FAO.org

Rwanda’s agricultural sector accounts for about 29 percent of GDP and employs about 72 percent of the population that is economically active. It is still the dominant source of income for the majority of the poor who live in rural areas and is of significant importance in achieving the national priority objectives of sustainable economic growth, food security, and poverty alleviation.The report provides quantitative evidence on how the Government of Rwanda’s policies and expenditure decisions have supported its food and agriculture sector over the past decade. More, in particular, it provides information on the extent to which producers of key [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified development challenges across Europe and Central Asia, generating ever more demand for rapid, accessible and reliable data to guide decision-making. The evolving pandemic and associated economic crisis are impacting food security and jeopardizing countries’ progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Identifying and evaluating the multi-faceted impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the food security situation requires real-time, quality information that enables the measurement of changes in people’s access to food and an assessment of the underlying causes.See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19.

The 2018-drought directly affected more than two-thirds of Afghanistan (22 out of total 34 provinces) with around 10.5 million people being most severely affected (of the total 17 million in these 22 provinces). 13.5 million people were facing “Crisis” or worse levels of food insecurity in September 2018 and at least 300,000 people internally displaced due to drought. This was one of the most severe droughts in recent times in Afghanistan. Several strands of scientific analyses and experiential evidence from Afghanistan indicate the increasing frequency, scale, duration, and impacts of drought in the country; a trend that is set to [...]

This document summarizes the online discussion Near-real-time monitoring of food crisis risk factors for improved early warning early action, held at the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) from 16 September to 18 October 2020. The discussion was facilitated by Betina Dimaranan of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).This online discussion followed up on a recent Food Security Portal webinar that took stock of the advances in tools and approaches for real-time monitoring of food crisis risk factors in early warning early action systems. The discussion was one [...]

This report presents and reflects on the opportunities that new technological developments related to automation and precision agriculture (e.g. robotics) can offer to agriculture in developing countries. These technologies are mainly targeted to support farmers that struggle with the cost of labour when harvesting crops and to tackle the declining availability of manpower for general cropping operations. This report also explores the possible applications of agricultural technology, presents the current trends and discusses some of the principle challenges to successful adoption for sustainable agricultural mechanization in developing countries.

This action sheet is part of a series of action sheets developed under the seven key priority areas of the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery programme, the FAO umbrella programme designed to proactively and sustainably address the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. Each action sheet includes a project proposal in support of countries most in need for which FAO is leveraging high-level political, financial and technical expertise. All action sheets are gathered on the Food Coalition web hub, where members of the Coalition - a multi-stakeholder global alliance for a unified global action in response to COVID-19 - can access the [...]

This study, the third of its type published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), adds further evidence that in mountain regions of developing countries, food insecurity, social isolation, environmental degradation, exposure to the risk of disasters and to the impacts of climate change, and limited access to basic services, especially in rural areas, are still prevalent and, under some circumstances, increasing. It also shows the technical challenges for producing more comprehensive and representative assessments based on scientific data, and providing a deeper understanding of the underlying factors of vulnerability of mountain people. Mountains cover 39 million [...]

Las metas de la Agenda 2030 de Desarrollo Sostenible relacionadas con la seguridad alimentaria y la nutrición no podrán alcanzarse mientras en algunos territorios de América Latina y el Caribe sigan viviendo poblaciones con niveles de malnutrición que, como mínimo, duplican los promedios nacionales. A menudo, las oportunidades económicas en estos lugares son limitadas, la presencia de servicios públicos es escasa y la exposición a eventos climáticos severos es elevada. Precisamente, es en estos territorios históricamente rezagados donde las políticas públicas impulsadas en la región han mostrado un menor impacto y donde es apremiante generar una nueva agenda de instrumentos [...]

The text provides a description, analysis and perspectives of the traditional supply and marketing channels in the face of the pandemic. It identifies its main challenges, the contingency measures adopted by governments and the channels themselves. In addition, it delves into the effects and impacts of the pandemic on these commercial circuits, workers, among others. Finally, it summarizes the innovation and adaptation measures against COVID-19 and makes suggestions for modernization. Also available in Spanish. See more COVID-19 policy resources here.

The publication describes and analyzes the behaviour of wholesale supplies during a health crisis. Address their situation and perspectives in the short and long-term, the measures that have been implemented and the public policies that have been developed to support them. Also available in Spanish.See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19.