Publications

Transforming agriculture in Africa’s Small Island Developing States: Lessons learnt and options for climate-smart agriculture investments in Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Seychelles

There are 52 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the world. These boast of rich biodiversity landscapes, including a large variety of endemic species and indigenous knowledge that can make them the repository of our planetary ecosystem (UNEP, 2014). Nevertheless, the SIDS are identified as being one of the negatively impacted areas of climate change in the world, with huge implications for biodiversity loss and survival. There is a general consensus that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from small islands are negligible in comparison to global emissions, but the effects of climate change are devastating as a consequence of the sea level rise associated with global warming (Nurse et al., 2014). Long-term risks projected for small islands include increase in coastal flooding, freshwater stress and risks across marine ecosystems. Other threats to the SIDS include more frequent strong winds and cyclones, sea water intrusion into aquifers, and freshwater scarcity (Kelman and West,...

Africa – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2021

Africa is not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets to end hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round, and to end all forms of malnutrition. The most recent estimates show that 281.6 million people on the continent, over one-fifth of the population, faced hunger in 2020, which is 46.3 million more than in 2019. This deterioration continues a trend that started in 2014, after a prolonged period of improving food security. In addition to hunger, millions of Africans suffer from widespread micronutrient deficiencies, while overweight and obesity are already significant public health concerns in many countries. Progress towards achieving the global nutrition targets by 2030 remains unacceptably slow.

Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture, food security and nutrition in Africa

Since the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, it has gripped the world in two or more different waves in different regions. It has caused tremendous human suffering due to the disease itself and because it triggered the adoption of restrictive measures resulting in disrupted livelihoods for many. The pandemic and related control measures have most impact on the livelihoods of vulnerable populations. The sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, in particular, was already reeling under the tremendous burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, and hunger, and is thus highly vulnerable to the ongoing direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19. Hence, this publication aims to analyze the direct and/or indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa's agrifood systems on various aspects as macroeconomic impact, agricultural production (crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors), markets and value chains, trade, and overall food security by providing a synthesis of studies and reports already...

Zambia Food Based Dietary Guidelines

These are Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDGs) that define what a healthy diet means to Zambians. FBDGs are evidence-based recommendations that give advice on foods, food groups and dietary patterns that will provide the required nutrients to the public to promote overall nutrition, health and prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The FBDGs recommendations are accompanied by a series of nutrition messages and related visual illustrations, which represent what a healthy diet means targeting the public. FBDGs establish a basis for public food and nutrition, health and agricultural policies and nutrition education programmes to foster healthy eating habits and lifestyles. The development followed the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) ten-step systematic process. The Zambia Ministry of Agriculture led the development process with technical support from FAO through a TCP. About 44 members of the multi-sector technical working group represented by 21 government and non-government institutions...

Review of forest and landscape restoration in Africa 2021

The purpose of this report is to assess the current implementation of forest and landscape restoration (FLR) in Africa. It presents the context for FLR on the African continent, highlights major FLR initiatives, and provides an overview of FLR in Africa at the start of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030). It identifies key challenges, opportunities, actors and processes, illustrated with some case studies. Data collection was both primary (interviews) and secondary (extensive desk research). The report contributes to tracking progress on the implementation of AFR100 and other FLR initiatives in Africa on the ground. It provides a baseline for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and is expected to be updated at regular intervals. The report is prepared under the jointly implemented regional technical cooperation programme by FAO Regional Office for Africa (RAF) and the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) “Support to the implementation and monitoring of the African...

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