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This document summarizes the online consultation Strengthening the linkages between agriculture and social protection: designing coherent approaches for improving food security and nutrition in vulnerable households, which was held on the FAO Forum on Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia (FSN Forum in ECA) from 6 November to 17 December 2018.  The consultation was initiated in the framework of the project “Developing Capacity for Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Selected Countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia”, funded by the Russian Federation and led by the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Division. Also available in Russian 

The recommendations have been elaborated building upon the main findings of the CFS High Level Panel of Expert’s report on Sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition: what roles for livestock? The sustainable development of agriculture, including livestock, is essential for poverty reduction and the achievement of food security and nutrition. The recommendations aim to strengthen the contribution of the livestock sector to sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition (FSN) and contribute to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food, in the overall context of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, recognizing the essential role [...]

This policy brief highlights the recommendations on "Investing in Smallholder Agriculture for Food Security and Nutrition", endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), 40th Session 2013. 

The food and agriculture sector of Mongolia lacked the technical capacity required to implement national agricultural and livestock policies and programmes. There was a need for expertise to strengthen capacity in farming technology, practices and local expertise, above all in livestock breeding, animal feed, horticulture and vegetable production, beekeeping, aquaculture, poultry production and honey sectors to improve beneficiaries’ farming technology, production, practice and knowledge. The objective of the project was to support the implementation of the National Programme for Food Security, the National Mongolian Livestock Programme and other agricultural policies aimed at enhancing agricultural production and food security and [...]

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat has embarked on the formulation of an Investment Plan for the effective and coherent implementation of a Regional Agriculture Policy. This will ensure the food and nutrition security of people living in SADC member countries, the sustainable utilization of available natural resources, and the effective protection of the environment. Assistance was required, in terms of both technical and management capacity, to develop the investment plan. Also available in French.  Find more Project Highlights here.

This publication contributes directly to SO1 and under Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger Challenge. Eradication of hunger and malnutrition is a major challenge in Asia. Dietary and production diversity are recognized factors in strategies to improve food security and nutrition. Currently, agriculture has an over-reliance on a handful of major staple crops. Agrobiodiversity offers huge potentials in addressing malnutrition and agricultural sustainability. Future Smart Food (FSF), often referred to as Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS), are rich in Asia. They represent a promising abundance of food resources and constitute the bedrock of the food system diversity. FSF have enormous benefits [...]

This brochure presents FAO ’s work on agricultural innovation. FAO advocates a shift from interventions focusing on single components of agricultural innovation towards a system-approach aimed at strengthening institutions and stakeholders’ networks that better respond to the needs of smallholder farmers. Agricultural innovation is the process whereby individuals or organizations bring new or existing products, processes or ways of organization into use for the first time in a specific context in order to increase effectiveness, competitiveness, resilience to shocks or environmental sustainability and thereby contribute to food security and nutrition, economic development or sustainable natural resource management. Innovation is central to [...]

This Resource framework is intended as a guidance tool for stakeholders involved in programme design, implementation and monitoring of Home-Grown School Feeding Programmes and the related policy and institutional environment, including, inter alia: governments and development partners providing technical and financial assistance, as well as civil society, community based organisations and the private sector. It is a knowledge product that harmonizes the existing approaches and tools, and builds on the wealth of expertise and experience with home grown school feeding models i.e. those designed to provide children in schools with safe, diverse and nutritious food, sourced locally from smallholders, with [...]

The SNA methodology aims to capture the spatial dimension of food insecurity, shed light on how food systems work and understand what determines food security and nutrition levels in a given space and time. It is a first attempt to develop a methodological approach able to analyse the social, institutional and economic dimensions of food systems and their relationships with food security and nutrition outcomes, as well as to assess the spatial patterns of food systems. SNA also provides a useful tool to build scenarios to assess the effects of alternative policies on the configuration of the food systems as [...]

INPhO, the Information Network on Post-harvest Operations, aims at promoting good practices in post-harvest activities for agri-food products and to assist in the expansion of agribusinesses by providing access to technical data and information.