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This paper aims to identify the channels of transmissions of the COVID-19 pandemic into the food and agriculture sectors and, based on this, to delineate the degrees of exposure to the COVID-19 shock by geographic region. Primary production, trade and final consumption are analysed in detail and, where possible, quantified. Based on results of the analysis, a country taxonomy of the exposure is developed and presented.  

This policy brief is part of a series that aims at analysing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food and agriculture sectors. This brief, specifically, analysis possible impacts of the measures adopted by countries to fight the pandemic, on food supply chains. It identifies and illustrates what countries should do in order to keep food supply chains alive.  Also available in Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, French and Russian

Countries have acknowledged the inter-dependency of land and water management and the multiple benefits of reversing land degradation for sustainable development, water security and resilience to natural hazards such as drought. Achieving LDN contributes towards the achievement of several SDGs, particularly SDG 6 on water. To ensure that countries reach their LDN objectives, improve synergies between LDN, water security and drought mitigation and achieve the SDGs through LDN approaches, this brifing note presents recommendations for countries, with the support of their national and international partners.

Uganda is currently hosting over 1.3 million refugees making it the largest refugee host country in Africa. The inflow of refugees is reported to have exacerbated a range of ongoing environmental impacts and associated challenges, including land degradation and woodland loss, resulting in inadequate access to energy for cooking and competition with local people for water and other natural resources. Supporting more sustainable use of those resources, especially forests and other woodlands, could help address environmental degradation and improve energy access. Building on a 2018 assessment of natural resource degradation in the refugee-hosting areas of northern Uganda, FAO, in collaboration with [...]

This book was prepared upon an initiative of the GEF/FAO project on “Sustainable Management of Mountainous Forest and Land Resources under Climate Change Conditions”. It is based on the international experience in implementing the principles of ecosys- tem services provision, the results of CAREC projects on the assessment of ecosystem services and PES, the report of the UNDP/UNEP Poverty and Environment Initiative on the assessment of ecosystem services of the Chon Kemin State Natural Park and the Karakol National Park, and other materials.

In the 2017 and 2018 editions of the Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, FAO reported that the prevalence of undernourishment was rising in the region. The latest data shows that the deterioration has slowed, but there remain 256 million hungry people in Africa today. The report further documents that although many African countries are making progress towards reducing malnutrition, progress is too slow to meet six key nutrition targets, which form part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) monitoring framework and the World Health Assembly global nutrition targets. Food insecurity has been rising in Africa in recent [...]

The project's specific objective is to “evaluate, adapt, and implement relevant best practices derived from the successful management of Huangshan National Scenic Reserve to strengthen and upgrade the existing municipal system of protected areas (PAs).” This is to be achieved by adopting a tiered, sequential approach applied to different classes of Nature Reserves (NR) grouped to best benefit from project-supported activities in a cost-effective manner. This MTE is being conducted for the purposes of both accountability and learning of GEF, GCU, FAO, and other participating institutions. This MTE documents important lessons to guide the remaining phase of the project and [...]

Chemical production, use and disposal will continue to increase worldwide; assessments and forecasts predict that global chemical sales will grow by about 3 percent per year until 2050, the major part of which will take place in Asia. South-East Asian countries in particular have shown strong industrial growth in agriculture during the last two decades. Many countries in Southeast Asia lack the capacity to handle chemicals management issues and are in great need to develop institutions, legislation, knowledge and general awareness. The countries face many challenges in the area of chemicals management, in particular pesticide governance. The intensive and often [...]

FAO is custodian agency for several SDG indicators, including SDG target 14.b that aims to “Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets”. The related indicator is SDG Indicator 14.b.1, “Progress by countries in adopting and implementing a legal/regulatory/policy/institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small-scale fisheries”. The 32nd Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) agreed that the data submitted as a result of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) survey could be applied by member states as a means to report on the SDG indicators. For SDG Indicator 14.b.1, specifically, variables [...]

This case study documents insights on gender mainstreaming practices implemented in a large-scale agriculture development project with a climate change adaptation component in Western Province, Zambia. It describes the key gender issues in the project context, as well as the gender mainstreaming practices that are in place and have potential for scaling up. Recommendations for policymakers indicate a way forward to enhance the promotion of gender equality in the context of adaptation to climate change impacts on agriculture