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In developing and emerging contexts, youth of all ages and backgrounds face substantial and multidimensional challenges when seeking to access the financial services they need to take adequate care of several aspects of their personal and professional lives. These barriers to financial inclusion represent a core development constraint that limits the capability of the youth to unlock their true potential as entrepreneurs, business innovators, and – ultimately – as agents of growth and change in developing contexts. From the perspective of a financial inclusion practitioner, the ability to assess these barriers with insight and precision – as well as being able [...]

The aim of this publication is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of agricultural financing for youth in developing and emerging countries, underlining the trends, core challenges, opportunities, innovative solutions and initiatives associated with this undertaking. The study makes use of the latest and most relevant literature on youth finance, while also relying extensively on insights and case studies that have emerged during the development of a series of FAO country-level assessments on the state of agricultural finance for youth. Building on the analysis of this data and experience, the study aims to provide a range of recommendations and [...]

This report aims to highlight the current strengths of the institutional disaster risk reduction (DRR) system for agriculture in Uzbekistan as well as indicate existing gaps and capacity needs to further enhance it. A comprehensive assessment is conducted, which includes a general overview of the country’s agricultural sector and outlines the most frequent natural hazards that are impacting the sector. It is followed by an analysis of the existing legal, policy and institutional structure and discusses various components of the system, including the functioning of early warning systems, assessments of disaster risks, post-disaster needs assessments, including damages and losses assessments and the [...]

Trees in dryland forests and wooded areas provide key ecosystem services such as animal feed, timber, fruits and, regulation of soil and water cycles. Equally, the presence of livestock in dryland woody areas can also play an important role in the local ecosystem; not only are they a source of income for local communities, but they also help vegetation and mobilise stored biomass. When both of these ecosystem elements are wisely combined – livestock and trees – it creates an integrated agricultural system that can boost the local ecosystem, representing a welcome agro-ecological transition in livestock farming. The ‘Grazing with [...]

Mobility is a vital strategy employed by pastoralists to capitalize on the scarce availability of resources in variable environments, making pastoralism economically feasible and environmentally sustainable. Through mobility, pastoralists can produce animal-sourced products that provide food and income security to populations in the world’s rangelands. Such a practice also provides a range of benefits to the environment while fostering the capacity to adapt to changing social and natural environments. With a few exceptions, policies have largely not kept up with new scholarship and development discourse that acknowledges the importance of mobility to pastoralism. There is a lag in and resistance to [...]

In line with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT), public and private investments globally are increasingly recognising responsible land governance as a determinant for the success and sustainability of their achievements. Investment managers understand that preventing and mitigating tenure related issues is a necessary step to achieve their objectives. While a wide range of tools, community-based participatory approaches, and technologies are available to help clarify, protect and secure tenure rights, navigating this landscape requires expertise which is often not available to investment projects. This guide provides readers with a basic understanding of the functional linkages between [...]

This document aims to provide guidance for government officials in: Defining surveillance objectives Establishing ASF-related case definition and reporting criteria Providing examples of potential ASF surveillance methods Identifying various crucial factors in consideration of a surveillance system Evaluating a surveillance system Since its incursion to Asia and the Pacific region, African swine fever (ASF) has shown impacts on food security and economics as the virus is expanding towards more areas and countries in the region. As the disease continues to expand into new territories, preparedness and control activities need to be constantly adjusted to adapt to situations observed in the field that may be contrary to [...]

This report provides an overview of the potential use of wood residues as feedstock for bioenergy production as part of the transition towards a sustainable and circular forest bioeconomy. While data and examples are abundant from developed countries, a specific focus will be put on the role and potential of wood residue-based energy in developing countries. The study is structured around the following four main objectives, each corresponding to a chapter: - define key terms and concepts related to wood residues and bioenergy value chains (Chapter 2); - characterize the status and trends in renewable energy, modern bioenergy and the forest-based bioeconomy and [...]

Produced jointly by the secretariats of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with contributions from multiple stakeholders, this technical guide addresses the integration of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) within the implementation of the UNCCD and Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), thus opening a new chapter in ongoing efforts to combat desertification, land degradation, and drought. The guide outlines the practical applications of the VGGT – an internationally recognized framework on the [...]

This document presents the methodology used to build the EX-Ante Carbon Balance Tool version 9 (EX-ACT). It describes in detail the main logic behind the tool, the tool structure, and the underlying equations and parameters used to calculate the carbon balance. EX-ACT is a land-use-based accounting system developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to evaluate the effects of the interventions in agriculture on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon stock changes expressed as carbon balance. The carbon balance comprises changes in GHG emissions and carbon stock changes in the five quantifiable carbon pools: above-ground [...]