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To respond to the diverse effects of climate change on food systems requires close dialogue and interaction between the research community and policy-makers. Strengthening this relationship will ensure that research findings are relevant to policy debates, and that policies are informed by up to date and rigorous analysis. This brief summarizes key findings from a multidisciplinary team of agronomists, livestock scientists, climatologists and economists for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) working in Malawi and Zambia. The findings presented here seek to spark a fruitful continued discussions on how policies can make use of these findings, [...]

In this paper, we evaluate the impact of this proposed change to the existing FISP design and implementation mechanisms by utilizing two waves of the Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA)survey merged with historical climate data. We estimate how the demand for agricultural inputs varies according to a variation in the targeting criteria and identify more efficient farmers that should be eligible for the FISP.  

L’objectif de cette note technique est d’analyser l’évolution des dépenses publiques en soutien à l’agriculture et l’alimentation (DPAA) au Bénin. La présente analyse s’emploie à identifier l’évolution du soutien aux sous-secteurs de l’agriculture et l’alimentation (recherche, subventions aux intrants, infrastructures,...) et aux produits du secteur agricole dans le temps, par type et source de financement. Aussi, l’ambition de cette note est davantage de livrer une analyse détaillée du niveau, de la composition et de la cohérence des DPAA dans le pays, que de fournir une analyse en profondeur du lien entre la performance du secteur et les dépenses publiques, ou [...]

The Commodity Policy Developments tool is maintained by commodity analysts of the FAO Trade and Markets Division. The tool provides concise accounts of national policy changes deemed relevant to markets of basic foodstuffs. Its coverage is global, with emphasis given to policy developments – grouped by major policy domains – affecting cereal, oilcrop, meat, dairy and sugar markets since 2011. The policy records included in the tool act as a supplement to more exhaustive commodity market appraisals prepared by the Division, such as the AMIS Market Monitor, the Food Outlook, the Oilcrops Monthly Price and Policy Update, the Monthly News [...]

In response to the declining production trend for maize and wheat over the period 2007-2016, the government took measures that included direct inputs assistance to farmers, provision of extension services, and liberalization and deregulation measures. However, financial constraints, together with a number of weather-related shocks, have considerably limited the impact of these measures on agricultural production and development

Mozambique’s general policy frameworks like the Government’s Five-year Plan (PQG) and the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Sector Development (PEDSA) set specific objectives like establishing legal frameworks and policies that are conducive to agriculture growth and investment. So far, the agricultural policy has been focusing on transforming the sector, shifting production away from mainly subsistence activities. 

The National Inputs Voucher Scheme (NAIVS) will be ending at the close of this cropping year (2013/2014). NAIVS provided access to fertilizer and seeds through subsidized input packages for maize and rice. The Big Results Now (BRN) initiative was launched in 2013, which aims to modernize the agriculture sector by promoting public-private partnership and mainstream market oriented measures.

In reaction to weather and market induced food price crises, the government has implemented various measures targeting maize in order to combat low production and high prices such as the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) in 2005/06, export bans in 2005/06, 2008/09 and 2012/13, private domestic trade bans in 2006 and 2008, and import restrictions throughout the entire period under review.

The notes collected in this publication were initially disseminated at the “Private Sector Forum on Food Security in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region” jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in May 2015. The notes aim to inform EBRD agribusiness investments in the SEMED and disseminate knowledge on current trends in agribusiness and food security. The EBRD called upon FAO’s technical assistance to carry out an analysis of key trends in the agribusiness sector of four specific countries: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan. This process resulted in four country [...]

The AMIS policy database gathers information on trade measures and domestic measures related to the four AMIS crops (wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans) as well as biofuels. The design of this database allows comparisons across countries, across commodities and across policies for selected periods of time.