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The purpose of the applied definition is to equip professionals involved in DRE (Decent Rural Employment) promotion with an applied concept which is precise enough to guide the mainstreaming, policy support and measurement of DRE within the frame of agricultural and rural development interventions. 

Fish plays a key role for food security. It is a primary source of protein and essential nutrients. Fisheries, aquaculture and related activities provide income and livelihoods for numerous communities across the world, including small-scale fisheries. The growing demand for fish questions the sustainability of marine fisheries and aquaculture, now a fundamental supplier of fish. The report considers the environmental, social and economic challenges faced by all actors towards a sustainable supply of fish, sustainable livelihoods of fish-dependent communities and an equitable access to fish for the good nutrition of all populations worldwide. It presents policy-oriented analysis and recommendations addressed to governments, private sector and civil society [...]

La agricultura familiar es un sector clave para lograr la erradicación del hambre y el cambio hacia sistemas agrícolas sostenibles en América Latina y el Caribe y el mundo. Los pequeños agricultores son aliados de la seguridad alimentaria y actores protagónicos en el esfuerzo de los países por lograr un futuro sin hambre. En nuestra región, el 80% de las explotaciones pertenecen a la agricultura familiar, incluyendo a más de 60 millones de personas, convirtiéndose en la principal fuente de empleo agrícola y rural.  No sólo producen la mayor parte de los alimentos para el consumo interno de los países de [...]

Young people account for a large percentage of the rural population, and are often unemployed or underemployed, despite the need for labour force in agriculture. Rural youth face many hurdles in trying to earn a livelihood. They do not perceive agriculture as a remunerative or prestigious profession, and until they find meaningful economic opportunities and attractive environments in rural areas, they will continue to migrate to cities. This trend not only contributes to the emerging phenomenon of over-urbanization and growing unemployment in urban areas, but is also expected to affect global food production. Investing in young people living in rural areas is [...]

Fish plays a key role for food security. It is a primary source of protein and essential nutrients. Fisheries, aquaculture and related activities provide income and livelihoods for numerous communities across the world, including small-scale fisheries. The growing demand for fish questions the sustainability of marine fisheries and aquaculture, now a fundamental supplier of fish. The report considers the environmental, social and economic challenges faced by all actors towards a sustainable supply of fish, sustainable livelihoods of fish-dependent communities and an equitable access to fish for the good nutrition of all populations worldwide. It presents policy-oriented analysis and recommendations addressed [...]

Disasters and crises undermine development. Natural disasters have affected more than 2.7 billion people over the last decade. More people face hydrometeorological hazards (for example, floods, droughts, storms and wildfires) and geological hazards (for example, earthquakes and landslides) than ever before. The intensity and frequency of natural disasters is increasing, compromising sustainable development by affecting livelihoods and threatening food security and nutrition. Agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture are among the most exposed and affected sectors. Existing risk reduction and management measures need to be improved and scaled up. Many countries are poorly equipped to prevent, prepare and mitigate the impacts of current extremes and risks, including [...]

Cash transfer programmes in sub-Saharan Africa impact the productive activities of both beneficiary and non-beneficiary households in the communities where they are implemented. These programmes have led to an increase in agricultural activities in beneficiary households, including greater use of agricultural inputs, more land area in crop production and higher crop output. Beneficiary households have increased ownership of livestock and agricultural tools, as well as a greater tendency to participate in non-farm family enterprises. Moreover, households that receive transfers tend to reallocate their labour away from casual agricultural wage labour to household-managed economic activities. In almost all countries, cash transfers have allowed beneficiary households to avoid negative [...]

More than 500 million family farms manage the majority of the world’s agricultural land and produce most of the world’s food. We need family farms to ensure global food security, to care for and protect the natural environment and to end poverty, undernourishment and malnutrition. But these goals can be thoroughly achieved if public policies support family farms to become more productive and sustainable; in other words policies must support family farms to innovate within a system that recognizes their diversity and the complexity of the challenges faced.  The State of Food and Agriculture 2014: Innovation in family farming analyses family [...]

This technical paper focuses primarily on price transmissions in small-scale and large-scale fishery and aquaculture value chains in 14 developed and developing countries. Although the study is focused on the small-scale sector, both the small-scale and large-scale sectors were analysed in order to demonstrate differences between the two. The document begins with an overview of the entire project and its global implications, reviewing the importance of fisheries and aquaculture to livelihoods, food security and trade as well as the rationale for value chain analysis. It then presents detailed and summarized country-specific information on the research and analysis conducted, presenting analysis [...]

Over the coming 35 years, agriculture will face an unprecedented confluence of pressures, including a 30 percent increase in the global population, intensifying competition for increasingly scarce land, water and energy resources, and the existential threat of climate change. To provide for a population projected to reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and support changing dietary patterns, estimates are that food production will need to increase from the current 8.4 billion tonnes to almost 13.5 billion tonnes a year. Achieving that level of production from an already seriously depleted natural resource base will be impossible without profound changes in our food [...]