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There were seven confirmed local cases of COVID-19 in Beijing on 11 and 12 June 2020. Epidemiological investigations confirmed that all cases were related to the Beijing Xinfadi Agricultural Produce Wholesale Market. The market supplies 80 percent of Beijing’s demand for agricultural products. Notably, it accounts for roughly 70 percent of Beijing’s market for vegetables. On 13 June, the Xinfadi market and some other markets with COVID-19 cases connected with Xinfadi were temporarily closed. Measures including nucleic acid testing, environment sampling, isolation of close contacts and closed management (controlled entry and exit) of the relevant communities were implemented. Meanwhile, to [...]

The 2008 global food price crisis, and the resurgence of food prices in 2010-2011, caused both widespread concern and expectations. On the one hand, countries whose food supply depends on procuring food from international markets saw food price spikes as threats to their national food security. On the other hand, investors saw in these price spikes an opportunity to make profitable investments in agriculture. Either as threat or opportunity, food price spikes raised interest in Africa, whose lands are fertile and have unrealised potential. Concerns of a possible land acquisitions in Africa, and in particular the impacts of Large-Scale Land-Based [...]

Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and smart contracts provide a unique opportunity to bring greater efficiency, transparency and traceability to the exchange of value and information in the agriculture sector. By utilising digital records, cryptography and the disintermediation of transaction processing and data storage, DLTs can improve both agricultural supply chains and rural development interventions in a number of ways. The technology has the potential to simplify and integrate agricultural supply chains, enhance food safety, facilitate access to trade finance and other types of agricultural financial services, improve market transparency, provide greater legal certainty to land-tenure systems and strengthen accountability for [...]

As it was projected earlier in the year, while most markets were braced for a major global economic downturn, the food sector, including markets for bananas and tropical fruits, continued to display more resilience to the Covid-19 pandemic than other sectors.This report provides supply and demand forecasts for basic foodstuffs, fish and fishery products along with price analysis, policy information and a preliminary assessment of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on trade in bananas and tropical fruits. The report’s special feature reviews recent trends in food imports bills and export earnings.Food Outlook is published by the Markets and Trade [...]

This course aims to equip project designers and managers with the concepts, principles and tools they need to leverage value chain approaches to improve nutrition through agriculture and food systems. The concept of Sustainable Food Value Chains for Nutrition (SFVCN) was first presented in 2016 at the 43rd session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and is the framework adopted by the Rome Based Agencies (RBAs). An SFVCN approach considers how development of a sustainable food value chain can contribute to improving nutrition of a target population. System RequirementsThe online version of this course runs on the latest versions [...]

The development of sustainable food systems is a key component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This course discussed why eliminating gender inequalities is pivotal to achieving the necessary transformations. It proposes FAO’s gender-sensitive value chain framework as an approach for the analysis of value chains, and for guiding interventions to address gender-based constraints. Released May 2020.1 h 30 m of learning System RequirementsThe online version of this course runs on the latest versions of Chrome and Safari. In order to access this course on Internet Explorer or Firefox, you must install and enable Adobe Flash player.The downloadable version only runs [...]

Critical analysis of the momentum that eCommerce has had in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, future perspectives and recommendations for the development of this marketing mechanism are discussed, so that it is equitable for all components of the food system. Find more COVID19-related resources here

This document summarizes the online discussion The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and agricultural development: challenges and prospects held on the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition in Africa (FSN Forum Africa) from 5 May to 2 June 2020. The discussion was facilitated by Jean Senahoun from FAO’s Regional Office for Africa in Accra, Ghana. This online discussion aimed to exchange ideas on the challenges to and prospects for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement in Africa’s agricultural sector and its implications for food security and nutrition. Participants shared ideas on the Trade [...]

This document summarizes the online discussion Responding to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on food value chains through efficient logistics held on the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) from 4 June to 6 July 2020. The discussion was facilitated by Marco V. Sánchez, Deputy Director of the Agrifood Economics Division of FAO. This online discussion invited participants to share how the measures aimed at curbing the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the logistics of food value chains in their respective countries. Participants discussed which measures have been put in place regarding value chains, and how the [...]

Small-scale fisheries communities in coastal areas or close to freshwater bodies are often highly vulnerable to a range of hazards (climate change, etc.) beyond their control. Frequent social, economic and political marginalization makes small-scale fisheries communities particularly susceptible to being affected by protracted crises. Two international instruments provide guidance on how to better address these issues: the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable SmallScale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) and the The Committee on World Food Security Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA). The brief gives and overview [...]