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If global population and food consumption trends continue, by 2050 the world will need 60 percent more food than is available today. Matthias Halwart, Senior Strategic Programmer Officer of the FAO Sustainable Agriculture Programme, explains the importance of sustainable agricultural intensification and its contribution to meeting this demand. He describes the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve food security.  See all videos in the Policy and Governance series:  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

The productivity and sustainability of agriculture, forestry and fisheries depend on healthy and biodiversity-rich ecosystems. Thomas Hofer, Team Leader of the FAO Forestry Department and Caterina Batello, Senior Officer with the FAO Plant Production and Protection Division explain the importance of ecosystem services and its contribution to food security. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this goal. See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

Four years since the Voluntary Guidelines were endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security as the global consensus on improving tenure, their principles and processes are inspiring people around the world to take action. With wide ownership by governments, civil society and the private sector, they represent an unbiased framework in which new conversations on tenure are taking place, new skills are being developed, and new policies are being influenced in participatory ways. This brief shares some stories on improving tenure from Africa, Asia, Europe and Central Asia and Latin America. These cases have been supported by FAO, working [...]

Food losses and waste (FL&W) in the Near East & North Africa (NENA) region are high and contribute to reduced food availability, aggravated water scarcity, adverse environmental impacts and increased food imports, in an already highly import-dependent region. This document outlines a Regional Strategic Framework for reducing food losses and waste in the region. It responds to the FAO NERC-31 (in May 2012) recommendation calling on FAO to “assist member countries in addressing the key challenges of reducing food waste and losses by conducting comprehensive studies on impact of food losses and waste on food security in the region and in establishing a plan to [...]

This brochure describes FAO's area of work on on facilitating the implementation of Article 14 of CEDAW for rural women's empowerment and food security under Strategic Objective 1 implemented by the Cross Cutting Theme on Gender. The brochure contains a rational for why it is important to address gender inequalities for food security and nutrition through political commitment and by incorporating the perspective of gender equality and the empowerment of rural women in sectoral and cross-sectoral policies and strategies. It then describes what FAO can do to support its Member Countries to comply with CEDAW and thus to formulate gender-equitable [...]

Uganda is putting significant efforts toward addressing the constraints responsible for its low agricultural productivity, which affects farmers’ incomes and therefore, their food security. The biggest developments are being seen in improving the added value of its production, as well as in supporting strategic commodities such as livestock and rice. 

A technical guide on safeguarding land tenure rights in line with the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, for government authorities involved in the promotion, approval and monitoring of agricultural investments This technical guide elaborates on specific aspects of the VGGT relating to agricultural investments by providing detailed guidance to government authorities and others on actions they can take to help them to create an enabling environment for responsible and sustainable investments. In following this guidance and applying the principles of the VGGT, governments will be more [...]

Following the Intergovernmental Group Meeting on Tea in New Delhi in 2010, FAO was requested by the Government of Kenya to assist with a climate change impact assessment of tea in Kenya and to help develop a new strategy to confront its effects. This report is the outcome of a two-year project in Kenya and offers the findings from an integrated climate impact assessment. The analysis covered (i) historical and future links between climate parameters and tea yields, (ii) a carbon life cycle analysis, (iii) tea management scenarios under climate change using aquacrop model, and (iv) a socio-economic analysis of [...]

This module concerns integrating capacity development into programming and covers the assessment process, engagement with stakeholders and tracking capacity development. Tools are provided. This module is the second in the series designed to improve Capacity Development (CD) approaches in projects and programmes of FAO. It includes examples and tools to support endogenous CD processes in the areas of FAO’s mandate. Practitioners also may draw on the other Learning Modules (see box 1) which cover tools from disciplines such as organization analysis and development, learning event planning, facilitation and instructional science. Learning Module 2 is organized around five major themes: engaging with national/local actors; analysing the context and [...]

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted by UN Member States on 18 March 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The Sendai Framework defines seven targets and four priorities for action on disaster risk reduction. The Framework aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.