Guidelines to increase the resilience of agricultural supply chains

The agricultural commodity supply chain is a complex network that connects the production system with the consumer through a series of operations such as production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, retail and storage. At the same time, it connects companies that provide inputs such as seeds and fertilizers and producers. External shocks, such as natural disasters, conflicts and diseases, are a threat to the functioning of agricultural supply chains.

For example, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and agriculture disrupted agricultural supply chains and increased food insecurity by undermining the livelihoods and capacity to access food for millions of people. As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, considerable attention began to be paid to the resilience of agricultural supply chains in a time of crisis.

In an effort to provide evidence-based advice, and with support from the Japanese Government, FAO undertook research on the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and natural disasters on agricultural supply chains and markets and prepared guidelines for increasing the resilience of agricultural supply chains. The guidelines build on and complement The State of Food and Agriculture 2021 – Making agrifood systems more resilient to shocks and stresses, written within the context of the call for concrete actions made by the first United Nations Food Systems Summit in September 2021.