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The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to the small-scale fisheries sector. While the implementation of the SSF Guidelines will require legal and regulatory adjustments beyond national fisheries legislation to ensure political and legislative coherence and fully reflect the breadth of their provisions, the fundamental function of fisheries law in a sustainable use, management, and the development of small-scale fisheries is indisputable. Appropriate fisheries legislation provides the strongest possible framework for inclusive, participatory fisheries governance and resource management by providing a coherent basis [...]

Both the CFS Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (Right to Food Guidelines) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) hold the realization of the right to adequate food as their main objective. The Right to Food Guidelines emphasizes the role of small-scale producers in several sections and the SSF Guidelines as their first objective call “to enhance the contribution to fisheries to food security and nutrition and support the realization to the [...]

Farmer participation in agricultural markets is of major importance for rural economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. This paper discusses market failures and constraints in agriculture in low-income countries, focusing on how these failures and constraints affect small farmers, input sellers and output buyers. It then explores innovative models implemented to address these challenges, including: out- grower schemes; input bundling programmes; decommodification through quality product differentiation; information and communication technologies; distributed ledger technologies; and direct purchasing models. Finally, the paper reviews the existing evidence surrounding these innovative approaches and highlights evidentiary gaps. See here The State of Agricultural Commodity [...]

Digital technologies have a high potential to enable further development of the agricultural sector, significantly reshape food value chains (FVCs), and greatly contribute towards more productive, resilient and transparent food systems. This paper provides a non-technical overview of digital technologies that have a high potential to revolutionize the agriculture and food industry, and contribute towards inclusion of small farmers into FVCs. The particular focus is on digital platforms providing e-commerce services and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), such as blockchain, as they mutually enable more efficient and more inclusive local and global agricultural markets by tackling their contribution to reducing information asymmetries, [...]

The background for conducting country studies on the challenges, needs and constraints of smallholders and family farms in seven countries has been a wish to further strengthen the Regional Initiative and develop the initiative towards a stronger programmatic approach at both the regional and country levels. To provide support to smallholders and family farms, there has been a need to develop a better understanding and knowledge platform of the main challenges, needs and constraints of smallholders and family farms in the specific country context. Even though many of the challenges are the same throughout the region, there are still significant [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is jeopardizing human health and disrupting the food systems that are the foundations of health. Unless we take immediate action, we could face a global food emergency of severity and scale unseen for more than half a century.FAO is calling for USD 1.2 billion in initial investments to finance FAO’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme that aims to provide an agile and coordinated global response to ensure nutritious food for all both during and after the pandemic.The COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme enables donors to leverage the Organization’s convening power, real-time data, early warning systems and technical expertise to direct support where and when it is [...]

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COVID-19 pandemic has put local food systems at risk of disruptions along the entire agri-food value chain. Cities and local governments are currently playing a major role in limiting the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and in mitigating disruptions to their local food systems.To better understand the situation, FAO has been closely monitoring local food system status and prevailing practices during COVID-19, collecting information and insights from different cities on key challenges and specific responses through various channels.The insights, data and cases presented in this paper highlight the role of local food production and value chains in enhancing [...]

El estudio “Desafíos de la producción y comercialización de algodón orgánico en Perú: Aprendizajes de agricultores familiares de Chincha y Cañete” presenta la experiencia que duró casi una década, del 2000 al 2009, de un grupo de agricultores familiares, productores de algodón de los valles de Cañete y Chincha, ubicados en la costa central de Perú, que se embarcaron en una iniciativa de hacer la transición del sistema convencional al sistema orgánico de producción de algodón. El objetivo principal de este estudio ha sido identificar los aprendizajes sacados de esta experiencia desde la perspectiva de los propios agricultores que de [...]

La presente guía ha sido desarrollada con los elementos brindados por lo líderes indígenas y pescadores indígenas por medio de la APICA y representantes de las instituciones estatales dedicadas a la desarrollo de la pesca en los países centroamericanos , siendo priorizados y consensuados por los representantes indígenas centroamericanos para valorar la gobernanza de la pesca indígena para la afirmación de la gestión territorial en función del crecimiento económico, la inclusión social y protección ambiental. Only available in Spanish.