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While the immediate impact of COVID19 in most parts of the world has been primarily urban, the economic impact of COVID19 spread quickly to rural areas. In most cases, the contagion will eventually follow. Most of the world’s poor and food insecure live in rural areas, and although physical distance, relative isolation, lower population density and their own production of food play in favour for rural areas, they are particularly vulnerable to suffering severe impact from the pandemic and the ensuing economic contraction. Rural areas, particularly in the developing world, are much less prepared to deal with the direct and [...]

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 global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is expanding daily. Governments around the globe are confronted with multiple challenges related to minimizing the devastating health impact and protecting human lives, and ensuring sufficient food supplies and the functioning of services to those most in need. All this while coping with the economic consequences of COVID-19, which is expected to push an additional 548 million people below the poverty line. Between present disruptions and future threats to the food supply chain, the COVID-19 outbreak has generated extreme vulnerability in the agriculture sector. It is therefore crucial to mobilize all available instruments, [...]

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 [...]

The background for conducting country study on the challenges, needs and constraints of smallholders and family farms in the Republic of Serbia has been a wish to further strengthen the Regional Initiative on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms and develop it towards a stronger programmatic approach at both the regional and the country level. In order to provide support to smallholders and family farms, there has been a need to develop a better understanding and knowledge platform of the main challenges, needs and constraints of smallholders and family farms in the specific country context. The objective of the country study is [...]

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 [...]

This case study documents insights on gender mainstreaming practices implemented in a large-scale agriculture development project with a climate change adaptation component in Western Province, Zambia. It describes the key gender issues in the project context, as well as the gender mainstreaming practices that are in place and have potential for scaling up. Recommendations for policymakers indicate a way forward to enhance the promotion of gender equality in the context of adaptation to climate change impacts on agriculture

Strategic investments in the agriculture sector are a catalyst for sustainable, economic growth and poverty reduction. Through their partnership, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have produced this comprehensive study on the State of Agriculture in the Caribbean, drawing upon decades of research on the many drivers of change affecting the CDB’s Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs), including international trade, institutional policies, and climate change. This report follows forty years of structural change in the agriculture sector of BMCs, and can support the development of an updated Agriculture Sector Strategy, by identifying [...]

The FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) is an inclusive, neutral platform for people and institutions to share knowledge and support policy-making. Over the years, the FSN Forum online discussions have played an important role in strengthening and democratizing policy dialogue in line with the UN’s move towards more inclusive decision-making processes within the development community. The FSN Forum engages a broad spectrum of citizens, experts, governments, non-governmental and private entities at the global, regional and national levels, fostering awareness, debate and mutual learning on the broad range of issues that affect food securityand nutrition. This publication presents the [...]