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This brochure presents FAO’s work on mainstreaming biodiversity as a cross-cutting theme in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors. It provides examples of on-the-ground activities and highlights relevant international mechanisms. It shows how biodiversity and ecosystems benefit people in countless ways by providing food, clean water, shelter and raw materials for our basic needs. Agriculture is a major user of biodiversity but also has the potential to contribute to the protection of biodiversity. Occupying more than one-third of land in most countries of the world, if managed sustainably, agriculture can contribute to important ecosystem functions. These include maintenance of water quality, erosion control, biological pest control [...]

STRENGTHENED FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY CONTROL OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS IN THAILAND The primary aim of the project was the institutional strengthening of food safety and quality control in the supply chain management of livestock products. However, its impact was felt far beyond this. Livestock production and meat/poultry processing are among the largest food sectors in Thailand and the contribution of small-scale meat producers is significantly high. These producers, generally family businesses, benefited by improving the safety and quality of their products, and by aligning their practices with the relevant national and international standards. Domestic and international market prices of Thai meat [...]

Based on governance dialogue seminar held at FAO in November 2017, the brief emphasizes that to effectively address the risk of protracted crises, it is critical to understand the governance and political economy of the prevailing contexts, the principal actors and their power dynamics, the impact of the crises and the nature of the support required. The political economy and conflict analyses can reveal the underlying or proximate causes of a crisis, inform conflict-sensitive programming and help bridge humanitarian and development intervention. The brief also discusses the relevance of investing in resilient agriculture-based interventions in protracted crises contexts.

Conjuntamente con el Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica (CDB), la FAO tiene el placer de acoger un Diálogo entre múltiples partes interesadas sobre la integración de la biodiversidad en los distintos sectores agrícolas, que se celebrará en la Sede de la FAO, en Roma, del 29 al 31 de mayo de 2018.  Esta reunión será una de las primeras actividades de la Plataforma para la integración de la biodiversidad que se puso en marcha el año pasado. Será una reunión oficiosa abierta que reunirá a expertos y partes interesadas de los sectores de la agricultura, la actividad forestal, la pesca y [...]

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 [...]

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 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 [...]

The Oilcrops Monthly Price and Policy Update (MPPU) complements FAO's bi-annual market reports. The oilcrops brief notes review the development of international prices for oilseeds, oils and meals as reflected by FAO's specific price indices and spot recent policy and market events - selected from a variety of sources - that are deemed important for the global oilseed economy. The oilcrop brief is issued on the second week of each month, for a total of 10 issues per year.  Policy archive All the information published in the second part of the MPPU (the section featuring policy developments and industry news) is now also available [...]

Las Directrices voluntarias para la gestión sostenible de los suelos (las Directrices voluntarias) se elaboraron a través de un proceso incluyente en el marco de la Alianza mundial sobre los suelos (AMS). Pretenden ser un documento de referencia al formular recomendaciones en materia de políticas técnicas y generales sobre la gestión sostenible de los suelos (GSS) para una amplia gama de partes interesadas comprometidas. Las Directrices fueron adoptadas en la cuarta reunión de la asamblea Plena ria de la AMS (Roma, 25 de mayo de 2016), aprobadas en el 25º período de sesiones del Comité de Agricultura de la FAO [...]