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The publication provides a description of the establishments that function to supply food to the population, in seven countries of the region. This analysis includes supermarkets, retail markets, wholesalers, restaurants and public companies in the food sector. It includes some general reflections, based on the cases analyzed, with a focus on measures that must be taken for their best performance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Last updated date 7/10/2020 Click here for more COVID19-related resources

The crisis has heavily affected fisheries and aquaculture. The restrictive health measures have had adverse effects on the free operation of the sector. The sector needs short term action; it also needs to modify some aspects of the activity that have been dragging on for some time. Thus for example, technology and innovation can play an essential role. Also available in Spanish. See here more FAO publications on COVID19.

COVID-19 pandemic has put local food systems at risk of disruptions along the entire agri-food value chain. Cities and local governments are currently playing a major role in limiting the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and in mitigating disruptions to their local food systems.To better understand the situation, FAO has been closely monitoring local food system status and prevailing practices during COVID-19, collecting information and insights from different cities on key challenges and specific responses through various channels.The insights, data and cases presented in this paper highlight the role of local food production and value chains in enhancing [...]

The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020 (SOCO 2020) aims to discuss policies and mechanisms that promote sustainable outcomes – economic, social and environmental – in agricultural and food markets, both global and domestic. The analysis is organized along the trends and challenges that lie at the heart of global discussions on trade and development. These include the evolution of trade and markets; the emergence of global value chains in food and agriculture; the extent to which smallholder farmers in developing countries participate in value chains and markets; and the transformative impacts of digital technology on markets.Along these themes, SOCO [...]

More than 820 million people in the world were hungry in 2018 (FAO, 2019). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there were 239 million undernourished people, with a prevalence of 22.8 percent as measured by the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU), a Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) indicator. The target is to bring this prevalence to zero by 2030 (Ritchie et al., 2018). According to the latest Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), 9.2 percent of the world’s population (or more than 700 million people) were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity in 2018, with Africa having the highest level of 27 [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound negative effect on the global economy and is occurring in the context of a rapidly changing climate. This year is expected to be the second hottest in recorded history. Weather forecasts for 2020 indicate a high probability that extreme weather will adversely affect food production in many countries. This brief draws on historical evidence and demonstrates that reductions in national food availability caused by severe weather events tend to be considerably larger in magnitude when they occur during global economic downturns. The risks posed by this dual threat are particularly high for poorer countries [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all parts of society and livelihoods around the globe. It is though worth recognizing that disadvantaged segments of populations like rural young women and men will be impacted harder, nevertheless, when proactively engaged, they have demonstrated to be innovators in their own sectors to surmount the pandemic impact. As governments and development partners take steps to address the economic and social effects of COVID-19, they should not allow a reversal of the rural youth progress achieved in recent years in terms of inclusion in food systems, access to education, vocational education and training, and access to [...]

It is increasingly recognized that human, plant and animal health, environmental health and food security are inter-linked and that the degradation of ecological systems has significantly increased the overall risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks, in addition to having other complex effects on human health. The devastating human, social and economic effects of COVID-19 should force the global community to ensure prevention of another similar event.The One Health approach provides a platform to work on the interface between human, animal and plant health and their shared environment. Working on the synergies among these areas is key to preventing the outbreak, or [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major economic shock, throwing into question the resilience of the agrifood sector at this stage, particularly in developing countries where self-employed, wage and informal workers are threatened by food supply chain disruptions, limitations on movement and trade restrictions. Even before the crisis, small and medium agribusinesses were often considered to be credit-constrained and extremely vulnerable to shocks. Reaching out to this underserved segment has been one of the objectives driving the development of blended finance funds and facilities in the agrifood sector. While many operators will be focusing on managing their portfolio through these turbulent [...]

There are 476 million indigenous peoples around the world, constituting 6.2 percent of the global population and, according to different sources, representing more than 19 percent of the extreme poor. Indigenous peoples are not a homogenous group. They live in over 90 countries, in rural and urban areas, in forests, savannahs, mountains, and along the coasts, in low, middle- and high-income countries. However, they all share a history of discrimination and marginalization that in the context of COVID-19 – once again – challenges their existence. This document provides a series of recommendations to governments on how to face COVID-19 impacts [...]