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Preventing animal disease and plant pest outbreaks and food safety incidents before they occur is essential to protecting the food chain. Most food chain crises are preventable with timely actions and the right investments. The Food Chain Crisis - Emergency Prevention System, known as FCC-EMPRES, is FAO’s approach to pursuing just that. This publication, based on 23 FCC-EMPRES information sheets published on a monthly basis by the FCC Intelligence and Coordination Unit of the FAO Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, showcases some of the best practices currently in use. This publication promises to help experts, policy makers, national institutions, and development [...]

Since the 1990s, rural transformations have helped millions of people to rise out of poverty while remaining in rural areas. This underscores an important fact: revitalizing rural economies helps create jobs for rural people, offering an alternative to those who might turn to migration in search of a better life.  However, these rural transformations have not happened everywhere.  For the countries that lag behind, The 2017 State of Food and Agriculture argues that it is not too late. By tapping into the potential of food systems and recognizing the role of small cities and towns in integrated rural-urban planning, inclusive transformations are [...]

SMAACNET is a web-based database for sharing information of agricultural mechanization that is best adapted to different agro-ecologies and categories of agri-food chains in the region of Asia and the Pacific. SMAACNET focuses on the needs of smallholder farmers and Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs). The overarching goal of SMAACNET is to ensure that Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (SAM) contributes to food security, economic development and ecological balance in Asia and the Pacific Region.  More specifically SMAACNET aims: To exchange knowledge, share experience and promote collaboration and concerted efforts among all stakeholders on the use of SAM across agri-food chains To advocate for the economic, social [...]

Conservation agriculture (CA) aims to achieve sustainable and profitable agriculture and subsequently aimes at improved livelihoods of farmers through the application of the three CA principles: minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop rotations. CA holds tremendous potential for all sizes of farms and agro-ecological systems, but its adoption is perhaps most urgently required by smallholder farmers, especially those facing acute labour shortages. It is a way to combine profitable agricultural production with environmental concerns and sustainability and it has been proven to work in a variety of agroecological zones and farming systems. It is been perceived by practitioners [...]

TECA is a platform where you can find practical information – agricultural technologies and practices – to help small producers in the field. In addition, you can interact with people with similar interests and discuss sustainable solutions for your work in our online forums – or Exchange Groups.

The transformation of agricultural markets as a result of political and economic transition in the post-Soviet countries was accompanied by the process of globalization and deepening trade integration both within the region and with external trade partners. These countries are often engaged in multiple trade negotiation processes at the same time, each with their own challenges and benefits. Many European and Central Asian countries joined the WTO which helped enhance their participation in global agricultural trade, and the region plays an increasingly important role as a supplier of agricultural commodities to international markets. The network brings together experts who conduct research, carry [...]

The present study reviews recent trends in rural finance and investment in general, and in the agricultural sector in particular, within the Asian region. The analysis of these trends aims to offer a critical perspective on some of the main constraints to achieving more inclusive rural financial systems in developing countries in the region, and to propose areas of public and private intervention that could advance this objective, based on evidence compiled from important innovations led by local rural actors in various countries within the region. The study makes a joint analysis of recent trends in both agricultural markets and [...]

Turkey’s agri-food sector will be of tremendous importance in the decades to come. In 2013, in terms of its total gross agricultural production value (at 2004-06 constant prices), Turkey was ranked eighth in the world, just behind Argentina and closely followed by France and Mexico. The first objective of this report is to compile empirical evidence from official statistics on water usage in the Turkish agricultural sector and to combine this with available qualitative information and first-hand company-level and stakeholder information about water usage in typical processing steps along the Turkish food value chain. This analysis was conducted while taking [...]

The brief contains recommendations and a framework for developing an Institutional Food Procurement Programme (IFPP) based on lessons from ten case study appraisals of WFP's purchase for progress initiative and Brazil's national food procurement programmes. 

Crop diversification is often promoted as a strategy to achieve climate resilience. However, the benefits to crop diversification may vary depending on household resource endowments. For farm households with few resources, as shown by studies of Burkina Faso, Malawi and Zambia, crop diversification is likely to be an important strategy for managing production and price risk. However, for larger, better capitalized farms, diversification may not be welfare enhancing, because returns to specialization may be higher for these households.