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This document provides technical guidance for countries to integrate Sustainable Land Management (SLM) into national policies and programs. It was developed in the context of the project "Desicion Support for Mainstreaming and Scaling up Sustainable Land Management (DS-SLM)" supporting country teams in designing operational strategies for mainstreaming information on land degradation and SLM into national and subnational decision-making processes.

Fall Armyworm (FAW) continues to spread into new territory, moving further east and north in Asia, as well as north from sub-Saharan Africa. As it spreads, more governments are faced with decisions about how to react quickly and sustainably to the arrival of this new crop pest. Fortunately, they can benefit from over two years’ worth of experience gleaned from across sub-Saharan Africa as well as decades of experience from the Americas. The lessons learned there by governments, resources partners and farmers can help guide decision-makers now being affected by FAW. This policy guide reviews the experiences and lessons learned [...]

Meeting the global food demand in 2050 requires increasing the global food production by 50 percent. This intensification will need to be achieved in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.   

The software programme for calculating the Agricultural Stress Index (ASI) was developed by the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) based on a methodology proposed by FAO CBC. VITO also developed the processing chains used to generate the ASI and other quick-look maps available on the online tool. EST-GIEWS is responsible for the global operation of the processing chain.

The way food systems have evolved over past decades means that they now face major risks, which in turn threaten the future of food systems themselves. Food systems have seriously contributed to climate change, environmental destruction, overexploitation of natural resources and pollution of air, water and soils. Despite the global average improvement in calorie production and major development of the food and agricultural product markets, huge inequalities in food access and repartition of the added value have emerged, leading to new serious nutritional and social problems. Based on a review of the most recent scientific knowledge, this report emphasizes Low-Income [...]

Agriculture contributes approximately one-quarter of provincial gross domestic product (GDP) in the Punjab Province. The provincial share is two-third of the total national agricultural output, leading in major commodities meant for food security in the country. The sector employs roughly 13 million people or 45 percent of the Punjab labor force. However, the overall added value from agriculture in Punjab’s economy is disproportionately low compared to other sectors of the economy. The agricultural sector offers significant opportunities for rapid economic growth and potentially help millions to improve their livelihood. Production and productivity have remained nearly stagnant during the last two decades. [...]

FAO recognizes that those living in rural areas whose livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources, are disproportionately affected by climate risks because of their great likelihood of living in high-risk geographical locations as well as their high vulnerability to, and limited capacity to cope with, climate hazards due to low incomes, lack of savings, weaker social networks, low asset bases and heavy reliance on agriculture and natural resources. Protecting poor and vulnerable small scale producers from the negative impacts of climate risks is an imperative in order to reach FAO’s strategic objectives and achieve Sustainable development goal one and two. Managing [...]

This report summarizes the state of biodiversity for food and agriculture in Near East and North Africa based on the information provided in country reports submitted to FAO as part of the reporting process for The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.  

This publication brings together FAO’s current data on climate change and proposes actions to promote sustainable agriculture and food security, including tools and methodologies to support countries’ climate commitments and action plans. Also available in Spanish and Mandarin.

This policy guide is drawn from the results of the FAO Project “Strengthening Agricultural Water Efficiency and Productivity at the African and Global Level” funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation (SDC). The long term vision of the project was that the in-country findings and processes which are of common nature can be synthesized and scaled up to other countries in a regional cooperation process and globally. This will eventually lead to the increase of investment in Agricultural Water Management (AWM) in the targeted countries – and beyond – that is socially equitable, profitable at the farm level, [...]