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This policy brief summarizes the key findings and policy recommendations of the corresponding working paper Decoupling direct payments in North Macedonia – Impacts on farmer income. North Macedonia’s ambition to join the European Union requires reforms of the agricultural sector and subsidy system. One major reform is the alignment to the rules of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union on direct payments, including the “decoupling” of direct payments from production quantities. The decoupling of direct payments is likely to have significant impacts on production decisions, prices and therefore on farmer income. This paper identifies four possible scenarios [...]

Transformation of agrifood systems can only be achieved by strengthening and capitalizing on the knowledge, experience, skills, and capabilities for collective action of a broad range of public and private actors - each of whom brings distinctive interests, needs, resources, influence and capacities. “Governance” is the name for this multidimensional capability for effective and inclusive collective action at all levels. In many country contexts, it is the governance bottlenecks that lead to a gap between policy expectations and their outcomes on the ground. For example, a given policy intervention can make a lot of economic sense but if it is perceived [...]

Diverse foods derived from livestock production systems, including grazing and pastoralist systems, and from the hunting of wild animals, provide high-quality proteins, important fatty acids and various vitamins and minerals – contributing to healthy diets for improved nutrition and health. Livestock species are adapted to a wide range of environments, including areas that are unsuitable for crop production. Globally, more than a billion people depend on livestock value chains for their livelihoods. Small-scale livestock farmers and pastoralists make up a large proportion of livestock producers. Well integrated livestock production increases the resilience of small-scale farming systems. Livestock also provide other important [...]

As a contribution to the new FAO Green Cities programme, the Forestry Division has developed in close collaboration with the Regional Offices in Africa, Asia and the Near East a new global programme: the Green Urban Oases Programme. The overall objective of the programme is to turn dryland cities into “green urban oases” and strengthen their overall resilience to climatic, health, food and economic crisis, as well as to reduce the impact of urbanization on biodiversity and the surrounding natural environment. The present document is intended to be used to provide a solid background to the role of urban forests [...]

The Issue Brief includes an overview of global trends on forests, energy, and livelihoods, and related policy and research. It analyses the nexus and interlinkages of forests, energy, and livelihoods, including the contribution of forests and forest products to wood-based bioenergy. It considers measures to: i) address the negative impacts of bioenergy; ii) promote and ensure access to efficient and clean bioenergy; iii) reverse deforestation, forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change, and; iv) improve livelihoods, reduce poverty, and promote decent employment and health through a just transition. The Issue Brief also offers recommendations for integrated policies on forests, energy, [...]

The purpose of this Sourcebook is to provide advice on how to incorporate disaster risk reduction and resilience building into the watershed management process. As an increasingly heavier toll is exerted on agriculture and food systems by drought, floods, wildfires, and other extreme events, adopting risk reduction and management practices must become an integral part of watershed management. While the steps involved to incorporate resilience building are similar to those routinely carried out in integrated watershed management, this Sourcebook stresses the importance of understanding disaster and climate risks, adopting a landscape approach and targeting vulnerable groups (e.g. women, youth, indigenous [...]

The status of women in agrifood systems report uses extensive new data and analyses to provide a comprehensive picture of women’s participation, benefits, and challenges they face working in agrifood systems globally. The report shows how increasing women’s empowerment and gender equality in agrifood systems enhances women’s well-being and the well-being of their households, creating opportunities for economic growth, greater incomes, productivity and resilience. The report comes more than a decade after the publication of the State of food and agriculture (SOFA) 2010–11: Women in agriculture – Closing the gender gap for development. SOFA 2010–11 documented the tremendous costs of gender [...]

Since 2007, FAO has been applying a comprehensive approach to support its Members in the development of sustainable geographical indications, with the scope of its work ranging from local value chains to national institutional frameworks.Based on the lessons learned from technical assistance projects, consultations with stakeholders across the globe and scientific expertise, FAO has identified a number of best practices to ensure that geographical indications contribute to the development of sustainable food systems. This policy guidance brief highlights the importance of endogenous projects that put local producers at the centre of geographical indication processes (with support from public authorities and [...]

Food loss and waste (FLW) is a global burden with a negative impact on the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The loss and waste of food suitable for human consumption hampers food security and nutrition and hinders the realization of the human right to adequate food.Regulatory measures to tackle FLW include establishing institutional mechanisms for coordination of action, allocating clear roles and responsibilities among all stakeholders involved and setting binding targets for the reduction of FLW. These can enhance the transparency and accountability of all actors relevant for the prevention and reduction of FLW throughout the food [...]

At its 26th Session in October 2018, the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG) requested FAO to take the lead to develop voluntary codes of conduct for the reduction of food loss and food waste. In response to the COAG request, FAO developed the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction, which was endorsed by the 42nd Session of the FAO Conference in June 2021. The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction sets out a generic framework of actions and guiding principles that should be followed to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) and support [...]