The state of the world’s land and water resources for food and agriculture: Systems at breaking point (SOLAW 2021)” Synthesis Report comes at a time when human pressures on the systems of land, soils and fresh water are intensifying, just when they are being pushed to their productive limits. The impacts of climate change are already constraining rainfed and irrigated production over and above the environmental consequences resulting from decades of unsustainable use.

FAO is deeply concerned about the food security situation in Ukraine. The war that began on 24 February 2022 has caused extensive damage and loss of life in key population centres, spread across rural areas, and sparked massive displacement. It is clear that the war has resulted in a massive, and deteriorating, food security challenge. It has already significantly disrupted livelihoods during the agricultural growing season, through physical access constraints and damage to homes, productive assets, agricultural land, roads, and other civilian infrastructure. It is uncertain whether Ukraine will be able to harvest existing crops, plant new ones or sustain livestock production as the conflict evolves. As insecurity persists, and both local and national supply chains are disrupted, people are likely to fall deeper into emergency levels of hunger and malnutrition. Noting that the immediate food security dimension of this conflict is related to food access and not food availability, agricultural production must be allowed to resume immediately and safely to avoid further potential impact on food security in Ukraine – and beyond – in the coming days, weeks and months.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is extremely concerned about the effects of the war on lives and livelihoods in Ukraine. The war has already caused extensive loss of life and damage to infrastructure, and the situation remains extremely volatile, with likely significant impacts on food security and agricultural livelihoods. FAO is staying and delivering, and has reinforced its team in Ukraine. About 10 percent of the USD 50 million requested by FAO under the Rapid Response Plan for Ukraine has been received to date. Funds received so far will enable FAO to assist 23 000 vulnerable rural men and women farmers around Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia. If more resources are made available now, FAO will be able to increase the number of rural people assisted this spring season.

Sub-Saharan Africa is uniquely positioned significantly increase its current agricultural productivity to lift the region’s more than 400 million people out of extreme poverty and improve the livelihood of approximately 250 million smallholder farmers and pastoralists in the region. To achieve that, substantive digital transformation of the agriculture sector is required through improved infrastructure and increased access to and use of digital technologies for agriculture. To improve the current understanding of sub-Saharan Africa’s digital agriculture landscape, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) undertook this study in 47 countries. The report is composed of 47 desk-based country case studies against six thematic focal areas, the aim of which is to present a snapshot of the status of digital agriculture in each country. This is followed by highlights of the main findings of the analysis of the country profiles with suggested steps for future action. The findings of the study are presented to FAO and ITU Member States, as well as all relevant stakeholders with the purpose of advancing and supporting investment in digital transformation of the agricultural sector in sub-Saharan Africa.  

Reducing rural poverty is a key objective of FAO. To achieve this goal, the Organization must reach the poor and the extremely poor in rural areas, analysing their needs and aspirations and providing effective guidance for the design of policies and investments that foster inclusive and sustainable development.This guide was developed to strengthen the Organization’s work on rural poverty reduction and inclusivity over the coming years. It provides key information to measure poverty, characterize rural populations, and identify their constraints to target them more accurately.The guide includes five chapters. Chapter 1 explains the structure, content, and use of the guide, as well as its intended users and objectives. Chapter 2 discusses how poverty is measured, focusing on the different indicators that can be used, depending on the context, specific circumstances, data availability and policy objectives. Chapter 3 provides guidance on how to build a poverty profile and produce poverty maps to understand who the poor are and where they are located. Chapter 4 focuses on the targeting process, on various targeting techniques and on how to choose one over another to ensure that programmes and projects effectively combat poverty, particularly in rural areas. Finally, Chapter 5 sets the next steps for the development of further analytical guides.The various chapters provide an overview of both widely used and emerging techniques in poverty analysis, focusing on quantitative methods, and giving constant attention to FAO’s areas of work and the challenges posed by operating in rural areas.