FAO.org

The objective of this corporate Framework (the ‘Framework’) is to guide the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in carrying out its mandate in its areas of competence and comparative advantage, i.e. food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture, towards a more deliberate and transformative impact on sustaining peace. Following the April 2016 Security Council and General Assembly resolutions on peacebuilding, the concept “sustaining peace” encompasses activities aimed at preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict, including addressing root causes and moving towards recovery, reconstruction and development. The United Nations Secretary-General has called on all UN entities to [...]

Migration is an intrinsic part of rural development. Yet, there are major knowledge gaps regarding its drivers, dynamics and effects on rural areas. This e-learning course allows to understand the linkages between migration and rural development with a particular focus on youth. It also provides policy recommendations on how to maximize the positive impacts of rural migration and minimize the negative ones.

Many different policies affect rural migration through their impacts on agriculture, rural development, food insecurity and poverty. As countries at different levels of development face different challenges and policy priorities (as shown in the typology based on rural migration drivers), the migration context matters for related policy formulation and implementation. The challenge for policy-makers is to maximize the benefits of rural migration while minimizing the negative effects and, as much as possible, to create conditions so that migration is a voluntary decision based on real and informed choices. For this purpose policies must aim at: creating attractive rural livelihood opportunities, [...]

This report analyses the impacts of violent conflicts on food security, including on coping and consumption patterns, long-term consequences of early-life exposure to conflict, and the linkages between food insecurity and anti-social behaviours.  

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 [...]

The Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon’s Far North region has led to a large influx of refugees from neighbouring Nigeria and of internally displaced people. Local communities, already disproportionately affected by years of low socio-economic development, have suffered from the impact upon the environment, food security, nutrition and basic social services. In an attempt to prevent radicalization of youths and women, the project aimed to build the capacity of local, traditional and religious auth orities to better understand the vulnerabilities, plan the response, tackle the crisis, contribute to the dialogue for peace and constitute a solid basis for peaceful coexistence [...]

Political disputes and the deterioration of the economic and security situation in Libya continue to threaten the agricultural sector and its infrastructure. The cereal sector and, above all, wheat production, the most important crop for food security, are particularly affected. To improve food security conditions, farmers need to have access to improved seed, especially wheat seed. The wheat seed assistant programme was implemented to help small farmers in selected governorates to increase wheat production and productivity by distributing improved seed to producer households affected by the political situation, and by providing training and extension. Find more Project Highlights here.  

Based on governance dialogue seminar held at FAO in November 2017, the brief emphasizes that to effectively address the risk of protracted crises, it is critical to understand the governance and political economy of the prevailing contexts, the principal actors and their power dynamics, the impact of the crises and the nature of the support required. The political economy and conflict analyses can reveal the underlying or proximate causes of a crisis, inform conflict-sensitive programming and help bridge humanitarian and development intervention. The brief also discusses the relevance of investing in resilient agriculture-based interventions in protracted crises contexts.

This introduction frames the entire series of guidance notes "Improving food security and nutrition in protracted crises – guidance to implement the CFS-FFA", providing background on protracted crises and the Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA) and also presenting the objectives of the series. Protracted crises are situations in which a significant proportion of the population is acutely vulnerable to death, disease, and disruption of livelihoods o ver a prolonged period of time. Available in French.

The 2017 Near East and North Africa (NENA) edition of the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition comes under the theme of “building resilience for food security and nutrition in times of conflict and crisis”. The report establishes a baseline against which to measure future progress towards achieving SDG 2 on ending hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in NENA by monitoring the latest indicators for the SDG targets on hunger and food insecurity (SDG Target 2.1) and malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2). Beyond numbers, the report focuses on the fundamental factors that have driven improvements in food security and malnutrition: poverty reduction, [...]