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The State of Land and Water Resources (SOLAW) in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is part of a FAO flagship series launched in 2011. Being one of the most land and water scarce region in the world, the preservation of land and water resources is of critical importance to ensure food security and address the increased food demand. The publication aims at providing policy makers, institutions and other stakeholders a comprehensive overview of the current situation for land and water and the effect of climate change and urbanization on food production facilitating informed decision-making. The report provides [...]

The In Brief version of the FAO flagship publication, the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022, contains the key messages and main points from the publication and is aimed at the media, policy makers and a more general public.The following complementary information is available:See the interactive storyRead the full report

This year’s report should dispel any lingering doubts that the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. We are now only eight years away from 2030, but the distance to reach many of the SDG 2 targets is growing wider each year. There are indeed efforts to make progress towards SDG 2, yet they are proving insufficient in the face of a more challenging and uncertain context. The intensification of the major drivers behind recent food insecurity and malnutrition trends (i.e. conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks) combined with [...]

This Global Plan of Action for the Conservation, Sustainable Use and Development of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GPA) was developed by FAO at the request of the members of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in response to the needs and challenges identified in the first global assessment of the status of Aquatic Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (AqGR). It was developed following broad consultation with the regions and, following endorsement by the Commission, was formally adopted by FAO members at the 168th session of the FAO Council. The GPA is voluntary and [...]

By 2050, the world needs to produce an estimated 50 percent more food than in 2012 to ensure global food security, and it must do so while conserving and enhancing the natural resource base. Water is a major input and environmental condition in the provision of food – from production in the field through all the steps in the supply chain. Water is also required to meet personal and household needs, for energy and industrial production, and to maintain important water-dependent ecosystems and their services. With demand and competition for water on the rise, however, the planet’s water resources are under unprecedented stress due to [...]

The MedBycatch project works on improving knowledge, providing skills, tools and means towards the reduction of incidental catch of vulnerable species in the Mediterranean, with particular focus in Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy and Croatia. The on-the-ground activities aim at implementing standardised data collection and testing mitigation measures towards effectively reducing single and multi-taxa bycatch, induced by trawls, longlines, gillnets and purse seines, through a collaboration approach between national fisheries institutes, local NGOs and fishers and fishing associations. The project plans to leverage change within all the coastal Mediterranean countries on the issue of incidental catch of vulnerable species, including through communication [...]

The report uses a nutritional water productivity (NWP) framework to interpret the relationship between nutrition and water in the context of water challenges. It argues that higher yields – of both staple and nutritious crops – are possible, even in water-stressed areas. This will require an agricultural transformation that ensures that efforts to enhance water productivity are linked to the promotion of healthy diets.Increasing water productivity and stabilizing yields at realistic levels will also be crucial to increasing the resilience of farmers. Better coordination and timing of water and other inputs, notably fertilizers and improved seeds, is likely to enhance [...]

تفرض تلبية الطلب المتزايد على الغذاء ضغوطًا على الموارد من المياه والأراضي والتربة في العالم. وللزراعة دورها في تخفيف هذه الضغوط والمساهمة بشكل إيجابي في تحقيق أهداف المناخ والتنمية. ومن الممكن أن تؤدي الممارسات الزراعية المستدامة إلى تحسينات مباشرة في حالة الأراضي والتربة والمياه، وإلى توليد فوائد على مستوى النظام الإيكولوجي، فضلًا عن الحد من الانبعاثات الناتجة عن الأراضي. ويتطلب تحقيق كل هذه الأمور معلومات دقيقة وتغييرًا كبيرًا في كيفية إدارتنا للموارد. كما يتطلب بذل جهود مكمّلة من خارج مجال إدارة الموارد الطبيعية من أجل زيادة أوجه التآزر إلى أقصى حد وإدارة المقايضات. ويتمثل الهدف من تقرير حالة الموارد من الأراضي [...]

Food system demands have increased exponentially in recent decades and are estimated to continue growing as global populations increase and economic affluence expands. However, the very foundation of a productive system – healthy lands and soils and clean water supply – is already under immense pressure. In fact, by the most credible estimates, up to 52% of global agricultural lands are now moderately to severely degraded, with millions of hectares per year degrading to the point they are abandoned by the land manager. The loss of productive land, coupled with increased food demand, pushes agriculture to be the primary driver [...]

This document was prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and inputs from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as an input for the discussions of the 2020 G20 Saudi Presidency.