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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.

The transformation of agricultural markets as a result of political and economic transition in the post-Soviet countries was accompanied by the process of globalization and deepening trade integration both within the region and with external trade partners. These countries are often engaged in multiple trade negotiation processes at the same time, each with their own challenges and benefits.  Many European and Central Asian countries joined the WTO which helped enhance their participation in global agricultural trade, and the region plays an increasingly important role as a supplier of agricultural commodities to international markets. The network brings together experts who conduct research, carry [...]

More than 500 million family farms manage the majority of the world’s agricultural land and produce most of the world’s food. We need family farms to ensure global food security, to care for and protect the natural environment and to end poverty, undernourishment and malnutrition. But these goals can be thoroughly achieved if public policies support family farms to become more productive and sustainable; in other words policies must support family farms to innovate within a system that recognizes their diversity and the complexity of the challenges faced.  The State of Food and Agriculture 2014: Innovation in family farming analyses family [...]

The objective of the Principles is to promote responsible investment in agriculture and food systems that contribute to food security and nutrition, thus supporting the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security. This document seeks to address the core elements of what makes investment in agriculture and food systems responsible; identify who the key stakeholders are, and their respective roles and responsibilities with respect to responsible investment in agriculture and food systems; and to serve as a framework to guide the actions of all stakeholders engaged in agriculture and food systems by defining Principles which can [...]

CFS Recommended the following actions by stakeholders to address the development, policy, management and enforcement challenges in order to maintain and enhance the contribution of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture to nutrition and food security: Give to fish the position it deserves in food security and nutrition strategies, policies and programmes Promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture policies and management and design climate change adaptation strategies for food security and nutrition Seize the opportunities and address the challenges of aquaculture development Recognize the contribution of small-scale fisheries Enhance fish market’s and trade’s contribution to food security and nutrition Improve social protection and labour rights Fully address the gender dimension of the fisheries and aquaculture [...]

The nature of this Framework for Action is voluntary. Its purpose is to guide the implementation of the commitments of the Rome Declaration on Nutrition adopted by the Second International Conference on Nutrition held in Rome, Italy, on 19-21 November 2014. Building on existing commitments, goals and targets, this Framework for Action provides a set of policy options and strategies which governments1, acting in cooperation with other stakeholders, may incorporate, as appropriate, into their national nutrition, health, agriculture2, development and investment plans, and consider in negotiating international agreements to achieve better nutrition for all. As governments have primary responsibility for taking [...]

If a decision is made at the national level to increase the share of bioenergy, what implications does this have for water, land and energy? How do electricity subsidies contribute to groundwater depletion and what can be done about it? How can we ensure that sectoral policies and strategies consider the potential trade-offs for other sectors? Finding answers to these questions is the main challenge of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. By describing the complex and interrelated nature of our global resource systems, the Nexus approach helps us to better understand and systematically analyze how we can use and manage our resources in light of different, often competing [...]

This volume outlines a simple and practical way to analyse the design and implementation of food and nutrition security (FNS) policies and programmes from a right to food perspective. The right to food approach, as an instrument to help formulate FNS policies and programmes, is emphasized. The primary focus is on national overarching FNS policies. The question of how to assess sector policies that may have direct or indirect impacts on food security and nutrition security is also addressed. Good policies need an enabling implementation environment, which includes evidence-based decisions, adequate financial and human resources and sound governance. These aspects [...]

Over the coming 35 years, agriculture will face an unprecedented confluence of pressures, including a 30 percent increase in the global population, intensifying competition for increasingly scarce land, water and energy resources, and the existential threat of climate change. To provide for a population projected to reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and support changing dietary patterns, estimates are that food production will need to increase from the current 8.4 billion tonnes to almost 13.5 billion tonnes a year. Achieving that level of production from an already seriously depleted natural resource base will be impossible without profound changes in our food [...]

In a world where more than 800 million continue to suffer from chronic malnourishment and where the global population is expected to grow by another 2 billion to reach 9.6 billion people by 2050 – with a concentration in coastal urban areas – we must meet the huge challenge of feeding our planet while safeguarding its natural resources for future generations. This new edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) highlights the significant role that fisheries and aquaculture plays in eliminating hunger, promoting health and reducing poverty. Never before have people consumed so much fish or depended [...]