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The joint UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans Programme  (NAP-Ag) is a multi-year initiative (2015-2018) funded by the International Climate Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). The NAP-Ag is supporting countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to identify and integrate climate change adaptation measures in to relevant national planning and budgeting processes. This integration will help to enhance institutional capacities and processes for operationalizing climate response strategies in the agriculture sectors and facilitate greater partnerships, [...]

This review aims to provide countries and other stakeholders with relevant background and knowledge related to the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) decision. It introduces the KJWA decision and further developments resulting from the 48th sessions of the subsidiary bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), provides a brief overview of the UNFCCC, and describes how the Convention addresses agriculture. It then looks at the subsidiary bodies and the seven constituted bodies under the Convention: the Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention, the Least [...]

Many social protection programmes, including cash transfers, public works programmes and asset transfers, target women as main beneficiaries or recipients of benefits. Extending social protection to rural populations has great potential for fostering rural women’s economic empowerment. However, to tap into this potential, more needs to be done. There is much scope for making social protection policies and programmes more gender sensitive and for better aligning them with agricultural and rural development policies to help address gender inequalities. Recognizing this potential and capitalizing on existing evidence, FAO seeks to enhance the contribution of social protection to gender equality and women’s empowerment [...]

This publication explores agricultural investment funds as a vehicle for financing agricultural businesses and projects. It looks at the capital needs of the different agricultural actors along the agricultural value chain and taking into consideration investment funds involving all kinds of investors (private, public as well as joint initiatives) and investment objectives. The publication draws heavily from the FAO 2010 publication “Agricultural Investment Funds for Developing Countries”, which was developed from an FAO-ConCAP research study that identified a broad range of investment funds that target agriculture in developing and transitioning countries. The identified funds were classified according to various criteria such [...]

Exploring the links between migration, agricultural and rural transformation processes is an area where FAO has a comparative advantage thanks to its strong technical expertise and close relationship with governments and relevant stakeholders. The project "Reducing distress migration through local value chain development", funded by the Italian Development Cooperation, aims to address the root causes of distress rural out-migration of youth, by creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities along food value chains and strengthening linkages with existing social protection programmes.

The drivers and impacts of migration are intimately linked to FAO's global goals of eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition, eliminating poverty and promoting the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources. FAO, given its mandate as a specialized UN agency, is uniquely placed to support Member States in addressing both the rural dimensions of migration as well as its implications for rural populations, including the future of agriculture and food systems. This document provides a brief overview of the structure of the FAO Migration Framework, explaining why and how FAO works on migration. The purpose of the Framework is to [...]

The brochure provides an overview of FAO's Biodiversity Mainstreaming Platform. This includes highlighting the importance of biodiversity mainstreaming across the agricultural sectors, fostering dialogue between the environment sector and the agricultural sectors, the development of a biodiversity strategy of FAO and shaping the global agenda on biodiversity.

The global market of organic products increased fivefold between 1999 and 2014, Organic Monitor projects growth to continue. This trend is also true for the Asian region where the third largest market for organic products in the world and forty percent of the world’s organic producers are located (a total of 0.9 million producers, mostly concentrated in India). Consumers in the region are increasingly demanding organic products to ensure food safety. This trend represents an opportunity for smallholder farmers practicing organic production to increase their sales and improve their livelihoods. Yet, this opportunity is not readily available to smallholder farmers in [...]

The purpose of this publication is to showcase the importance of Geographical Indications (GIs) and their positive impact on food quality and safety, as well as the economy. Reaffirming the right of every person to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right to be free from hunger, the Second International Conference on Nutrition (19–21 November 2014) adopted a Framework for Action that provides a set of recommendations for governments. In particular, recommended actions for sustainable food systems promoting healthy diets include: strengthening local food production and processing, especially [...]

Empowering small-scale fisheries: the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication. Short animated video that wants to trigger awareness and discussion about key challenges faced by small-scale fishing communities, despite their critical contribution to nutrition, food security, national economies and poverty alleviation. It introduces ways to address those challenges, as well as the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) as an important tool in this context. It is suggested to use this video to have discussions with various stakeholders on [...]