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This is a training course on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and food systems. Using two realistic scenarios, this course illustrates the linkages between agriculture, food systems and nutrition, and describes existing opportunities for integrating nutrition into food system policies, investments and programmes. The course offers a series of examples of nutrition-sensitive policies and interventions, as well as an overview of the main initiatives and commitment on nutrition. The course is designed to assist professionals from any fields related to agriculture and food systems (inputs and production, processing, storage, transport and retailing, consumption) that are involved in shaping and implementing nutrition-sensitive programmes, investments and [...]

This note focuses on the topic of distress migration and youth in protracted crises, and the possible solutions from the JFFLS approach, using case studies of FAO interventions. Migration is a common phenomenon in protracted crises, mainly resulting from displacement due to conflict, natural disasters and /or the deterioration of livelihoods. The challenges posed by migration are many: a disruption of food and nutrition security, increasing competition among livelihood groups, ever greater numbers of displaced young people exposed to the threat of both violence and radicalization, plus harmful impact on livelihoods in the countries of origin. However, migration also presents [...]

Agriculture and social protection are fundamentally linked in the context of rural livelihoods in Africa. Poor and food-insecure families depend primarily on agriculture and partly on non-farm income and private transfers for their livelihoods, and are the main target of social protection interventions (FAO, 2015). When embedded within a broader rural development framework, stronger coherence between agriculture and social protection interventions can assist in improving the welfare of poor smal l family farms by facilitating productive inclusion, improving risk-management capacities, and increasing agricultural productivity – all of which enable rural-based families to gradually move out of poverty and hunger (Tirivayi [...]

Between 2013 and 2015, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) undertook a survey of innovative approaches that enable markets to act as incentives in the transition towards sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Through a competitive selection process, 15 cases from around the world provide insights into how small-scale initiatives that use sustainable production practices are supported by market demand, and create innovations in the institutions that govern sustainable practices and market exchanges. These cases respond to both local and distant consumers’ concerns about the quality of the [...]

El presente estudio revisa las tendencias en la inversión y financiamiento rural y, particularmente, en el sector agropecuario de la región latinoamericana con el fin de ofrecer una perspectiva crítica de dónde están las principales limitantes para lograr sistemas financieros rurales más inclusivos y proponer áreas de intervención pública y privada que puedan favorecer dicho objetivo, de acuerdo con la evidencia recopilada de experiencias innovadoras en varios de los países de la región. Para ello, este estudio pretende analizar conjuntamente las tendencias en los mercados agropecuarios y las tendencias en los mercados financieros rurales para luego mostrar vínculos relevantes para el [...]

Fighting hunger is not only about producing more food. It also means protecting food sources from diseases that can spread across borders. The Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES), is a surveillance and early warning system established with the objective of preventing food chain emergencies caused by transboundary threats. These may be animal or plant pests and diseases or food safety threats and can have a great impact on food security and food safety. Threats to the food chain affect not only  food security livelihoods and human health, but also national economies and global markets. This is why surveillance, early detection, early [...]

Over 700 thousand people lost their lives as a result of disasters between 2005 and 2015. Approximately 23 million were made homeless. The total economic loss is estimated at more than US $1.3 trillion. Stephan Baas, Strategic Advisor of the FAO Resilience Management Team together Nina Koeksalan, Climate Change Officer describe the importance of reducing risks and strengthening resilience for improved food security and nutrition in rural communities particularly vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages. This video forms part of a series of policy and governance videos being produced by [...]

This Technical Guide on Governing Tenure Rights to Commons aims to support states, community-based organizations and civil society organizations, the private sector and other relevant actors to take proactive measures to implement the standards and recommendations of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. This Technical Guide is now also available in Chinese, French and Spanish. 

During the review period (2007-2015), the government continued to support small and medium scale producers through several schemes, including distributing seeds, expanding agricultural credit, providing direct payments and marketing programmes. Since 2005, the National Pledge Programme has been targeting rice producers and financing storage in periods of low prices or oversupply.

In response to the declining production trend for maize and wheat over the period 2007-2016, the government took measures that included direct inputs assistance to farmers, provision of extension services, and liberalization and deregulation measures. However, financial constraints, together with a number of weather-related shocks, have considerably limited the impact of these measures on agricultural production and development