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The FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and FLAMA will establish a joint strategy to monitor and advertise the activities of regional wholesale markets and supply centres during this period of crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this newsletter is to periodically share the main prevention strategies adopted by the wholesale markets and report on their activities and operating conditions to guarantee the food supply since they continue to fulfill their strategic and critical role in the food supply of cities. By delivering objective information and electronic links, we hope that this document can contribute [...]

This bulletin provides decision-makers in governments, the private sector and civil society with useful information and resources to support the design and implementation of actions against the effects of the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The resources and information contained in the bulletin come from FAO, as well as from governments and other institutions that are contributing to the common goal of containing the effects of the pandemic. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is a valuable partner in this bulletin, and we hope that other multilateral organizations will join us in future editions. Also [...]

Africa’s participation in the global market for agri-food products has steadily expanded in the last half century, with exports growing by 4 percent and imports by 6 percent per year. However, exports are comprised mainly of cash crops (cocoa, fruits and nuts, coffee, tea and spices), which have relatively limited markets in Africa, while most agri-food imports are basic food products, such as cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy products. The vast majority of imports are sourced from outside the region (e.g. wheat, sunflower oil and dairy products from Europe; rice and palm oil from Asia; maize, poultry and [...]

The full range of activities required to deliver fish and fish products from production to the final consumer is subject to indirect impacts of the pandemic through new sanitary measures, changing consumer demands, market access or logistical problems related to transportation and border restrictions. This in turn has a damaging effect on fishers and fish farmers’ livelihoods, as well as on food security and nutrition for populations that rely heavily on fish for animal protein and essential micronutrients. This policy brief reviews on going challenges and proposes measures to protect production and income of the sector and the most vulnerable, as [...]

Specific information about the virus responsible for COVID-19 is and remains scant; however, the behaviour and characteristics of the virus can be predicted based on data from similar viruses such as those responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Despite the hypothesis that the virus may have originated in bats and infected another animal used for food, there is no evidence of continued transmission of the virus from animals to humans through the food chain. The application of sound principles of environmental sanitation, personal hygiene and established food safety practices will reduce the likelihood [...]

The policy brief reviews the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants working in agri-food systems and their families in rural areas of origin. It points out some of the policy implications and presents key policy recommendations. Measures affecting the movement of people (internally and internationally) and resulting labour shortages, will have an impact on agricultural value chains, affecting food availability and market prices globally. At the same time, large shares of migrants work under informal or casual arrangements, which leave them unprotected, vulnerable to exploitation, poverty and food insecurity, and often without access to healthcare, social protection and the measures [...]

While the COVID-19 pandemic is devastating lives, public health systems, livelihoods and economies all over the world, populations living in food crisis contexts are particularly exposed to its effects. Countries with existing humanitarian crises are particularly exposed to the effects of the pandemic, which is already directly affecting food systems through impacts on food supply and demand, and indirectly through decreases in purchasing power, the capacity to produce and distribute food, and the intensification of care tasks, all of which will have differentiated impacts and will more strongly affect the most vulnerable populations. The effects could be even stronger in countries [...]

Global cereal markets are expected to remain balanced and comfortable despite worries over the impacts of COVID-19. While localized disruptions, largely due to logistical issues, pose challenges to food supply chains in some markets, their anticipated duration and magnitude are unlikely to have a significant effect on global food markets.  

The right to feed oneself in dignity and to be free from hunger is guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which today has been signed and ratified by 170 State Parties. As such, the right to food is a legal obligation anchored in international law. In order to fulfill this obligation, many countries and international organizations have led concrete actions to infuence policies and laws for the realization of the right to food.FAO, as the United Nations Specialized Agency mandated with the achievement of food security and nutrition, has supported Member Countries committed towards this [...]

In an effort to improve the capacity of countries to promptly react to fast-moving transboundary animal diseases, the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia has developed a series of awareness materials in different languages on priority diseases of the region. Three type of materials have been produced so far: leaflets, posters and videos. Leaflets and posters have been developed in a fully editable format (PowerPoint) that allows veterinary services and other institutions to quickly adapt, translate, add logos, change pictures, etc. when faced with an animal health emergency. The materials are now available online in English, plus some other [...]