FAO.org

The Government of The Gambia faced many difficulties controlling spiralling whitefly infestation in the country, because of insufficient capacity at both public and private sector levels to control the pest. Whitefly is found in the western part of The Gambia, but if it is not adequately controlled it could spread to the rest of the country. In view of these challenges, the Government requested technical support to build the capacities of public and private sector stakeholders in whitefly management, and to develop and implement a sustainable pest management strategy.

In the majority of developing countries, pesticides are widely used for the control of pests and diseases in agriculture. Unsound chemical management, the use of Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), the presence of unsafeguarded obsolete stocks of pesticides and the overall poor management of pesticide products pose significant and often unacceptable risks to human health and the environment. The project(of which this was the second phase) was part of the European Commission programme on “Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements(MEAs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries”. The second phase of this project aimed to support and strengthen institutional and national [...]

This ‘Policy Analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions in Europe and Central Asia’ follows up on the previous effort to report on implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions in the region. Specifically, this publication compiles and analyzes the most relevant and updated information on policies and regulatory frameworks related to climate change in the region, including information on access to available climate finance to support countries in the implementation of their goals under the Paris Agreement.   This publication identifies the current commitments, policy and finance gaps and opportunities for enhancing climate change mitigation and adaptation ambitions in countries of Europe and Central Asia [...]

Today’s food and agricultural systems have succeeded in supplying large volumes of food to global markets. However, high-external input, resource-intensive agricultural systems have caused massive deforestation, water scarcities, biodiversity loss, soil depletion and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite significant progress in recent times, hunger and extreme poverty persist as critical global challenges. Even where poverty has been reduced, pervasive inequalities remain, hindering poverty eradication. Integral to FAO’s Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, agroecology is a key part of the global response to this climate of instability, offering a unique approach to meeting significant increases in our food [...]

In many countries, pastoralism has historically been practiced in areas that are now partitioned by international boundaries. This is a major barrier to sustainable resource management and to pastoral development. However, there are examples from around the world of efforts to facilitate transboundary movements and transboundary ecosystem management by pastoralists. This report examines how pastoral mobility has been impacted by the creation of unnatural boundaries within their landscapes and how societies cope with these constraints through legal or informal arrangements. Also available in French.

Livestock are terrestrial, domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide traction or produce commodities such as meat, milk, eggs and hides. They contribute to diverse agri-food systems globally, playing many roles for different groups of people. From the perspective of the sustainability of the global livestock sector, there are four important and interrelated aspects: food and nutrition security; livelihoods and growth; health and animal welfare; and climate and natural resource use. Sustainable livestock are at the interface of these four topics, which provide the structure of the breakout sessions in the 10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture. This [...]

The report “Transforming the livestock sector through the sustainable development goals”  examines the sector’s interaction with each of the SDGs, as well as the potential synergies, trade-offs, and complex interlinkages involved. The publication is intended to serve as a reference framework for Member States as they move forward to realize livestock’s potentially major contribution to the Agenda 2030. 

This database contains projections used for the preparation of the report "The future of food and agriculture – Alternative pathways to 2050". It disseminates foresight analyses of food and agricultural systems and provides access to country-level information on FAO projections.   Data from 2012 to 2050 in five-year intervals is available for visualization and download at country level by scenario and where applicable, by commodity or animal species. Data is organized in thematic domains, such as macro variables and indicators, crop and animal production, market balances by commodity, food security indicators and greenhouse gas emissions.  

Agriculture is one of the most important pillars of Moldova’s economy. With sustainable crop production reliant upon the availability of pest/disease/drought-resistant varieties that perform well under local conditions, production requirements can only be addressed through the conservation of local plant genetic resources and the availability of varieties of plant genetic material. With few mechanisms in place in the country, the project was designed to improve the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment to enhance the sustainable conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources, through cooperation and exchange of material, knowledge and experience among stakeholders. It also [...]

Since its introduction to Libya in December 2015, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has spread to a number of farms in the country, causing serious economic losses to poultry farmers and affecting public health. Between 2014 and 2015, the losses to farmers caused by the disease were estimated at over USD10 million. The lack of qualified human resources and appropriate equipment meant that the outbreaks were not deeply investigated, while the absence of biosecurity measures and awareness enabled the evolution of the disease in the country, reaching over 60 percent in backyard farms and leading to an increase in the number [...]