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Territorial markets are essential to the livelihoods and food and nutrition security of populations. These markets are suffering multiple challenges in the current context of COVID-19 related restrictions on travel and transports and global economic slowdown. Against this background, strengthening territorial markets can support food production and access to healthy and nutritious foods. This requires a good understanding of the functioning of these markets. The FAO mapping system for territorial markets has been developed to this scope, and implemented in Tanzania as illustrated in this brief.See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19.

Each year, the Guatemalan State invests about 1 869.2 million Quetzals (USD 245 million) in the national School Feeding Programme (PAE, by its acronym in Spanish), which feeds 2.4 million children. This research estimates that, by including gastronomy in the PAE, it is possible to prevent in a school year (180 days), the waste of 561.6 tonnes of food, equivalent to USD 864 000, or 0.35 percent of the invested budget. This food waste is partly due to children refusing to eat food that they do not find tasty.These data are derived from a small-scale, pre-and post-design pilot intervention in [...]

This is the fifth document in a series of case studies by member countries of the Thematic Working Group on Agriculture, Food Security and Land Use (TWG), under the NDC-Partnership. The aim is to present what countries are doing to tackle climate change and implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

This action sheet is part of a series of action sheets developed under the seven key priority areas of the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery programme, the FAO umbrella programme designed to proactively and sustainably address the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. Each action sheet includes a project proposal in support of countries most in need for which FAO is leveraging high-level political, financial and technical expertise. All action sheets are gathered on the Food Coalition web hub,  where members of the Coalition - a multi-stakeholder global alliance for a unified global action in response to COVID-19 -  can easily access [...]

Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development – why population growth, employment and urbanization lie at the heart of sustainable food systems development. Current food systems are facing paramount challenges: they must ensure equitable access to a healthy diet both in rural and urban areas while decrease burdens of malnutrition and environmental impacts. A new UN report - prepared with FAO’s support - explores the role of sustainable development for food security and  nutrition in the context of global population change.

This action sheet is part of a series of action sheets developed under the seven key priority areas of the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery programme, the FAO umbrella programme designed to proactively and sustainably address the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. Each action sheet includes a project proposal in support of countries most in need for which FAO is leveraging high-level political, financial and technical expertise. All action sheets are gathered on the Food Coalition web hub,  where members of the Coalition - a multi-stakeholder global alliance for a unified global action in response to COVID-19 - can easily [...]

Identifying sustainable sources of renewable energy is key to ensuring that countries can grow on a sustainable path that also meets climate change targets as outlined in countries’ NDCs.Among renewables, bioenergy can attract investments in the rural sector and help farmers to improve their income by increasing agricultural production and diversifying markets for by-products, such as digestate. FAO’s Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Approach assists countries in defining which bioenergy options can be both sustainable and viable while ensuring food security and protecting the environment.In Rwanda the agriculture sector plays a key role in its economy, contributing around one-third of [...]

This report shares the analysis on the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the agri-food system in Liberia based on the assessment conducted during July–September 2020.The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing a project to contribute to data collection and analysis linked to COVID-19 to inform evidence-based programming in selected countries. The objective is to assess the effects of COVID-19 in the agri-food system, which includes livestock and fishing, food supply, livelihoods and food security of the rural population at national level. Information is collected from primary sources of the production process: producer [...]

With financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads the establishment of a data and analysis facility in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other shocks. The objective of the facility is to improve decision making in support of the food security and livelihoods of all actors in key agricultural, livestock and fisheries value chains in high priority food crisis countries, with a focus on producers.This assessment was conducted between July and September 2020 across 16 governorates of Yemen.See the full list of [...]

Traditional foods, diets and food systems play an important role in people’s nutritional status. As the best products of traditional food systems, geographical indication (GI) foods have a great potential to contribute to healthy diets and curb non-communicable diseases.This paper presents five case studies around the world on the nutritional potential of registered GI foods and explores the link between the production processes and the nutritional composition of the final products. The nutritional characteristics of these foods can be largely attributed to their unique ingredients and production procedures, which are linked to their geographical origins.The paper also discusses the development [...]