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Almost 88 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion youth live in developing countries. Globally, young people account for approximately 24 percent of the working poor. Although the world’s youth population is expected to grow, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young women and men remain limited – particularly for those living in economically stagnant rural areas of developing countries. Hence, creating more productive and beneficial jobs for the rural youth is particularly urgent. The FAO Integrated Country Approach (ICA) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system project, currently implemented in Senegal, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Guatemala, aims to address [...]

FAO recognizes that those living in rural areas whose livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources, are disproportionately affected by climate risks because of their great likelihood of living in high-risk geographical locations as well as their high vulnerability to, and limited capacity to cope with, climate hazards due to low incomes, lack of savings, weaker social networks, low asset bases and heavy reliance on agriculture and natural resources. Protecting poor and vulnerable small scale producers from the negative impacts of climate risks is an imperative in order to reach FAO’s strategic objectives and achieve Sustainable development goal one and two. Managing [...]

Well-performing CBF has the potential to rapidly restore forests in ecological terms and scale up sustainable forest management to the national level, while improving local livelihoods of billions of the most marginalized people around the world. The purpose of this framework is to facilitate assessment of the extent of CBF, the status with regards to the enabling conditions, and the impact of CBF on forests and local livelihoods at the country level. Thus, this assessment framework can serve to provide important insights into the successes, as well as the continued shortcomings of CBF at the country level. Also available in Spanish [...]

El sector agroalimentario nicaragüense es altamentevulnerable a los eventos climáticos extremos, y sumadoal contexto social, institucional y la poca disponibilidad deinformación climática para la toma de decisiones,constituyen un factor el alto riesgo para la EconomíaFamiliar.El proyecto se focalizó en el fortalecimiento decapacidades institucionales para dar respuesta a lasnecesidades de la población en situación devulnerabilidad, desarrollar procesos de innovación y latransferencia de conocimientos para adaptar la agriculturafamiliar al cambio climático y mejorar la resiliencia de losmedios de vida de la economía familiar. El proceso se llevóa cabo mediante el fortalecimiento de las capacidades yel acompañamiento técnico a las instituciones,particularmente en planificación, [...]

This report summarizes the state of biodiversity for food and agriculture in Near East and North Africa based on the information provided in country reports submitted to FAO as part of the reporting process for The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.  

This publication brings together FAO’s current data on climate change and proposes actions to promote sustainable agriculture and food security, including tools and methodologies to support countries’ climate commitments and action plans. Also available in Spanish and Mandarin.

This policy guide is drawn from the results of the FAO Project “Strengthening Agricultural Water Efficiency and Productivity at the African and Global Level” funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation (SDC). The long term vision of the project was that the in-country findings and processes which are of common nature can be synthesized and scaled up to other countries in a regional cooperation process and globally. This will eventually lead to the increase of investment in Agricultural Water Management (AWM) in the targeted countries – and beyond – that is socially equitable, profitable at the farm level, [...]

This publication is a compendium of the main outcomes of the online stakeholder dialogue organized by the FAO project "Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia”, funded by the Russian Federation, in collaboration with the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum). It presents an overview of the multiple topics that have been discussed from 2017 onwards and provides the reader with a brief introduction to the main elements that emerged during these online consultations. Now also available in Russian.

Salinization is the most severe threat to soils in the NENA region after soil erosion. Indeed, more than 11 percent of the region’s soils are affected by various levels of soil salinization Salinity has direct effects on the growth and development of plants. Sodic conditions may cause important deterioration of the soil physical properties, indirectly affecting crop growth via increased surface crusting, poor water infiltration, and reduced root zone aeration. The Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil Management (VGSSM) provide recommendations on how to prevent the development of salt-affected soils. If soils are already degraded and prevention is no longer an [...]

This guidance note describes an approach aimed at improving food security and nutrition through education systems, with a specific focus on schools. The note intends to support policy-makers, advisors and other relevant stakeholders in promoting greater coherence between education, agriculture, nutrition and other policies and programmes; particularly, on how the policy agenda for the education sector can be leveraged for better nutrition and food security without compromising its own priorities.