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This manual is designed for a four-day training course on climate-smart agriculture that would take the learner from the basics of climate science to the impacts of climate change and the linkages among climate, agriculture and food security. It contains four modules, each addressing a particular aspect and consisting of several sessions that are held either in plenary, as one group, or in smaller work groups. The content and structure of this manual has been developed and tested through fieldwork involving extension agents and agricultural producers in Zambia, Malawi and Viet Nam.  

This booklet provides a comprehensive overview of the longer Future of Food and Agriculture publication. Shorter, more easily readable for the general public, this version sets out the key trends and challenges to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable agriculture and meet the SDGs, in particular ending hunger by 2030. This report presents a summary of the challenges that agriculture and food systems are currently facing and will face into the 21st century. Analysis of 15 global trends provides insight into what is at stake and what needs to be done.  Most of the trends are strongly interdependent and combine to [...]

The brief uses a unique set of data from Zambia collected from smallholders before and after the 2015/2016 ENSO event, which was widely anticipated by regional and global forecast services to contribute to dry conditions in southern Zambia and an overall shorter growing season. Three findings emerge from the analysis. Farmers receiving seasonal weather forecasts are more likely to adopt cropping systems and seed varieties that are adapted to the expected weather conditions, yet access to weather information remains limited. Access to competitive private markets increases the probability that a farmer will adopt drought tolerant cropping systems and improved seeds [...]

The present study analyses rice economy in Asia in the context of climate change. Major rice producing and trading countries are included in the analysis. The main focus of the study is on the existing policy framework in these major countries, with particular focus on the role of trade policy in adapting to and mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change on the rice economy. Initial results suggest that Asian countries – both importing and exporting- have intensified efforts to attain self-sufficiency through domestic production in recent years, particularly after the world food crisis in 2008. This is because of [...]

Climate is an essential input to agricultural production. Changes in climate will inevitably have an impact on agricultural productivity, output, farm incomes and prices. Elevated temperatures will also affect human and animal health. To date, most of the studies of climate impacts on agriculture have ignored the impacts on humans and livestock, focusing instead on the consequences for crop production. One of the foremost reasons is that research on crop impacts assessment is the field where the necessary modelling infrastructure was most fully developed.   The present paper provides an overview of the latest modelling research on the impact of climate change [...]

Kyrgyzstan experienced an extremely cold winter in 2012, with heavy snowfall followed by a significant spring run-off. This harsh winter led to considerable livestock mortality and price rises for animal products, with a substantial impact on the welfare of livestock herding households. On average, households affected by the harsh winter experienced a 5 percent reduction in food consumption expenditure in the first year following the shock, and 8 percent reduction four years later with respect to households not exposed to this shock (Figure 1). The significant and persistent impact of the harsh winter is particularly evident for the wealthiest households, [...]

Migration is an expanding global reality, one that allows millions of people to seek new opportunities. But it also involves challenges for migrants and for societies, both in areas of origin and of destination. This report analyses migratory flows – internal and international – and how they are linked to processes of economic development, demographic change, and natural-resource pressure. The focus is on rural migration, the many forms it takes and the important role it plays in both developing and developed countries. The report investigates the drivers and impacts of rural migration and highlights how related policy priorities depend on [...]

Bioeconomycomprises the parts of the economy that use renewable biological resources (plants, animals, micro-organisms, etc.) to replace fossil fuels, and produce food, animal feed, and other biobasedproducts. Its cross-cutting nature offers a unique opportunity to comprehensively address interconnected societal challenges such as food security, natural resource scarcity, fossil-resource dependence and climate change, while achieving sustainable economic development. As bioeconomyplays an increa singly important role in many countries and regions, it is crucial to establish guidelines that enable it to be developed in a sustainable way. Find more Project Highlights here.

The Understanding Codex will be at its 4th Edition and it is a very useful tool to introduce the Codex Alimentarius and its collection of international food standards to the public. The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of international food standards that have been adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Such standards cover all the main foods and also  material used in the further processing of food. Codex provisions concern the hygienic and nutritional; quality of food, including microbiological norms, food additives, pesticides and veterinary drug residues, contaminants, labelling and presentation, and methods of sampling and risk analysis. The Codex Alimentarius [...]

Family Farming, represented by more than 500 million farms, produced about 80% of the World´s food in value terms, using reduced resources. It is fundamental to Food Security and Nutrition (FSN), fighting poverty, mitigating the impacts of climate change and preserving biodiversity and landscape. Family agriculture contributes directly to ten of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and will be on the international political agenda for the next ten years in the face of the recent adoption of Resolution 72/239 on the Decade of Family Agriculture (2019-2028), by the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. This importance can also be [...]