FAO promotes faster, more effective humanitarian action by shifting from response to anticipation.

Anticipatory action is changing the way we manage disasters. Acting ahead of disasters means protecting people’s lives and livelihoods with benefits that reach far into the future.

Disasters can be anticipated. Thanks to technological advances, early warning information is more accurate and readily available than ever before. FAO uses risk analysis and hazard forecasts to trigger interventions before a shock translates into a humanitarian emergency. This is particularly critical in the agriculture sector. For small-scale farmers, heeding early warning signals can make the difference between a shock and a crisis. A farmer who loses seeds can lose an entire growing season. A pastoralist who loses livestock can lose a family’s main source of food and income. Once these productive assets are gone, rebuilding them can take years.

Anticipatory action delivers assistance before a forecast hazard becomes a disaster, helping protect lives, livelihoods, food security and the assets on which people depend. That is why FAO has made anticipatory action a core component of its emergency and resilience work.

The table below presents FAO’s anticipatory action interventions implemented during the current year, highlighting the countries where activations are taking place, the hazards that triggered them, the activities carried out and the resource partners that made them possible.

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