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The result of this online consultation will feed on-going FAO projects with ideas on how to attract migrants to invest their remittances into the agricultural sector and to improve their families’ nutrition, advocate sustainable modules with the governments for increased food security and help inform recommendations of the FAO regional plans in the future.

An adequate nutrition provides us with the necessary energy for the appropriate functioning and care of our body, and is the first defence against diseases. However, many people today still do not have access to food, do not eat enough or do not eat poorly. Nutrition problems (malnutrition, obesity, etc.) encompass inappropriate choices and practices that can be addressed through effective public policies. In this context, parliamentary alliances such as the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, and specialized agencies such as FAO, play a key role in educating consumers and preventing diseases. During an event on [...]

This report reveals that some 486 million people remain undernourished in the region, highlighting that the reduction in the number of hungry and malnourished people – including children – has come to a virtual standstill. It also calls for greater resolve from governments to end hunger.

In many developing and least-developed countries (LDCs), the transformation of the agriculture sector is key for improving domestic food security and nutrition and for promoting economic development. However, efforts to raise agricultural productivity and develop inclusive and competitive agricultural value chains are often hampered by market- and trade-related bottlenecks, while initiatives promoting agricultural commercialisation, diversification and trade are often curbed by bottlenecks at farm or post-harvest levels. In this context, FAO, in collaboration with the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), carried out a Multi-partner Programme Support Mechanism (FMM) Project on Trade related capacity development [...]

This document summarizes the online consultation Mainstreaming biodiversity in agriculture, fisheries and forestry for improved food security and better nutrition held on the FAO Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum) from 7 May to 1 June 2018. The online consultation aimed at gathering experiences and examples from practitioners to define further the objectives and partnerships of the FAO Biodiversity Mainstreaming Platform and to advance the development of its work programme. Technical facilitation was provided by the following FAO staff: Irene Hoffmann, Secretary of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and Paulo Augusto Lourenço Dias Nunes, Natural Resources Officer in the Climate, [...]

Crop diversification is an important policy objective to promote climate change adaptation, yet the drivers and impacts of crop diversification vary considerably depending on the specific combinations of crops a farmer grows. This paper examines adoption determinants of seven different cropping systems in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, and the impact of their adoption on maize productivity and income volatility – using a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model. These cropping systems consist in different combinations of four categories of crops: dominate staple (maize), alternative staples, legumes, and cash-crops. The study finds that relative to maize mono-cropping systems, the vast majority of [...]

School feeding programmes are recognized as a key part of food assistance and relief in emergency and development programmes.  They are principally concerned with transfer of food to school to alleviate hunger, meet daily consumption needs and encourage attendance and retention.  Home-Grown School Feeding programmes (HGSF) in particular have received attention in recent years because of the links to agricultural development and have therefore been widely viewed as a means to address food insecurity while promoting rural development goals in Africa. Locally procured school meals, form an important part of HGSF programmes, and when coupled with food and nutrition education (FNE), [...]

Ethiopia is vulnerable to many natural hazards, and years of below-average rainfall, coupled with the 2015 El Niño-induced drought, resulted in deteriorating food security in 2016. In some regions crop losses, mainly cereals, were between 30 and 95 percent. Many households had to eat their seed reserves, leaving them without means of production in future seasons. This project –part of the largest emergency seed response in Ethiopia’s history –focused on providing seed aid to vulnerable smallholders: 13 875 households were helped, over a third more than the 10 223 initially targeted, to resume their agricultural livelihoods. Find more Project Highlights here.

After heavy and above-average rains fell in September 2015 in the Southern Province and Western Area, an estimated 22 000 people were affected and thousands of hectares of land were destroyed. The worst of the damage occurred in Bo, Bontheand Pujehundistricts. Because many households in Sierra Leone depend on agriculture for their food and income, the loss of crops and seeds devastated the food and nutrition security of farmers in these areas, who were already at the peak of the lean season. This project was implemented to immediately improve household food security while allowing farmers to restart agricultural production during [...]

The Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon’s Far North region has led to a large influx of refugees from neighbouring Nigeria and of internally displaced people. Local communities, already disproportionately affected by years of low socio-economic development, have suffered from the impact upon the environment, food security, nutrition and basic social services. In an attempt to prevent radicalization of youths and women, the project aimed to build the capacity of local, traditional and religious auth orities to better understand the vulnerabilities, plan the response, tackle the crisis, contribute to the dialogue for peace and constitute a solid basis for peaceful coexistence [...]