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There has been a surge in the attention to sustainable agricultural mechanization for Africa. The need to support agricultural mechanization in the value chain in order to achieve agricultural and rural development is well recognized. Therefore, it is vital to address the major challenge of ensuring that business models for mechanization hire services driven by the private sector (including farmers, cooperatives, and small and medium enterprises) are not only profitable, sustainable and inclusive for smallholder farmers and vulnerable community members including women and youth, but also resilient to the effects of climate change. For a better understanding of how agricultural [...]

Land and labour rights can intersect in multiple ways. Investments in large-scale plantations often entail trade-offs between job creation and compressions of land rights. Also, labour relations can involve tenure dimensions, for example where estate managers sublet plots for workers to complement wages with food production for their family or local markets. Casual or seasonal employment and limited application of labour legislation can create precarity not only in workers’ employment but also in their tenure rights, with entire families dependent upon the employment status of one individual – thus perpetuating generational labour obligations, affecting relations within the family and the [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is, directly and indirectly, impacting health and well-being around the globe. Illness and containment measures are compounding the social and economic disadvantages of the most vulnerable in society. These social and economic impacts stand to cause devastating setbacks to efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Pervasive inequalities between rural and urban inhabitants, rich and poor, women and men will exacerbate these effects. People in areas impacted by severe climate change, conflict, forced displacement, and migration will be even more vulnerable.Vulnerable groups include rural women, youth and children, indigenous people, the elderly, and people with [...]

The gender equality and livestock strategy 2021-2025 presents the priority areas for gender mainstreaming in the REU Livestock Programme. These priorities were identified throughout a participatory process by key stakeholder in the Livestock Sector in Europe and Central Asia. The main priority areas are the following:1) Collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data in livestock in a systematic manner2) Secure vulnerable livestock farmers' access to productive resources3) Increase access of vulnerable groups to capacity development (e.g. women, refugees, internally displaced people, youth and other disadvantaged groups)Under these priority areas the strategy outlines specific objectives and outputs.

The overarching objective of this report was to determine, from current evidence and experiences from the region, a view of co-management application and performance. Among the findings of the review are: (1) Co-management is associated with positive trends across a range of social, ecological and governance indicators; (2) While overall trends in co-management performance are positive, between years the outcomes experienced by fishers and community members vary substantially between positive experiences and improvements and negative experiences and declines; (3) There is substantial variation in the systems to which co-management is applied and the degrees of inclusion, agency, influence and authority of [...]

This brochure provides an overview of FAO’s work in forced displacement contexts. It highlights key approaches to forced displacement programming and policy, including tailored approaches to partnership and data and evidence, with a view to achieving durable solutions to forced displacement for both displaced and host communities. Examples of FAO’s work in a number of forced displacement contexts are explored, emphasizing the crucial role it is playing in protecting and rebuilding livelihoods, strengthening food security and nutrition, enhancing self-reliance and fostering inclusion, gender equality and social cohesion at a community level.

FAO’s Statistical Capacity Assessment survey for SDG Indicators provides insights about member countries' national statistical systems in regard to their capacity to monitor and report the 21 SDG indicators under FAO custodianship. Details on the assessment conducted by FAO in 2018/19 and the resulting country profiles can be found here.

The links between gender, trade, agriculture, and food security are inherently complex and difficult to generalize. It is therefore vital that the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement ensures that future trade practices and regulations promote gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the African continent, especially in supporting women to seize the new opportunities created by the AfCFTA in agriculture.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by governments on social distancing and mobility restrictions have contributed to boosting the use of digital technology to bridge some of the physical access gaps. An increasing number of services and extension/information activities are delivered through digital tools and applications. E-commerce has also flourished. As a result, the potential of digital technologies has gained prominence in immediate response and recovery strategies and programmes.See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19.

Due to the economic dominance of the agriculture sector, Mali is extremely dependent on natural resources and also vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The deterioration of ecosystems has strongly affected rural populations, resulting in a very poor performance in environmental governance. Gender inequalities are also present at all social levels and help create or exacerbate tensions between different social groups. In addition to the social tensions, the security situation in Mali is precarious due to the presence of non-state armed groups. The conflict analysis was carried out to take stock of the current situation regarding conflicts over natural [...]