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This conceptual-level information note seeks to highlight the human rights aspects of the goals and targets relating to food security and small-scale fisheries (SSF), particularly from the perspective of the right to adequate food, and to demonstrate how this interrelationship plays out in the monitoring mechanisms established by relevant instruments. It is the product of a collaborative effort between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to support, using a human rightsbased approach, the integrated implementation and monitoring of those SDGs that are particularly [...]

Sustainable integrated food energy systems can significantly help to address the huge increase in demands for food, energy and water in the coming years. Therefore, there is need for better information and capacities on how to promote integrated food energy system (IFES) to inform decision-makers and secure policy support to that effect. The project aimed to assess the sustainability and replicability of integrated food-energy systems (IFES, particularly for countries such as Ghana and Mozambique, which face the challenge of producing enough food and energy in a non-competitive way. Find more Project Highlights here.

In March 2017 the Working Group on Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains of the Rome-based Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP and Bioversity International) launched the online consultation How can value chains be shaped to improve nutrition? The consultation was held on the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) from 27 March to 19 April 2017. The aim of this initiative was to engage stakeholders in identifying challenges and opportunities related to nutrition sensitive value chain (NSVC) development. Participants discussed their experiences relating to past or ongoing NSVC experiences on the ground, and were also invited to comment on the discussion paper “Inclusive value chains for sustainable [...]

This paper, developed in collaboration with Professor Chen Xie of National Forestry Economics Research and Development Centre of China, is based on the literature review in China. The review focuses on the main forestry policies and social protection policies and their linkages, along with analysis of monitoring results from China’s major forestry programmes. It summarizes experiences and challenges in social protection in relation to forestry.  

This study provides a rationale for building linkages between social protection and sustainable forestry in developing countries through: the development of a conceptual framework for understanding the two-way relationship between social protection instruments and forestry policies; a review of evidence of the role of forestry policies in reducing vulnerabilities and fostering livelihoods among forest-dependent people; a review of the evidence of the impact of social protection instruments on th e resilience of forest-dependent people and on the promotion of sustainable forest management; and a discussion of ways of developing linkages between social protection and forestry policies.

This study reviewed the achievements, and also the shortcomings, of 12 watershed management projects technically supported by FAO over the past decade, with a view to learning from experience. Unlike sectoral development approaches, watershed management involves examining the interactions among various natural processes and land uses and managing land, water and the wider ecosystem of the watershed in an integrated way. Watershed management is best carried out as a stepwise multistakeholder process. The review identified a sequence of steps that watershed management projects or programmes should ideally follow. The approach has demonstrated its effectiveness for responding to global challenges of [...]

This paper, now also available in Chinese, explores the intra-industry trade in ethanol between the United States and Brazil, highlighting the lack of policy alignment and suggesting a “book and claim” system to cater to differing national objectives. See here all FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Papers.

A summary of the most significant legislative results achieved on food security and nutrition, school meals, and family farming in Latin America. It includes lessons learned, an overview of mechanisms that have proved useful and an annex with detailed information on 15 regional laws from parliamentary front initiatives. Also available in French and Spanish.

This book defines land concentration, accumulation, land-grabbing and foreign ownership in Colombia. It identifies risks related to large-scale investments in rural land and makes public policy recommendations, such as conducting risk-based analysis. Only available in Spanish.

This document contains the report of the first meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group (Part 6 Working Group) established by the Parties to the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, held in Oslo, Norway, from 1 to 2 June 2017. The Part 6 Working Group discussed the main requirements and priorities of developing States in the implementation of the Agreement and recommended that support should consider legal and policy aspects, institutional set-up and capacity, and operations and procedures. It recognized that assistance should be tailored to accommodate the specific needs of countries and regions, and highlighted the [...]