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The importance of agriculture to Mongolia’s economy, and to its rural economy in particular, makes sustainable agricultural development a national priority. The transition from collective socialism to a market economy in the 1990s nearly caused the collapse of the entire agriculture sector. Since privatization, the number of livestock animals, mainly sheep and goats, has increased dramatically, reaching 45.1 million in 2012. This growth in both livestock and crop production was enabled by several factors. Yet investment in research and extension remains very low. Without sufficient government backing for research and development, extension services and veterinarians, information about weather and prices [...]

Climate change plays an increasingly important role in the international debate on food security. While the key concern is on how climate change can impact world food security: how to meet the food needs of a world population reaching 9.5 billion people under climate uncertainty, the agrifood sector is also increasingly under scrutiny to increase its contribution to climate change mitigation efforts. This is not surprising since worldwide, the agrifood chain (including agriculture as well as food processing, distribution, retail and utilisation) contributes to over 20 percent of total GHG emissions (excluding land use emissions).

This document containing the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on agro-environmental policies is mainly directed at people in charge of making and implementing policies on agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture in Latin America and the Caribbean. The guidelines are the result of an extensive consultation process and debates carried out through the project “Strengthening Agroenvironmental policies in Latin America and the Caribbean Through Dialogue and Exchange of National Experiences,” implemented by Brazil between 2012 and 2015 in the framework of South-South Cooperation, with the collaboration of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Nicaragua in the fi rst stage, and Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama and Paraguay in the second [...]

Five hundred millions farms worldwide provide most of the food consumed in the developing world. However, farmers, in particular smallholders, are frequently marginalized from decision-making processes, depend on agriculture and lack access to markets, services, technologies and economic opportunities. This hinders their economic potential, perpetrating low productivity, poverty and hunger. Farmer to farmer exchanges can improve small producers’ organizational and technical capacities, increasing their productivity and reducing rural poverty. Farmer to farmer exchange is an example of South-South Cooperation, which provides opportunities for mutual learning among countries through sharing experience and field visits. This is an important component of the [...]

There are still 2.1 billion poor people and other 900 million living in extreme poverty, most of which live in rural areas. Most of the poor live in rural areas and 95% per cent of the rural poor live in East Asia, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the rural poor are smallholders and family farmers, who depend on agriculture for their food and income. FAO works through a multi-dimensional approach to address the challenges that poor family farmers face in their daily lives and increase their income generating capacity. At the policy level, FAO helps countries shape poverty [...]

FAO recognizes the potential of rural women and men in achieving food security and nutrition and is committed to overcoming gender inequality, in line with the pledge to “leave no one behind”, which is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. The publication illustrates the consistent and sustained work of FAO towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, which are at the core of the Organization’s work to eliminate hunger and rural poverty. Each chapter highlights the relevance of gender work to achieving the FAO Strategic Objectives, and describes main results achieved, showcasing activities implemented [...]

This publication is a collection of articles written by economists, sociologists, and gender specialists and practitioners from twelve post-Soviet countries in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. It is unique in its effort to review and analyze the issues that are at the intersection of gender equality, social protection and rural development in the region. Overall, there is a lack of research, documented knowledge and public discourse on this subject and a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary for ensuring an in-depth and rigorous understanding of these intersecting issues in the context of the region. In supporting this publication, the FAO [...]

Cash transfers have become a key social protection tool in developing countries and have expanded dramatically in the last two decades. However, the impacts of cash transfers programmes, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, have not been substantially documented. This book presents a detailed overview of the impact evaluations of these programmes, carried out by the Transfer Project and FAO’s From Protection to Production project. The 14 chapters include a review of eight country case studies: Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, as well as a description of the innovative research methodologies, political economy issues and good practices to design [...]

Women play key roles in rural economies. However, compared to men, rural women often experience greater constraints in accessing resources, services and opportunities. Brave Ndisale, Director Ad Interim of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division together with Illaria Sisto, Gender and Development Officer explain the importance of empowering women and achieving gender equality to ensure food security and reduce rural poverty. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages, to achieve this. See all videos in the Policy and Governance series :  AR  CH  EN   FR  RU  SP

One in five people in developing countries live on less than $1.9 dollars a day. Seventy-five percent of these people live in rural areas. They depend directly on small-scale farming, forest resources, livestock and fishing for their subsistence. Philippe Ankers, Senior Programme Advisor of the FAO Strategic Programme on Rural Poverty Reduction together with Susan Kaaria, Senior Officer of the FAO Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division explain how empowering people and strengthening rural institutions including small-scale producer organizations can significantly contribute to reducing rural poverty and eradicating hunger. They describe the FAO policy work, including key policy messages.  See all [...]