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The Food Systems Dashboard combines data from multiple sources to give users a complete view of food systems. Users can compare components of food systems across countries and regions. They can also identify and prioritize ways to sustainably improve diets and nutrition in their food systems.Dashboards are useful tools that help users visualize and understand key information for complex systems. Users can track progress to see if policies or other interventions are working at a country or regional levelIn recent years, the public health and nutrition communities have used dashboards to track the progress of health goals and interventions, including [...]

Since the declaration by WHO of the COVID-19 as a Global Pandemic on 15 March, governments of the Near East and North Africa region have imposed a series of measures to slow down the spread of the disease. This policy brief aims at summarizing the potential impacts of COVID-19 and associated measures on agriculture and food security in the region and proposes measures to mitigate the impacts on food security and nutrition with special attention to the most vulnerable segments of societies. Ample food supplies exist globally despite COVID-19’s impacts. COVID-19 has considerably disrupted the world supply chains around the world [...]

The past few decades have seen dramatic improvements in the region in access to food, reduction in stunting rates, in premature death and disability caused by communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases. However, the gains in the fight against hunger and malnutrition have reversed in the wake of conflicts and violence that have spread in many parts of the region in the last decade. Today, nearly 55 million people in the Arab States, 13.2 percent of the population, are hungry and the situation is particularly worrying in countries affected by conflicts and violence: Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen. Displacements [...]

The video animation showcases the work FAO is carrying out on Nutrition and Food Systems policies and programmes. FAO provides technical assistance to Member States and relevant partners to improve the capacity of key regional and country stakeholders as well as platforms to advocate, design, implement, support, and evaluate policies, programmes and investments that shape food systems towards achieving Zero Hunger and eradicating all forms of malnutrition through sustainable and healthy diets.

This edition addresses the risks threatening international agrifood trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. In the previous issue we reviewed the lessons learned by those who have had to manage disasters. We presented a methodology for analysing and managing the crisis in food systems from a disaster risk reduction perspective. For this new edition, we set out to identify the threats and risks affecting international agrifood trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. We know that, once we manage to identify the risks —threats and vulnerabilities— faced by the countries, it is easier for planners, and consequently for decision-makers, to [...]

In this new issue of the bulletin, we analyse health risks to people involved in the food system value chain – from workers to consumers – due to the COVID-19 crisis. Implementing measures to keep workers and consumers from contracting COVID-19 is not enough. It is also imperative to maintain high safety standards in order to keep the spread of foodborne diseases under control and thus prevent them from becoming yet another public health problem.

  Covid-19 is triggering chain reactions challenges in many sectors, including when it comes to food loss and food waste. Between the measures adopted by government to fight the virus, and the initial individual reactions of panic, more precious food is at risk of begin lost from production to consumer, or wasted by retailers or families, if proper measures and practices are not adopted immediately. This is particularly crucial for fresh produce like fruits and vegetables that are of paramount importance for heatlhy diets that support good health. On another hand, food waste reduction stakeholders such as food banks will and [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a substantial risk to agricultural input supply chains. It can detrimentally affect access to and availability of inputs, including seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as labour. As such, disruptions to the supply and demand of inputs will have diverse impacts across and within countries and will need to be reflected in different policy responses depending on the context. This brief presents the policy implications to be considered given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on agricultural input markets and it outlines policy recommendations to mitigate short- and long-run impacts.   

Across the world the COVID-19 crisis is compromising agri-enterprises’ ability to continue business as usual and, in some cases, is threatening the survival of some firms beyond the crisis, particularly small businesses comprised of farm enterprises, traders, food manufacturers, distributors and retailers across food chains. The brief highlights the critical role that these companies play in maintaining functioning food systems during the crisis. Recommendations target a mix of ministries, public institutions, food industry associations, local business service providers and chambers of commerce. Also available in Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, French and Russian.

This topic addresses the resilience of agricultural livelihoods and the food system to COVID-19. Lessons learned by those who have had to manage disasters indicate that it is critical to understand, monitor, and anticipate the impacts of crises on agriculture and agricultural livelihoods early on. Timely and accurate monitoring enables evidence-based policy decisions to be made; acting in advance enables unwanted impacts on food security and nutrition to be avoided. Managing this crisis requires a targeted and concrete — yet holistic — approach focused on ensuring availability, and stabilizing access to food. Also available in Spanish.