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As COVID-19 reaches a growing number of communities across Africa, governments’ efforts to contain the spread of the virus need to be accompanied by measures to minimize disruptions to the food system. To date, the emerging crisis is viewed primarily through a public health lens (as it should) and only gradually are national strategies, task forces and funds focusing attention on the spill-over economic and food security impacts. There are emerging signs of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the agrifood system, including difficulties in moving food from rural to urban areas, closed markets, rising food prices, loss of livelihoods, [...]

Notwithstanding an increasing demand for their derived products, roots and tubers (R&T) value chains in Africa remain loose, fragmented and informal, and many market opportunities remain unexploited. Some encouraging new investment initiatives in R&T value chains have recently been documented, both by improving the competitiveness of small actors of the value chains, and by building the capacity of financial services providers to design products and services that fit the specific needs of the mentioned actors. This policy brief provides recommendations for policymakers, including the development of incentives for investing in the sector, through the facilitation of the use of alternative [...]

Cette note technique analyse le niveau, la composition et la cohérence des dépenses publiques en soutient à l’agriculture et l’alimentation au Bénin pour la période 2008-2018. Spécifiquement, la méthodologie du programme de Suivi et analyse des politiques agricoles et alimentaires (SAPAA) est employée pour identifier les tendances de soutien budgétaire à l’agriculture et l’alimentation en terme de composition fonctionnelle de la dépense publique (recherche agricole, subvention au capital, vulgarisation, etc.) et du sous-secteur qui est visé par la dépense (forêt, élevage, denrées spécifiques, etc.) ainsi que la source de financement de ces dépenses. L’étude également vise à évaluer la cohérence [...]

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current state of financial inclusion of the rural youth in Uganda, with a specific focus on their engagement in the agricultural sector and the financial services that are available to them to pursue their business ventures in this area. The study seeks to illustrate and bring to light the core constraints and opportunities associated with the provision of tailored financial services to young agricultural entrepreneurs in the country, while showcasing the essential role that key support actors (such as the Government, Central Bank, international development institutions, NGOs, foundations [...]

The main objective of this report is to provide a regional synthesis of the climate change mitigation and adaptation commitments in the agriculture and land use sectors set forth in the Nationally Determined Contributions of countries in the Caribbean and to identify opportunities for enhancing mitigation and adaptation ambitions, capturing their synergies and leveraging climate finance and international support options in the region. It aims to guide FAO – and policy makers and practitioners in the region – committed to providing the country support required for accelerating progress on and scaling up NDCs in the agriculture and land use sectors, [...]

As a result of the Government of Uganda’s forward thinking policies to create a commercial forestry sector in the early 2000’s, it is 20 years ahead of its neighbors in terms of the sector’s development. It now must implement policies to sustain to the sector, and enable it to help meet the rapidly growing demand for timber and other wood products in the region, and beyond.  This depends fundamentally on enabling producers and processors to easily access to external timber markets.  

The purpose of these insurance guidelines is fourfold, i.e.:  to increase awareness about the needs of small-scale fishers for better risk management, disaster preparedness and insurance services;  to guide policy and decision makers to help introduce insurance services to small-scale fishers, with the ultimate objective to strengthen the sustainability and ecological and economic viability of these fisheries;  to build capacity among insurance providers, fisherfolk organizations, NGOs, and concerned government agencies, to design and implement insurance programmes that suit the needs of small-scale fishing communities and enhance social protection;  to promote insurance services that incentivize and reward a responsible and sustainable conduct of fishing operations [...]

The purpose of these guidelines is fourfold: (i) Increase awareness about the financial service needs of small-scale fishers (SSF) for more sustainable and inclusive access to finance; (ii) Guide policy and decision makers in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere, to help introduce and incentivize financial services to small-scale fishers, with the ultimate objective to encourage investment in the industry and by doing so influence and strengthen sustainability, ecological and economic viability of these fisheries; (iii) Build capacity among financial service providers, fisherfolk organizations, NGOs, and concerned government agencies, to design and implement financial service products and programmes that suit the [...]

The People’s Republic of China (China) has been one of FAO’s main partners in the promotion of South-South and triangular cooperation. In terms of cooperation among developing countries, China upholds the principles of equality and mutual trust, building equal partnerships with parity of ownership and responsibility, mutual benefit and win–win cooperation, which are highly valued by FAO. Together, FAO and China offer considerable development knowledge and solutions that are relevant to South-South exchanges. After more than two decades of increasing collaboration in supporting flows of technical assistance between developing countries, FAO and China established in 2009 the FAO-China South-South Cooperation [...]

This technical paper aims to provide a review of the main demand- and supply-side constraints linked to women’s access to rural and agricultural finance, to then present the key strategies which can be adopted to address these challenges, while displaying examples of good practices and providing core policy recommendations to promote women’s financial inclusion