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Enhancing groundwater management Groundwater provides a large portion of the increasing demand for water in all sectors. It also constitutes the main source of water in water-scarce regions, acts as a buffer against climatic extremes, and sustains crucial ecosystems services. The objective of the project was to embed a process of improved groundwater governance, to halt the current trend of resource depletion and degradation, and lead to positive environmental, social and economic benefits. In so doing, the project aimed to accelerate the adoption of improved groundwater resource governance, from resource management institutions, to millions of individual users. Duration: 01/01/2011  - 31/12/2016

Strengthening livelihoods through control of Peste des Petits Ruminants With almost 70 percent of the global sheep and goat population at risk of Pestedes PetitsRuminants (PPR) -Sheep and Goat Plague, significant efforts are needed to consolidate the livelihoods, nutrition and food security of millions of livestock holders, in particular in Asia and Africa. In this context, the project contributed to filling gaps in existing strategies for control of the disease and supported the formulation of new ones in West Africa, Central Africa, North Africa and Central Asia. It also reviewed and updated the subregionalstrategy for Southeast Asia. Project duration: 01/01/2015  - 01/12/2016 [...]

MOVING TOWARDS HUNGER-FREE PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING COUNTRIES The project worked towards strengthening national capacities to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in the nations making up the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. It brought together leading civil society organizations, the private sector, academic institutions and parliamentarians from the countries involved, as well as fostering cooperation between member states to advance the national implementation of the strategy. The benefits were to be felt deep within communities, as with school feeding programmesin Cabo Verde and São Tomé e Príncipe and family farming in Timor-Leste and Angola. Project duration: 03/02/2014  - 03/10/2016

There are still 2.1 billion poor people and other 900 million living in extreme poverty, most of which live in rural areas. Most of the poor live in rural areas and 95% per cent of the rural poor live in East Asia, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the rural poor are smallholders and family farmers, who depend on agriculture for their food and income. FAO works through a multi-dimensional approach to address the challenges that poor family farmers face in their daily lives and increase their income generating capacity. At the policy level, FAO helps countries shape poverty [...]

Trade agreements are at the heart of the trade and food security debate as they set out the rules for national trade and agricultural policies, which play a key role in determining food security outcomes. The relationship between trade rules and food security has become an increasingly central element in this round of negotiations. The contribution that trade can make to a country’s food security is partly determined by the disciplines that apply to other countries’ policies, but also by the “policy space” that the country itself is granted under WTO rules.   This brief looks at the role of the multilateral trading system in [...]

Worldwide small-scale fishers, boat crew members, fish-processors, fish traders and fish processing workers face serious labour related challenges specifically linked to the nature of the sector, including prevailing informality, seasonality, remoteness and hazardous nature of work. Inadequate knowledge and skills make many fishers dependent on unpaid family labour including those of women and children. Where labour regulation exist are of difficult application. The study explores wide-ranging decent work concerns in fisheries and aquaculture sector with the objective to inform and guide FAO programming and partnering with governments, civil society organizations, private sector and other UN organizations in promoting decent working conditions along [...]

This note focuses on the topic of nutrition in protracted crises. While malnutrition is one of the biggest challenges to development and human well-being in many countries, rates of malnutrition, especially stunting, are significantly higher in countries in the throes of protracted crises. Malnutrition and crises go hand in hand: malnutrition both impacts on and is affected by crises. Protracted Crises impact negatively on people’s lives and livelihoods and the factors responsible for malnutrition: food insecurity, inappropriate care and feeding practices, poor health environment. Nutrition needs to be integrated in resilience-building programmes to support a people-centred approach and build a bridge [...]

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a set of standardized tools that aims at providing a "common currency" for classifying the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The IPC draws from existing data and information produced by governments, UN Agencies, NGOs and other agencies located in-country. It is based on consensus-building processes to provide decision makers with a rigorous analysis of food insecurity along with objectives for response in both emergency and development contexts.  The purpose of this document is to address this challenge by outlining standardized guidance to country gFSC and IPC Technical Working Groups (TWG) on [...]

High levels of investments are required to unleash the potential of agriculture for sustainable development and poverty reduction in developing countries, but low public budgetary allocations to the sector have slowed growth. To address this problem, innovative partnerships that bring together business, government and civil society actors are increasingly being promoted as a mechanism for pooling much-needed financing while mitigating some of the risks of doing business in the agriculture sector. Commonly referred to as public–private partnerships (PPPs), these initiatives are expected to contribute to the pursuit of sustainable agricultural development that is inclusive of smallholder farmers. However, there remain [...]

The world is increasingly complex and interconnected. International agreement and collective action are needed more than ever before to tackle the many global problems we face. Governance is more than ever a driving concern in FAO’s work and is critical to achieving FAO’s Strategic Objectives. Michael T. Clark, Senior Coordinator of the Governance and Policy Unit, FAO Economic and Social Development Department together with Dr. Irene Hoffmann, Secretary of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture explain the importance of governance at all levels. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages on various areas of [...]