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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast in January that the global economy would grow by 3.3 percent in 2020, however its latest outlook, in April, now forecasts a contraction of 3.0 percent, with no upside scenarios and numerous risks. The scenario presented in this brief predicts that if the anticipated global recession, due to the effects of COVID-19, were to trigger a reduction in the growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) of between two and ten percentage points in all countries in 2020, then the number of undernourished people in net food-importing countries would increase by 14.4 million to 80.3 [...]

The full range of activities required to deliver fish and fish products from production to the final consumer is subject to indirect impacts of the pandemic through new sanitary measures, changing consumer demands, market access or logistical problems related to transportation and border restrictions. This in turn has a damaging effect on fishers and fish farmers’ livelihoods, as well as on food security and nutrition for populations that rely heavily on fish for animal protein and essential micronutrients. This policy brief reviews on going challenges and proposes measures to protect production and income of the sector and the most vulnerable, as [...]

Smallholder producers’ access to markets is also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediate impacts tend to be more severe for high-value commodities (perishable products), which are often produced by smallholder farmers. Several countries are putting in place a variety of measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on smallholder producers. This brief builds on lessons learned in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone during the 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic and during the 2007–2008 global food prices volatility crisis.

People living in context prone to or affected by conflict suffer from many forms of deprivation. The international community plays a crucial role in strengthening the wellbeing of affected populations, including their food security. Unfortunately, quite often people exposed to conflict are not reached by national or international assistance because of targeting, accessibility, and marginalization. This can ultimately translate into a further deterioration of their food security status. This paper combines a geo-referenced household dataset collected in South Sudan in 2017 with the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data (ACLED), including information on conflict events. The collection of a very detailed [...]

Cette note technique analyse le niveau, la composition et la cohérence des dépenses publiques en soutient à l’agriculture et l’alimentation au Bénin pour la période 2008-2018. Spécifiquement, la méthodologie du programme de Suivi et analyse des politiques agricoles et alimentaires (SAPAA) est employée pour identifier les tendances de soutien budgétaire à l’agriculture et l’alimentation en terme de composition fonctionnelle de la dépense publique (recherche agricole, subvention au capital, vulgarisation, etc.) et du sous-secteur qui est visé par la dépense (forêt, élevage, denrées spécifiques, etc.) ainsi que la source de financement de ces dépenses. L’étude également vise à évaluer la cohérence [...]

Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 include strong restrictions of movement which dramatically change daily lives and impact agricultural livelihoods. These measures are particularly difficult for the rural poorest and most vulnerable, who tend to hold jobs and occupations which cannot be performed remotely. Many of the world’s poor depend on public spaces and movement for their livelihoods, including seasonal agricultural work and traveling to markets to sell or buy produce and/or inputs, etc. This briefs explains how social protection measures could shield the rural poor from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while providing a series of social protection [...]

The policy brief reviews the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants working in agri-food systems and their families in rural areas of origin. It points out some of the policy implications and presents key policy recommendations. Measures affecting the movement of people (internally and internationally) and resulting labour shortages, will have an impact on agricultural value chains, affecting food availability and market prices globally. At the same time, large shares of migrants work under informal or casual arrangements, which leave them unprotected, vulnerable to exploitation, poverty and food insecurity, and often without access to healthcare, social protection and the measures [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major economic and labour market shock, presenting significant impacts in terms of unemployment and underemployment for informal workers. In rural areas, the livelihoods of especially the self-employed and wage workers are at risk, because agri-food supply chains and markets are being disrupted due to lockdowns and restrictions of movement. Families might resort to negative coping strategies such as distress sale of assets, taking out loans from informal moneylenders, or child labour. Specific groups of workers, including women, youth, children, indigenous people, and migrant workers, who are overrepresented in the informal economy, will experience further exacerbation [...]

This policy brief analyses institutional challenges faced by Guyana’s agricultural sector to promote diversification and development. Agricultural development in Guyana is strongly correlated with agricultural diversification, hence diversification strategies can be used to promote growth in this sector. The identified challenges in the analysis that currently hamper diversification and trade of Guyana’s agricultural products include high tariff and non-tariff barriers, low level of direct investment, and a lack of physical infrastructure. Furthermore, missing quality and quantity capacities of farmers as well as the lack of a working sanitary and phytosanitary regime hinders intra-regional trade and import substitution. It is recommended [...]

Georgia has been a Member of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) since 1995. In 2004, FAO strengthened its presence there by making the FAO Subregional Representative for Central and Eastern Europe the FAO Representative in Georgia and establishing a fully-fledged representation in Tbilisi. FAO is supporting national development priorities to create and implement an institutional, legal and regulatory environment, as well as lending technical assistance on key projects at the Government’s request. It is working to strengthen Georgia’s institutional disaster-management capacity and helping to align Government policies with European structures and standards, so as to [...]