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28 January 2021, Côte d'Ivoire - In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Republic of Korea is aiming to raise awareness about how South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) can strengthen rice value chains, thus supporting farmers’ livelihoods. Key actors of the rice value chain, such as established representatives from government institutions, academia, development partners, as well as representatives from the private sector, joined forces at a one day inception workshop in Côte d'Ivoire, to discuss the new SSTC project: “Capacity Development and Experience sharing for Rice Value Chains through South-South and Triangular Cooperation” funded by the Republic of Korea.  “We expect that...

AO Director for Emergencies and Resilience, Dominique Burgeon and FAO Brussels Director Rodrigo de Lapuerta met with Belgian Director for Humanitarian Aid Transition, Erik de Maeyer and his team. Together, they reviewed the strong cooperation between the Kingdom of Belgium and FAO including Belgium’s support to anticipatory action, through the FAO Special Fund for Emergency Activities (SFERA) and the joint response to COVID-19 impacts and to the desert locust outbreak.

South–South Cooperation (SSC) is the mutual sharing and exchange of development solutions between developing countries, including knowledge, experiences and good practices, policies, technology and resources. The project in Uganda (Phases I and II) under the FAO-China SSC Programme is among the Programme’s longest and most successful collaborations. The publication Voices from the field: Personal stories from the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Project in the Republic of Uganda, contains the personal stories of some of the project participants, beneficiaries, and stakeholders. Their stories highlight the personal and community-level effects that the project has created. Their stories will also...

FAO hosted the virtual Resource Partner Strategic Dialogue of the Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM) on 27 November 2020. All eight contributing FMM Resource Partners were represented at the meeting, including: Belgium, Flanders, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.

Globally there are estimated 1.21 billion people aged between 15 and 24, a number that will increase to 1.29 billion by 2030. In Africa only, more than 10 million young people are expected to enter the labour market every year for the next decade. This growing youth population, especially in developing countries, represents a great opportunity for harnessing a demographic dividend, but also economic and social challenges, which could lead to political instability or conflict. With the COVID-19 crisis exacerbating existing vulnerabilities of rural young women and men and inequalities, it is crucial to design inclusive...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed the recent decision by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council to approve 13 FAO-led projects in 16 countries, totaling some $78.5 million dollars. The decision came during the 59th GEF Council Meeting and will build upon its June 2020 decision to approve $176 million for FAO-led projects.

A city-to city cooperation project for the exchange of knowledge and experiences on food waste reduction at urban level. Food management all along the value chain, from cultivation to food waste disposal, is central to safeguarding food security and responding to environmental concerns.  In 2019, FAO launched its Framework for the Urban Food Agenda which called for a multisector and multi-stakeholder approach for leveraging sub-national and local government action to ensure sustainable food systems and improved nutrition. In line with this framework, the project “Exchange of knowledge and experiences between Milan Municipality (Italy), Nairobi City County (Kenya) and Kigali (Rwanda) for the design...

FAO, together with its sister-agencies the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) discussed a transition towards sustainable agri-food systems and support to African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the ACP Working Party of the Council of the European Union upon invitation of the German Council presidency.

Rome - Family farming has the potential to lead the world in a transformation towards more sustainable, healthy and nutritious food and agricultural systems. In a world where hunger and malnutrition are on the rise, family farming can be part of the solution. However, this will require sound policies, investments and institutional frameworks that adequately support family farmers.   Building an enabling environment for family farmers means that there are adequate resources in place, and that governance and institutional arrangements are effective and inclusive. Parliamentarians, with their legislative, budgetary and oversight responsibilities, are uniquely positioned to contribute to the...

ncreasing investment in agriculture and, more importantly, improving the quality of investment so that it benefits those most in need, is one of the most effective strategies for reducing hunger and poverty, and it is crucial to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol, FAO Director for Partnerships and UN Collaboration Marcella Villarreal, and FAO Director in Brussels Rodrigo de Lapuerta, were joined by Members of the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition, European Commission representatives, the German Council presidency and partners to discuss how investment can contribute to sustainable and inclusive development.