On the grounds of a primary school situated between the towns of Pwintbyu and Salin in Myanmar’s Magway Region, Maw Maw Hmwe runs a modest food stall where she sells her famous rice noodle salads. Each day, students and teachers stop by for a nourishing meal. This independent noodle shop...

The first days of 2026 have already shown that the global economic outlook remains uncertain. In rural areas, small-scale farmers and producers continue to face a lack of capital, climate shocks, regional fragility and limited access to markets. These rural areas also present one of the world’s greatest opportunities. Rural communities are key to global stability, underpinning food security, resilience and productivity – and IFAD’s investments demonstrate that they can become engines of economic growth.

This statistical briefing note examines the scale, characteristics and drivers of child labour in agriculture, drawing on the 2024 ILO–UNICEF Global Estimates. It shows that agriculture remains the sector employing the majority of children in child labour worldwide, with particularly high prevalence among younger children and in rural, low-income and...

Highlights We assess the differential effects of climate stressors on rural people based on their wealth, gender, and age using data from 24 countries. Poor and female-headed households lose significantly more of their income due to extreme weather than non-poor and male-headed households. Households headed by youth rely on off-farm income sources to...

This webinar, co-organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (the Climate Centre), the World Bank, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Universal Social Protection 2030 Working Group on Social Protection...

Organizations from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe that work with—or are formed by  — small farmers, Indigenous, and fishing communities gathered in Brazil to exchange experiences and, with traditional knowledge at the center, promote agroecology in their territories. What do the revival of ancestral foods in the western United States...

This study explores how generative AI (GAI) tools for agricultural extension can be designed and evaluated more responsibly. While current GAI systems offer scalable, personalized advice, they often ignore the lived realities of smallholder farmers—especially women—by relying on generic datasets and rigid evaluation metrics. We investigate three complementary methods: adversarial...

Food consumption generates substantial environmental externalities that remain insufficiently addressed by public policies. Here we explore the global environmental footprints induced by food consumption in the European Union (EU27) based on a multi-regional input–output model, and assess the potential of tax policies for mitigation. Using household expenditure data, we estimate...

Sustainable practices enhance productivity and resilience in northern Nigeria Factsheet on the project Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in the Savanna Zones of Northern Nigeria (GEF ID 9143) implemented by UNDP with GEF and co-financing.  Highlights include challenges, results, the approach, lessons learned, and future plans.

Organic agriculture is practised in more than 180 countries, and nearly 99 million hectares of agricultural land are managed organically by at least 4.8 million farmers.Global sales of organic food and drink reached almost 145 billion euros in 2025. The 27th edition of "The World of Organic Agriculture", published by the...

Despite growing up in Kakheti, a well-known wine region and the agricultural heart of Georgia, Sophio Khutitdze saw herself as a doctor. She was always drawn to the sciences with chemistry and biology being her favourite classes in high school. She even applied to medical school and took the national...

Integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) is a holistic approach aimed at nurturing soil fertility and agricultural productivity sustainably. Recognizing soil fertility as a dynamic and multifaceted system, ISFM acknowledges the interplay of diverse factors such as nutrient dynamics, organic matter content and soil structure and the symbiotic relationships between plants,...

Often hear people talk about the "bioeconomy' but you don't know what it is? Take a seat and relax, you've come to the right place. Welcome to Bioeconomy 101!

Women are central to agrifood systems, yet persistent gender inequalities continue to limit their access to agricultural extension, resources and decision-making. At a time when closing gender gaps could improve food security for 45 million people, these guidelines show how Farmer Field Schools (FFS) can move from gender-blind implementation to...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed the entry into force of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), and looks forward to...

This Legal Paper draws on existing frameworks such as the Codex Alimentarius, World Trade Organization agreements, and other agreements, to highlight gaps and challenges in regulating new food technologies. It also addresses the legal perspective on broader societal and ethical implications, particularly concerning sustainable development, human rights, and environmental sustainability....

The Highlights of science and innovation in FAO’s Work report was developed to illustrate the breadth and depth of science and innovation in FAO’s efforts. The FAO Science and Innovation Strategy is a key tool to support the implementation of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31. The report presents examples of...

Industrial farming practices are leaving harmful marks on India’s agricultural resources. 30% of the soils are degraded, groundwater is depleting fast, and biodiversity – specifically critical soil microbes, insects and birds – continues to disappear. Furthermore, these practices contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, rendering Indian food systems ever more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The resulting losses in production have pushed marginalised communities – in particular small farmers, women, and Indigenous...

Back in 2024, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) already highlighted – in the Global Land Outlook – that “current global food systems are among the main sources of land degradation. Globally, they are responsible for 80% of deforestation, 70% of freshwater use, and are the largest cause of terrestrial...

This handbook offers practical guidance to strengthen collaboration between labour and agrifood actors to prevent and eliminate child labour in agriculture. It addresses a key implementation gap by positioning child labour in agriculture as both a labour and rural development issue and promoting coordinated, cross-sectoral action on its structural causes....