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In a high and volatile food price setting, two aspects determine rural women’s  ability to absorb and respond to shocks: the inequalities that create a gender gap in rural development and women’s traditional roles in society and the  household. This discussion paper points to these two aspects that, in general  terms, reduce women’s ability to cope with food price volatility. Rural women,  traditionally responsible for providing food and health in the household, face major  constraints in fulfilling their roles, rendering them more vulnerable to food price spikes. Major recommendations include building on rural women’s resiliency and mitigating negative coping strategies [...]

The video shows the results and impacts the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme is having in Ghana. LEAP is a cash transfer programme for the poorest families in Ghana to reduce poverty and enhance long term human development. LEAP is managed by Ghana's Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. The University of North Carolina and the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research at the University of Ghana carried out the impact evaluation, in conjunction with UNICEF and FAO's PtoP team.

Fish plays a key role for food security. It is a primary source of protein and essential nutrients. Fisheries, aquaculture and related activities provide income and livelihoods for numerous communities across the world, including small-scale fisheries. The growing demand for fish questions the sustainability of marine fisheries and aquaculture, now a fundamental supplier of fish. The report considers the environmental, social and economic challenges faced by all actors towards a sustainable supply of fish, sustainable livelihoods of fish-dependent communities and an equitable access to fish for the good nutrition of all populations worldwide. It presents policy-oriented analysis and recommendations addressed to governments, private sector and civil society [...]

La agricultura familiar es un sector clave para lograr la erradicación del hambre y el cambio hacia sistemas agrícolas sostenibles en América Latina y el Caribe y el mundo. Los pequeños agricultores son aliados de la seguridad alimentaria y actores protagónicos en el esfuerzo de los países por lograr un futuro sin hambre. En nuestra región, el 80% de las explotaciones pertenecen a la agricultura familiar, incluyendo a más de 60 millones de personas, convirtiéndose en la principal fuente de empleo agrícola y rural.  No sólo producen la mayor parte de los alimentos para el consumo interno de los países de [...]

The second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) endorsed a political outcome document, the Rome Declaration on Nutrition. The Declaration commits countries to eradicate hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition worldwide – particularly undernutrition in children, anaemia in women and children, among other micronutrient deficiencies – as well as reverse the trend in obesity. It aims to do this by increasing investments in food systems to improve people’s diets and nutrition.

The "International Symposium on Food and Nutrition Security: Food-based Approaches for Improving Diets and Raising Levels of Nutrition" was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to better document the contribution that food and agriculture can make to improving nutrition. These proceedings are a useful resource for decision and policy makers, programme planners and implementers, and health workers, all of which work to combat hunger and malnutrition. The proceedings of the Symposium aim at collecting and better documenting evidence that demonstrates the impact, effectiveness and sustainability of food-based approaches for improving diets and raising levels of nutrition. [...]

The Mozambique land law provides statutory recognition of customary land rights and is considered one of the most progressive legislations in Africa. However, the law continues to face implementation challenges, including the realization of equal rights for women and institutional reform. Simply having a progressive law ‘is not enough’ to bring about transformative change in a country. Recognizing these challenges, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed a programme to support the legislation through the capacity development of both direct beneficiaries and those responsible for implementing it. This publication, presents an overview of how this programme [...]

This technical paper focuses primarily on price transmissions in small-scale and large-scale fishery and aquaculture value chains in 14 developed and developing countries. Although the study is focused on the small-scale sector, both the small-scale and large-scale sectors were analysed in order to demonstrate differences between the two. The document begins with an overview of the entire project and its global implications, reviewing the importance of fisheries and aquaculture to livelihoods, food security and trade as well as the rationale for value chain analysis. It then presents detailed and summarized country-specific information on the research and analysis conducted, presenting analysis [...]

In rural societies, where local culture and traditions are still very vibrant, responsibilities and tasks are often assigned to women and men on the basis of traditional gender roles, defined as those behaviours and responsibilities that a society considers appropriate for men, women, boys and girls. These roles change over time, have different characteristics in every local context and are shaped by ideological, religious, cultural, ethnic and economic factors. They are a key determinant of the distribution of resources and responsibilities between men and women . In many cases gender roles are biased and favour certain social constituencies at the expense of others. Rural women, for instance, face [...]

Policy-makers worldwide have traditionally assumed that fisheries are a male domain. The policy agenda has for decades given priority to the production sphere,  where men generally predominate, and has largely neglected processing and  marketing activities, where women often play a key role. Recent sex-disaggregated  data (from the World Bank, FAO and WorldFish Center) represent an initial, positive  step in providing the quantitative evidence needed to convince policy-makers of  the impo rtance of women in the sector. The data indicate that women represent  47 percent of the 120 million people engaged in capture fisheries. Worldwide,  they are even more important in [...]