Publications
The State of the World
FAO’s State of the World collection comprises the Organization’s flagship reports. Published annually or biennially, these are data-rich and analytically complex publications: they provide a global snapshot of topics associated with food and agriculture.
The collection is increasingly structured to gauge progress towards the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is aimed at policymakers; donors; international organizations; academia; and journalists and researchers specializing in food security, agrifood systems, the environment and international development.
The State of Food and Agriculture
Addressing land degradation across landholding scales
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
Addressing high food price inflation for food security and nutrition
The State of the World’s Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture
The potential to produce more and better
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets
Trade, resilience and food security: Global food markets under stress
The State of the World's Forests
Forest pathways for green recovery
The State of Fisheries and Aquaculture
Blue Transformation in action
Recent Publications
Hunger Hotspots FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity
03/2021
The FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots report is a forward-looking, early-warning analysis of countries and situations, called hotspots, where acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate over the coming months. These hotspots are identified through a consensus-based analysis of key drivers of food insecurity, and their likely combination and evolution across countries and regions. Looking at the outlook period of March–July 2021, there are 20 countries and situations where there is a likelihood of further deterioration...
The impact of disasters and crises on agriculture and food security: 2021
03/2021
On top of a decade of exacerbated disaster loss, exceptional global heat, retreating ice and rising sea levels, humanity and our food security face a range of new and unprecedented hazards, such as megafires, extreme weather events, desert locust swarms of magnitudes previously unseen, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Agriculture underpins the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people – most of them in low-income developing countries – and remains a key driver of development. At...
Illuminating Hidden Harvests Brief
03/2021
This brief provides an update on the status of the study and shares emerging insights on the need for better data collection and analysis, and additional monitoring capacity to improve our collective understanding of small-scale fisheries. This is critical to increasing government attention and improving policy responses and outcomes for the sector.
FAO and TNC present Nature-based Solutions in Agriculture
02/2021
In three new reports, FAO and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) share the potential of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in agriculture to deliver nutrition for people worldwide while restoring nature and the climate - contributing to multiple imperatives of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Here are three things to know about the science, policy and finance that can help producers around the globe lead the transition to a regenerative, or nature-positive, food system.
Local government planning for community food systems - Opportunity, innovation, and equity in low- and middle-income countrie
02/2021
Over the last couple of decades, local governments have started taking action to address food system challenges. This publication introduces a new knowledge base for understanding food planning and governance processes and models in local governments of low- and middle-income countries, a valuable counterbalance to the prevailing literature and experience from high-income countries.
State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity
12/2020
This report is the result of an inclusive process involving more than 300 scientists from around the world under the auspices of the FAO’s Global Soil Partnership and its Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative, and the European Commission. It presents concisely the state of knowledge on soil biodiversity, the threats to it, and the solutions that soil biodiversity can provide to problems in different...
The State of Food and Agriculture 2020
11/2020
The State of Food and Agriculture 2020 presents new estimates on the pervasiveness of water scarcity in irrigated agriculture and of water shortages in rainfed agriculture, as well as on the number of people affected. It finds major differences across countries, and also substantial spatial variation within countries. This evidence informs a discussion of how countries may determine appropriate policies and interventions, depending on the nature and magnitude of the problem, but also on...
Forest Products Annual Market Review 2019-2020
11/2020
The Forest Products Annual Market Review, 2019-2020 provides general and statistical information on forest products markets in 2019 and early 2020 in the UN Economic Commission for Europe region (North America; Europe; and the Eastern Europe, Caucuses and Central Asian subregion), as well as market influences from outside the UNECE region. In addition, this year's publication includes production forests for 2020 and 2021.
FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors
10/2020
The FAO strategy on mainstreaming biodiversity was approved at the FAO Conference in 2019, in view of preparations for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The Strategy aims to mainstream biodiversity across agricultural sectors at national, regional and international levels in a structured and coherent manner, taking into account national priorities, needs, regulations and policies and country programming frameworks.
World Food and Agriculture - Statistical Yearbook 2020
10/2020
This publication offers a synthesis of the major factors at play in the global food and agricultural landscape. Statistics are presented in four thematic chapters, covering the economic importance of agricultural activities, inputs, outputs and factors of production, their implications for food security and nutrition and their impacts on the environment.
FAO at 75 - Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together
10/2020
Seventy-five years down the line, FAO’s name, ambition, and spirit remain: everything else has changed, and will change further. Born in 1945 amid the idealism of post-war reconstruction, FAO sets out to increase farm output around the world and make famines a thing of the past. Over the subsequent 75 years, FAO’s outlook and body of work acquire new environmental and sustainability dimensions.
State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020
09/2020
This edition of the State of Agricultural Commodity Markets focuses on how markets can bring us closer to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SOCO 2020 offers a detailed analysis of the major global trends in agri-food markets and trade to identify how to reap economic, environmental and social gains and spur overall development. The report makes an important contribution to the debate on how well-functioning markets can contribute to inclusive economic growth...
Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020
07/2020
FAO completed its first assessment of the world’s forest resources in 1948. At that time, its major objective was to collect information on available timber supply to satisfy post-war reconstruction demand. Since then, the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) has evolved into a comprehensive evaluation of forest resources and their condition, management and uses, covering all the thematic elements of sustainable forest management. This, the latest of these assessments, examines the status of, and trends...
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report 2020
07/2020
Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look...
State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020
06/2020
The 2020 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture has a particular focus on sustainability. This reflects a number of specific considerations. First, 2020 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (the Code). Second, several Sustainable Development Goal indicators mature in 2020. Third, FAO hosted the International Symposium on Fisheries Sustainability in late 2019, and fourth, 2020 sees the finalization of specific
Strengthening food security through innovative aquaculture management
05/2020
Joining hands in partnership since 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Mississippi State University (MSU) are collaborating to exchange resources, expertise, experience and knowledge to improve food and nutrition security and alleviate poverty through sustainable aquaculture development efforts.
The State of the World’s Forests 2020
05/2020
The State of the World’s Forests 2020 assesses progress to date in meeting global targets and goals related to forest biodiversity and examines the effectiveness of policies, actions and approaches, in terms of both conservation and sustainable development outcomes. A series of case studies provide examples of innovative practices that combine conservation and sustainable use of forest biodiversity to create balanced solutions for both people and the planet.
2020 Global Report on Food Crises
04/2020
The 2020 Global Report on Food Crises indicates that at the close of 2019, 135 million people across 55 countries and territories experienced acute food insecurity (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above). The Global Report on Food Crises is the flagship publication of the Global Network against Food Crises and is facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). The Report is the result of a consensus-based and multi-partner analytical process involving 16 international humanitarian and development partners.
FAO + Canada | Building resilience and women’s empowerment for food security and nutrition
04/2020
Since 1945, Canada and FAO have worked together towards finding solutions to many of the most pressing problems of our time, and tested new ways of delivering support to those most in need. Through total contributions of CAD 71 million1 (USD 53.5 million) between 2018 and 2019, Canada has enabled FAO to reach vulnerable populations in crisis-affected areas, while contributing to rural transformation through investments in agricultural productivity and livelihood opportunities.
FAO + USA | Enhancing food security. Protecting global stability. Promoting trade.
04/2020
FAO and the United States of America (USA) have partnered closely over the past 75 years on efforts to end hunger and malnutrition around the world. The USA is the largest financial contributor to FAO's budget — with almost USD 527 million through assessed and voluntary contributions in the 2018–2019 period — and a key partner collaborating with FAO across the food and agriculture sector, from global crop forecasting and food safety, to disaster...