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This Technical Guidance Document addresses the need for mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services into agriculture, at the national level. More specifically, it is aimed to assist countries in developing and implementing their National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSA Ps), to consider ecosystem services – and opportunities for their management – in agricultural production systems. Through an EU-funded project on “Capacity-building related to multilateral agreements (MEAs) in ACP countries (Phase 2)”, this document focuses on the East Africa region, and provides concrete examples and cases primarily from Kenya. The intention is that this document provides practical guidance to countries for building [...]

Since 1950s, Sudan has been intermittently devastated by civil wars and, in 2011, has split into two different nations, the Republic of Sudan (subject of the analysis) and the Republic of the South Sudan. Nowadays, almost half of the population of the Republic of Sudan is at or below the poverty line. The FAO RAP (Resilience Analysis and Policies) team carried out a household resilience analysis examining differences between female- and male-headed households and between regions. This brief presents the results and, based on them, the policy indications.

This document will provide case studies from different regions, that set out the challenges, successes and lessons learned relating to the development of knowledge, skills and capacity for youth in agriculture. Bearing in mind the necessity of addressing various approaches for targeting youth, case studies cover the areas of peer-to-peer knowledge transfer, vocational training and skills development, and education systems and research. Specific issues concerned with how to integrate traditional or intergenerational knowledge and the use of new technologies will be interwoven throughout the various case studies. The conclusion will offer insights into how learning from these initiatives can inform the broader policy [...]

Worldwide small-scale fishers, boat crew members, fish-processors, fish traders and fish processing workers face serious labour related challenges specifically linked to the nature of the sector, including prevailing informality, seasonality, remoteness and hazardous nature of work. Inadequate knowledge and skills make many fishers dependent on unpaid family labour including those of women and children. Where labour regulation exist are of difficult application. The study explores wide-ranging decent work concerns in fisheries and aquaculture sector with the objective to inform and guide FAO programming and partnering with governments, civil society organizations, private sector and other UN organizations in promoting decent working conditions along [...]

The Guidance document aims to assist FAO Members in incorporating decent rural employment (DRE) interventions across different agricultural sub-sectors. It is organized into three main sections that answer respectively to the questions: "Why", "When" and "How" to integrate DRE. In particular, the section on “How to incorporate DRE considerations” outlines and analyzes the following 4 strategic planning phases: Phase 1: Conducting the problem and stakeholder analysis – Applying a DRE lens; Phase 2: Defining desired impacts and beneficiaries – Prioritizing DRE; Phase 3: Developing the result chain and the strategies and programmes to achieve the results - Developing a DRE-inclusive results chain; [...]

At FAO, increasing the resilience of agriculture-based livelihoods against threats and crises is a corporate priority. FAO’s resilience work is multisectoral, encompassing all aspects of agriculture: crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, natural resource management and value chains. FAO assists countries to increase the resilience of households, communities and institutions to more effectively prevent and cope with threats and disasters that impact agriculture, food security and nutrition.

This report provides a global analysis of the El Niño-related disasters and their impact on agriculture, food security and nutrition.  Analysis in the report is divided between FAO high priority countries and other countries at risk.  Countries were selected based on a combination of analysis of the El Niño event and FAO priorities for strengthening the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises.

This note focuses on the topic of access to fuel and energy in protracted crises, and the possible solutions using the SAFE approach, illustrated by case studies from FAO's interventions in protracted crisis situations. Access to fuel and energy – vital for food security – is often highly constrained in protracted crises. The risks posed by limited access to fuel and energy are multiple and diverse depending on the context, including malnutrition, environmental degradation, a high work burden for women, gender-based violence (GBV) and unsustainable livelihood activities. The inter-agency Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) initiative and FAO’s work on [...]

Women play key roles in rural economies. However, compared to men, rural women often experience greater constraints in accessing resources, services and opportunities. Brave Ndisale, Director Ad Interim of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division together with Illaria Sisto, Gender and Development Officer explain the importance of empowering women and achieving gender equality to ensure food security and reduce rural poverty. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this.  See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

Women play key roles in rural economies. However, compared to men, rural women often experience greater constraints in accessing resources, services and opportunities. Brave Ndisale, Director Ad Interim of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division together with Illaria Sisto, Gender and Development Officer explain the importance of empowering women and achieving gender equality to ensure food security and reduce rural poverty. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this. See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP