FAO, IFAD and national governments are supporting family farmers from West and Central Africa to adapt small-scale irrigation systems to climate change to be more resilient. A survey was carried out among 691 households in 21 sites in this region, to assess how farmers are coping with climate change.

Land and other natural resources in many developing countries remain a fundamental part of people’s cultural identity, social relations, livelihood strategies and economic well-being. However, great setbacks are still experienced in terms of tenure security, natural resources governance and territorial/landscape development because of existing inequality between men and women in...

Few countries have the natural and financial resources to further enhance water supplies for human use. The alternative is to use the available resources more efficiently. The global indicator on water-use efficiency tracks to what extent a country’s economic growth is dependent on the use of water resources, and enables...

A concrete set of evidence-based recommendations and tools to prioritize and plan water interventions to support smallholder farmers was presented by FAO during the final project workshop “More effective and sustainable investments in water for poverty reduction in Africa” held at headquarters from 28 until 29 June. The project used an...

FAO is one of 32 members of UN-Water, a mechanism which coordinates the efforts of UN entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues. In August 2018, FAO Land and Water Division Deputy Director Olcay Ünver was appointed Vice-Chair of UN-Water. In this interview he explains what he...

“Planning for transition and sustainable development: A group of 15 Syrian experts are in FAO headquarters for a two-weeks training on natural resources assessment,” Eduardo Mansur, Director, CBL, commented referring to the training that came to a close last week. On 3-14 September, Syrian experts from different ministries and organizations,...

The Middle East and North Africa is the world's most water-scarce region and the situation is worsening due to the impacts of conflict, climate change and economic downturn. The water crisis threatens the region’s stability as well as its human development and sustainable growth.  Pasquale Steduto is FAO’s Delivery Manager for...

Organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), the World Water Week (WWW) is the annual focal point for the globe’s water issues. It focuses on new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world's environment, health, climate, economic and poverty reduction. This year, it...

Improving the health of the world's soils is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including Zero Hunger and combating climate change and its impacts, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, today told participants of the World Congress of Soil Science. In a video message to the event, which is being...

The 21st World Congress of Soil Science (WCSS) will take place next 12 – 17 August 2018 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with the theme “SOIL SCIENCE: Beyond food...