FAO.org

Poor rural people are often excluded from markets and do not benefit from tailored technologies and rural advisory services. These constraints lower their agricultural productivity, perpetuating poverty and hunger. To achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, agriculture needs to become more inclusive, sustainable and productive. FAO helps countries meet the goals of eradicating poverty and hunger by helping poor rural households to better benefit from agricultural advances, increasing their yields and income generating opportunities.To do so, FAO promotes investments in agriculture, including livestock, fisheries and forestry, and supports the design of rural development strategies and programmes that address the [...]

The RuMiT (Rural Migration in Tunisia) research addresses the determinants of migration and mobility, the patterns and types of rural youth outmigration and the impact of rural youth migration on rural livelihoods and societies in origin regions in Tunisia. The research used a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods, providing comparative insights into: international and internal migrants and non-migrants; pre- and post-2011 migrants; households with and without migrants.  Main results show that migrants from rural areas are increasingly highly educated and leaving to pursue their studies abroad. This particularly applies to women, who also register a decrease in marriage-related migration. [...]

This manual is designed for a four-day training course on climate-smart agriculture that would take the learner from the basics of climate science to the impacts of climate change and the linkages among climate, agriculture and food security. It contains four modules, each addressing a particular aspect and consisting of several sessions that are held either in plenary, as one group, or in smaller work groups. The content and structure of this manual has been developed and tested through fieldwork involving extension agents and agricultural producers in Zambia, Malawi and Viet Nam.  

Value chain development is an important paradigm in development practice and thinking, including within FAO. However, gender equality dimensions remain often overlooked in value chain development interventions, with the risk of perpetuating existing gender inequalities and, in turn, undermining the efficiency of targeted value chains. The publications intends to provide practitioners with a conceptual framework on how to develop agri-food value chains which provide women and men with equal opportunities to participate and benefit from value chain development. The purpose of the publication is to contribute to the publication on Developing sustainable food value chains - Guiding principles (FAO, 2014) from a [...]

This report provides an analysis of various dimensions of the resilience capacity of Mauritanian households. The results of the RIMA analysis (Resilience Index Measurement Analysis) provide evidence to demonstrate the factors that enable certain households to overcome shocks and other sources of stress better than others. The report discusses the results of the RIMA analysis according to households’ place of residence, livelihoods, the gender of the household head, and food security status, as well as the impact of shocks on the resilience capacity of households and subjective resilience capacity. The objective of the analysis is to inform the Mauritanian government [...]

Agriculture has traditionally been the backbone of Swaziland’s economy but has experienced severe decline. Its contribution to GDP has decreased gradually over the last two decades due to a number of factors, including recurring drought, chronic underinvestment and the impact of HIV and AIDS. Despite this, agriculture-based products account for around 75 percent of the country’s total export revenues. With key extension officers lacking the skills to disseminate nutrition and gender-sensitive agricultural technologies and practices, the project sought to strengthen national capacities through the establishment of Farmer Field Schools, with farmer representatives trained as facilitators in order to support on-the-ground [...]

The result of this online consultation will feed on-going FAO projects with ideas on how to attract migrants to invest their remittances into the agricultural sector and to improve their families’ nutrition, advocate sustainable modules with the governments for increased food security and help inform recommendations of the FAO regional plans in the future.

This brochure presents the key findings and recommendations of the study entitled “the Regional Outlook on Gender and Agri-food Systems,” which was jointly conducted by the FAO and the African Union Commission. The brochure describes gender gaps in (i) access to and control over productive resources and opportunities, (ii) influence and collective capacity, and (iii) agricultural policies, investment and rural context. Additional analysis on progress and good practices across countries in Africa informed the brochure further to provide recommendations and next steps to move from commitments to collective actions. Also available in French. 

This brochure provides an overview of FAO's work on Rural Institutions, Services and Empowerment, notably in regard to the challenges and ways forward for tackling hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity from social, territorial, financial and institutional perspectives. FAO's work in these areas aims to unlock the development potential of rural areas, reduce inequalities, promote inclusive finance and advisory service systems and contribute to socio-economic empowerment of rural women and men. 

The government of Haiti has attempted in recent years to increase the efficiency in agricultural support measures, partly reforming the input subsidy programme, and modernising land registration systems and zoo-phytosanitary measures. Extreme poverty has fallen from 31 to 24 percent over the last decade, especially in urban areas. However, vulnerable sectors of the population continue to have limited access to public support. Main social protection programmes reviewed were cash transfers and school feeding, sustainability, targeting, and coverage remain as challenges See all FAPDA country fact sheets.