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FAO's role in agrifood economics and policy

FAO’s vision for this priority area is to drive agrifood transformation by generating robust economic evidence, applying strategic foresight and translating insights into effective policy action. Through this work, FAO’s mission is to support countries in shaping policies and investments that strengthen food security and resilience, promote sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems, and foster inclusive development.

Agrifood systems are central to food security and nutrition, economic growth, environmental sustainability and rural development. Yet, their immense potential and contribution are jeopardized by current major global challenges: economic slowdowns and downturns, rising inequalities, weather extreme events, depleted natural resources and stagnating agricultural productivity. Making these systems more efficient, sustainable and resilient requires aligning private incentives with societal goals, while managing both current and future scarcity of natural, economic and fiscal resources. Economics exist to address these two essential questions and provide the tools to inform public policies. FAO supports countries navigating interconnected economic, social and environmental pressures by providing the evidence, analysis and policy expertise needed to inform decisions and drive positive change through effective policies and strategic investments.

Hosted at the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) – a global centre of excellence in agrifood economic analysis – this programme of work combines state-of-the-art economic modelling, advanced econometrics, foresight and innovative approaches from macroeconomics, microeconomics, agricultural, behavioural and experimental economics. We generate evidence to anticipate risks, evaluate trade-offs, and identify opportunities in the short and long term. Our work spans the macro level of national and global economies, the meso level of sectors, markets and value chains, and the micro level of households, firms and individuals. This multi-layer approach allows us to design policies and investments that strengthen resilience, accelerate sustainable transformation, and enable countries to address challenges such as climate change, market volatility and resource constraints, while unlocking opportunities – particularly the bioeconomy.

By turning evidence into policy action, FAO supports Members in addressing today's challenges and preparing for tomorrow's opportunities, helping to achieve better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all.

     

    Explore the five main areas of work below to learn more.

    food-security-and-nutrition
    Food security and nutrition, and resilience

    Bridging data and decisions to end hunger and build resilience

    foresight
    Strategic foresight and bioeconomy transformation

    Shaping agrifood futures through foresight, the FAO Global Roadmap and innovations in the bioeconomy

    policy-cycle
    Policy reform, intelligence, analysis, monitoring and evaluation

    Leveraging the policy cycle for sustainable and resilient agrifood systems transformation

    value-chains
    Investments for sustainable markets, agribusiness and rural transformation

    Connecting farmers, markets, consumers and investors with sustainable value chains

    knoweldge-innovation
    Knowledge and innovation for research in agrifood economics

    Mobilizing cutting edge methods and tools for understanding agrifood systems

    LATEST PUBLICATIONS

    A09041EN
    Optimizing public spending allocation to advance CAADP’s agricultural transformation agenda
    2026

    Sánchez, M.V., Cicowiez, M., Fontes, F.P. & Nakelse, T. 2026. Optimizing public spending allocation to advance CAADP’s agricultural transformation agenda. Food Policy, 144, 103201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2026.103201

    ce2059en
    Divide in the fields – A study of global agricultural land inequality
    2026

    This study introduces the Global Database of Land Distribution and Inequality (LINEQ), which integrates agricultural census, survey data, and Earth Observation-based proxies for land quality to provide a more nuanced and cross-country comparable measurement of land inequality.

    ce2170en
    How unequal is the global distribution of agricultural land?
    2026

    This brief draws on the Global Database of Land Distribution and Inequality (LINEQ) – a new harmonized dataset covering 177 countries across all decadal rounds of the FAO World Programme for the Census of Agriculture – to assess the levels, patterns, and drivers of agricultural land inequality globally and across regions.

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    EVENTS

    GeoField 2026 Convening

    Jul 21, 2026, 11:23
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    RELATED LINKS

    Contact

    David Laborde

    Director, Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA), FAO

    [email protected]

    PODCASTS

    The Work We Do: The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2026
    21/07/2026

    In this special episode, Chief Economist Maximo Torero and David Laborde, Director of the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division, unpack the key findings...

    Policy Recommendations to Prevent a Global Food Crisis | Hormuz Crisis 2026 | The Work We Do
    20/05/2026

    The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since February 28. As of May 18th, 2026, it remains shut. The chokehold on global energy and fertilizer...

    Can AI Feed the World? AI's Promise vs Reality in Global Food Systems
    26/03/2026

    As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes industries worldwide, its potential to transform food systems has become a central topic of discussion,...

    The Work We Do Special: Global Agrifood Implications of the 2026 Conflict in the Middle East
    17/03/2026

    Middle East is increasing risks for global energy, fertilizer, and agrifood systems. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical...

    The Work We Do - Ep1. How to Build Resilient Agrifood Systems. Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist
    10/02/2026

    In this first episode of The Work We Do, we speak with Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations....

    Achieving SDG 2 without breaching the 1.5 °C threshold: A global roadmap
    30/01/2024

    FAO launched at COP 28 in Dubai “Achieving SDG 2 without breaching...