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Drylands cover nearly half of the earth’s land surface and are home to one-third of the global population. They face extraordinary challenges, including those posed by desertification, biodiversity loss, poverty, food insecurity and climate change. Up to 20 percent of the world’s drylands are degraded, and people living there are often locked into a vicious circle of poverty, unsustainable practices and environmental degradation. It is clear that serious efforts are needed to arrest dryland degradation and restore degraded lands, and the simple but urgent aim of these guidelines is to support such efforts. It is the first time that global guidelines on [...]

The availability of, and access to, quality seeds of a diverse range of adapted crop varieties is essential for achieving food and livelihood security and for eradicating hunger, especially in developing countries. This guide explains what seed policies are and how they differ from seed laws; describes the participatory process of seed policy formulation; the nature and layout of seed policy documents; key elements contained in seed policies; and addresses issues involved in their implementation. It is specifically intended for use by policymakers, national seed agencies, civil society, and public and private sector organizations, including national seed associations and farmers’ [...]

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted by UN Member States on 18 March 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The Sendai Framework defines seven targets and four priorities for action on disaster risk reduction. The Framework aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.

This manual is designed guide programme planners in the design of nutrition-sensitive programmes. It is based on a thorough review of experience on nutrition-sensitive Agriculture, was developed through extensive consultation within FAO and with its development partners, and has been field-tested in several countries. It is structured around the first phases of the programming cycle (situation appraisal, programme design and programme review) and includes key questions, accompanied by tips and references. 

Small-scale fisheries play a key role in ensuring food security and eradicating poverty. However, the overall development of the fisheries sector, as well as increased pressure from other sectors (e.g. tourism, aquaculture, agriculture, energy, mining, industry, infrastructure developments) with often stronger political or economic influence, has contributed to a decline in aquatic resources and threats to aquatic habitats, ecosystems and small-scale fisheries community livelihoods. Small-scale fishers, fish workers and their communities also face a myriad of other challenges and constraints, including unequal power relations, lack of access to services and limited participation in decision-making processes, which may lead to unfavourable [...]

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication  (SSF Guidelines) represent the first ever international instrument dedicated to small-scale fisheries. They represent a global consensus on principles and guidance for small-scale fisheries governance and development. They were developed for small-scale fisheries in close collaboration with representatives of small-scale fisheries organizations in a participatory process between 2011-13, involving over 4000 stakeholders; facilitated by FAO, based on a mandate by COFI. They are directed at all those involved in the sector and intend to guide and encourage governments, fishing communities and other stakeholders [...]

Download the FAO VCA-Tool  This analytical tool allows users to systematically gather, store and manage data for the implementation of cost-benefit and value-added analyses. Users can build different scenarios and analyze the socio-economic impact of various policies — such as domestic prices liberalization, opening to international trade, new technologies adoption. Users can use the software to build a baseline scenario which corresponds to a benchmark situation; once users generate the policy measures or changes in the value chain, their impacts will modify the original reference scenario.  The software is the complementary tool to the "Value Chain Analysis for Policy Making: Methodological Guidelines for [...]

Forest genetic resources (FGR) are the heritable materials maintained within and among tree and other woody plant species that are of actual or potential economic, environmental, scientific or societal value. They are crucial to the adaptation and protection of our ecosystems, landscapes and production systems, yet are subject to increasing pressures and unsustainable use. This Global Plan of Action identifies 27 strategic priorities grouped into 4 areas: 1) improving the availability of, and access to, information on FGR; 2) conservation of FGR (in situ and ex situ); 3) sustainable use, development and management of FGR; 4) policies, institutions and capacity-building. Implementation [...]

Developing countries are increasingly using agrocorridors to develop their agricultural sectors. These corridors promote inclusive agribusiness growth, building on a linear agglomeration of people and activities along existing transportation infrastructure. Based on initiatives in Central Asia, the Greater Mekong Subregion, Indonesia, Mozambique, Peru and the United Republic of Tanzania, this report shows how agrocorridors help improve physical connectivity and functioning of markets, while generating economies of scale in agriculture. Agrocorridors do this because they integrate public and private investments in “hardware” (transport and agribusiness infrastructure), “software” (policy and regulatory framework) and “orgware” (institutional strengthening and capacity building). The goal of [...]

Aimed at policy-makers, project designers and field practitioners, this publication provides the conceptual foundation for a new set of FAO handbooks on sustainable food value chain development. It defines the concept of a sustainable food value chain, presents a development paradigm that integrates the multidimensional concepts of sustainability and value added, highlights ten guiding principles, and discusses the potential and limitations of the approach. By doing so, this handbook makes a strong case for placing sustainable food value chain development at the heart of any strategy aimed at reducing poverty and hunger in the long run.