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Poverty reduction and food security are intrinsically linked. Both depend on sustainable food systems and safe and sustainable agricultural practices. Similarly, poverty reduction and sustainable food systems can only be realized if those producing food, for their own consumption and for local and global supply chains, have decent working conditions and stable livelihoods.Hence, it is essential that young people above the minimum age for employment are protected, offered relevant technical and vocational training, and able to work in safe, non-exploitative agricultural work. Working towards a successful school-to-work transition for the 15-17 years age cohort goes hand in hand with 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 [...]

COVID-19 has quickly morphed from an unprecedented health crisis to a massive economic shock—and, unless immediate and decisive action is taken to sustain consumption levels and prevent disruptions to food supply chains, it could easily lead into a global food crisis. Public employment programmes (PEP) - which refer to a wide array of interventions including public works, cash for work, and temporary or emergency employment programmes - have a long track record of deployment in response to cyclical shocks, seasonal deprivation, and severe macro-economic crisis involving sharp income loss and large under- and unemployment. PEPs, in fact, have a key role [...]

The paper contains a joint statement by the Social Protection Interagency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B), a coordination mechanism comprising of a broad swath of intergovernmental and bilateral agencies engaged in social protection, drawing from the lessons drawn in the social protection response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its aim is to consolidate the gains made in putting social protection at the core of COVID-19 response and recovery strategies, inform the implementation of actions geared towards strengthening social protection systems so that they can better respond to future shocks, and advocate for further commitment and resources to make universal social protection a reality [...]

This publication was developed by the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (UNU-Merit) in partnership with FAO. The policy paper is conceived as a framing paper, which conceptualizes the relationship between social protection, migration, and rural development, and strengthens these synergies for FAO’s programming.The relationship between social protection, migration, and rural development is critical to the FAO mandate to end hunger for all. In its capacity as an organization working across emergency and development contexts, FAO is well positioned to promote the synergies that exist at the intersection of social protection and migration in rural contexts.Accordingly, the Social Protection and Migration [...]

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.

The Crop Sector Development Strategy for Eastern Africa 2021 - 2026 defines a series of goals and interventions agreed by representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture from the countries within the jurisdiction of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, as well as inputs from FAO representatives in the member countries, the East African Community Secretariat, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Secretariat, the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa and the CGIAR centres.The Strategy presents a holistic approach to improving crop production and productivity through a unified approach. This should be [...]

This country report integrates methods, analysis and findings of two studies that explore the impact of a package of short-term humanitarian and recovery interventions in response to food crisis affecting poor and vulnerable livelihoods in Mali. The design of the studies, data collection and research were funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development through the Universidad de los Andes for the project: “Improving the articulation between social protection interventions and rural productive development in developing countries: lessons from Latin America and Africa" and the FAO Regular Programme funds.

This publication presents ten scalable intercultural collaboration experiences that demonstrate the importance, efficiency and effectiveness of working hand in hand with men, women and youth of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean in the search for practical solutions developed from the synergy between ancestral knowledge and scientific and technological innovation.Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants are two of the rural groups with the greatest potential to contribute to climate change mitigation in Latin America. Both groups are highly vulnerable to natural disasters and the effects of climate on agriculture and food, yet their ancestral knowledge and collective territorial [...]

This document provides guidance on undertaking risk assessment of all microbial hazards which may adversely affect human health in foods along a food chain. This document is also intended to provide practical guidance on a structured framework for carrying out risk assessment of microbiological hazards in foods, focussing on the four components including hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment and risk characterization. These guidelines therefore represent the best practice at the time of their preparation, and it is hoped that they will help stimulate further developments and disseminate the current knowledge.