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This brief describes what parliamentarians need to know about the current nutrition situation in the world and how our food systems are  haping food environments that steer people towards unhealthy diets which are one of the causal factors of malnutrition. Parliamentarians are well placed to facilitate action to transform the world’s current food systems. This brief gives concrete examples of measures through which policymakers can influence food systems so as to promote healthy diets and prevent malnutrition in all its forms, including undernourishment, stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity, as well as dietrelated non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Agrifood systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are still adjusting to the political and economic effects of globalization and deepening trade integration, both within the region and worldwide. The region is more engaged in global agri-food trade and increasingly supplies agricultural commodities and food products to international markets. However, most countries are yet to reach their full trade potential. To benefit from trade, the countries are stepping up their efforts to implement trade agreements, align their regulation with international standards and diversify exports.  The project benefits stakeholders in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with specific activities in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and [...]

Migration from rural areas is significant, and policy-makers must seek to maximize its positive impacts on development. The movement of people out of agriculture and into other sectors with higher productivity – manufacturing and services, mostly located in urban areas – contributes to economic growth and higher incomes for migrants from rural areas. However, migration also has profound impacts on rural areas of origin, some positive and some negative. Hence policies should support productive capacity and livelihoods in rural areas as migrant labourers move away. It is also important to enhance the contribution of migrants to the development of rural [...]

This policy brief highlights FAO's role in supporting government of Uganda to formulate, regulate and support implementation of agricultural related policies to address key gaps in the sector.

This edition of The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets focuses on the complex and underexplored intersection between agricultural trade, climate change and food security. The report makes an important contribution to the policy debates on climate change adaptation and mitigation under the Paris Agreement and the multilateral agricultural trade rules. The report discusses policies – both domestic support and trade measures – that can promote food security, adaptation and mitigation, and improve the livelihoods of family farmers around the world. Given both the slow- and rapid-onset impacts of climate change, policies that can significantly promote climate change adaptation and mitigation [...]

This brief is based on the Forum’s discussion on “Rural migration, agriculture and rural development”. It presents experts’views on  the causes and impacts of migration and the best ways to address the needs of affected communities and individuals. While migration has long been part of a wider process of development and structural transformation, migrants often feel  they have no choice but to leave home, due to poverty or other harsh conditions. Despite the focus on international migration, most migrants move within their home countries. See all ongoing and past discussion on the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition • FSN Forum   Also available [...]

Good institutions are a fundamental pre-requisite to successfully achieve structural transformation in growing developing countries (UNECA, 2016). Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a rapid growth but a weak and slow structural transformation process, which is mainly characterized by the reallocation of labour from agriculture to low skilled services. The focus of this paper is to explore how political and economic institutions affect structural transformation in a panel of 11 sub-Saharan African countries. Our empirical analysis reveals a positive and statistically significant effect of quality of institutions and economic freedom measures on structural transformation between sectors, which translates into movement out of agriculture. Better institutions appear to not improve productivity [...]

These guidelines are primarily directed towards decision-makers responsible for integrating the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into national policies and programmes. They will be of value to public and private actors, including investors, researchers and technical practitioners, involved in the broad area of food and agriculture, and rural development. Complementing FAO’s Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture and its five principles, this publication presents 20 practical and interconnected actions with the aim of transforming food and agriculture and driving achievement across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

E-agriculture or ICT in agriculture holds great promise in providing access to innovative solutions to many challenges faced by smallholder resource-poor farmers. Access to the right information at the right time makes a great impact on the livelihoods of communities involved in agriculture and allied activities. This publication presents case studies in innovative use of emerging technologies to significantly improve the living standards of farming communities.  

Despite government efforts to reduce poverty and food insecurity, Ethiopia remains one of the world’s poorest countries, with around 25 million people living in extreme poverty. The country is exposed to a wide range of natural hazards, especially recurrent drought, such as that induced by El Niño in Amhara and Tigray Regions in 2014/15. The aim of the project was to provide emergency assistance in these regions for vulnerable smallholder households affected by the 2014/15 drought, many of whom  had consumed their seed reserves. It would do this by distributing cereal, potato and vegetable seed, and hand tools to assist [...]