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This document summarizes the online discussion The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and agricultural development: challenges and prospects held on the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition in Africa (FSN Forum Africa) from 5 May to 2 June 2020. The discussion was facilitated by Jean Senahoun from FAO’s Regional Office for Africa in Accra, Ghana. This online discussion aimed to exchange ideas on the challenges to and prospects for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement in Africa’s agricultural sector and its implications for food security and nutrition. Participants shared ideas on the Trade [...]

For almost four decades, the partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) has generated advanced knowledge and expertise in support of achieving food security, sustainable agriculture, and rural development in the Mediterranean. Driven by these shared goals, FAO and CIHEAM have jointly contributed to policy dialogue, the implementation of programs and projects, awareness-raising, and the capacity development of different actors in the region. FAO- CIHEAM collaboration has helped to build important knowledge resources and technical networks, strengthen the focus on gender and youth in agriculture, and [...]

FAO’s Statistical Pocketbook complements the Statistical Yearbook, by providing, in an easy and simple way, quick access to top-level numbers, charts and maps on many dimensions of food and agriculture – from the characteristics of the sector to production, prices and trade, as well as food security and nutrition and environmental aspects. See Statistical Yearbook 2020 

This is the first in a series of briefs drawing attention to the mutually reinforcing nature of four global normative instruments developed through CFS and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable SmallScale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). Their synergistic implementation can make a difference in enabling small-scale fisheries to contribute to sustainable food systems by providing highly nutritious food for local communities, and it can make a difference for consumers in national, regional and international markets. The four CFS instruments with direct links to the SSF [...]

Both the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) share the common overarching goals of achieving food security for all, eradicating poverty, sustainable livelihoods and environmental protection and supporting the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. This brief is part of a series drawing attention to the mutually reinforcing nature of four global normative instruments developed through the [...]

The CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI Principles) promote investments that contribute to food security and nutrition. They are relevant for all types of investments including productive assets, but also for investments in human capital or intangible capital. Thus, they provide a different approach to the concept of investment; one that is closer to the concept of integral human development. Similarly, the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) go beyond fisheries and also address socio-economic issues of relevance to securing sustainable small-scale fisheries. This [...]

Both the CFS Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security (Right to Food Guidelines) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) hold the realization of the right to adequate food as their main objective. The Right to Food Guidelines emphasizes the role of small-scale producers in several sections and the SSF Guidelines as their first objective call “to enhance the contribution to fisheries to food security and nutrition and support the realization to the [...]

The Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation (FIRST) Programme represents a partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union (EU). In 2018, the partnership agreed on the need to have a policy effectiveness analysis conducted in most of the FIRST countries. As policy implementation rather than formulation is repeatedly raised as one of Pakistan’s challenges, this assessment considered the implementation challenges of specific policy processes relevant to the FAO-EU partnership in the country, rather than the entire suite of relevant policies. It considered the necessary conditions to move forward and [...]

The far-reaching impacts of COVID-19 on the entire planet have mobilized numerous calls to prevent similar pandemics in the future. Appeals have ranged from advocacy for the permanent closure of markets where wild animals may be sold, to banning all commercial use of wildlife, to significantly stepping up sanitary measures and monitoring along all food value chains. In this document, the Members of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) propose four guiding principles to assist practitioners and decision-makers in making practical and scientifically informed responses. These principles aim to reduce the risk of future pandemics originating from wild [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is jeopardizing human health and disrupting the food systems that are the foundations of health. Unless we take immediate action, we could face a global food emergency of severity and scale unseen for more than half a century.FAO is calling for USD 1.2 billion in initial investments to finance FAO’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme that aims to provide an agile and coordinated global response to ensure nutritious food for all both during and after the pandemic.The COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme enables donors to leverage the Organization’s convening power, real-time data, early warning systems and technical expertise to direct support where and when it is [...]