seeks to review all features relating to MIS development, with a particular focus on information on market prices and on the use of new technologies for price data collection and dissemination. It aims to identify the majority of the relevant [...]