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This brochure highlights the important role that social protection has to play in addressing many of the barriers poor rural households face in building resilient and sustainable livelihoods. Despite progress in recent decades, 736 million people worldwide still live in extreme poverty. Most are in rural areas, possess few or no assets and depend on agriculture and the use of natural resources for their livelihoods. A number of programmes have demonstrated not only that social protection can have significant impacts on poverty, but also that even low-income countries can afford to provide it for their citizens, if they commit to [...]

The objective of the Assessment is to analyse the agriculture and rural sectors from a gender perspective at the macro level (policy), meso level (institutional) and micro level (community and household). The Assessment seeks to identify gender inequalities in access to critical productive resources, assets, services and opportunities. The assessment looks at the priorities, needs and constraints of both women and men in agricultural and rural communities, and the gaps that exist in responding to these issues. It also provides recommendations and guidance to promote gender sensitivity in future programmes and projects, and identifies possible partners for gender-related activities. This Assessment [...]

The aim of this document is to make policy-relevant suggestions related to the following questions: 1) How can vulnerable fisher-farmers' access to social protection be enhanced; and 2) What potential exists for social protection and fishery-related policies, institutions, mechanisms and programs to mutually reinforce poverty reduction and incentivize conservation and sustainable use of fisheries and related natural resources.

Social protection is recognized as an effective strategy for poverty eradication. It also contributes to promoting good health and well-being, achieving decent employment, fostering economic growth and reducing inequalities – objectives that are reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG targets 1.3, 3.8, 5.4 and 10.4). When designed to reduce and prevent poverty, food insecurity, and vulnerability across the life cycle – social protection policies and programmes can effectively support vulnerable households to improve their lives. The issue lies in the fact that only 45 per cent of the global population is currently effectively covered by at least one social benefit [...]

FAO recognizes that those living in rural areas whose livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources, are disproportionately affected by climate risks because of their great likelihood of living in high-risk geographical locations as well as their high vulnerability to, and limited capacity to cope with, climate hazards due to low incomes, lack of savings, weaker social networks, low asset bases and heavy reliance on agriculture and natural resources. Protecting poor and vulnerable small scale producers from the negative impacts of climate risks is an imperative in order to reach FAO’s strategic objectives and achieve Sustainable development goal one and two. Managing [...]

Globally, synergies between social protection and agriculture are taking place as part of an effort to combat hunger and poverty while promoting rural development. These efforts resonate with the vision and current strategies set in motion by the Government of the Philippines, which is committed to the goals and targets outlined in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This document presents a framework for analysis with the purpose of strengthening coherence between agriculture and social protection, and identifying pathways for achieving policy and programmatic synergies.  

The objective of the Assessment is to analyse the agriculture and rural sectors from a gender perspective at the macro level (policy), meso level (institutional) and micro level (community and household). The Assessment seeks to identify gender inequalities in access to critical productive resources, assets, services and opportunities. The assessment looks at the priorities, needs and constraints of both women and men in agricultural and rural communities, and the gaps that exist in responding to these issues. It also provides recommendations and guidance to promote gender sensitivity in future programmes and projects, and identifies possible partners for gender-related activities. This Assessment [...]

Along the border of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, many communities are ethnically and politically divided. Land is at the heart of social, political and economic life, which makes land disputes and other related issues even more challenging. Tensions and conflict in Liberia, as well as the civil war, created an unstable scenario, where marginalized people increasingly take to demonstrating in cities, and roadblocks and even violence are becoming more common. Within this context, FAO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) developed this project to promote the stabilization and cohesion of 10 communities along [...]

The high cost to Ecuador’s national budget of maintaining a minimum guaranteed producer price for rice led to the introduction of a price bracket system in 2017. The minimum support price policy and a complimentary high import tariff were meant to protect small rice producers from competition from world markets and increase their incomes. However, farmers with greater productive capacity are currently accruing the highest income transfers from the guaranteed minimum rice price. Moreover, the policy has led to distortions throughout the marketing chain, only partially meeting its objective of price stability. The introduction of the price bracket system and [...]

The Government of Fiji has identified action on nutrition and on diet-related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as a policy priority. The population of Fiji is experiencing a triple burden of malnutrition, due to the rapid dietary transition of the past 5 decades. Consumption of healthy traditional foods such as fish and seafood, staple root crops, coconuts and wild plants has decreased, while consumption of cereals and refined sugar has increased dramatically.  A significant contributor to high salt, sugar and fat intakes are discretionary foods, such as confectionary, snacks and sweet beverages. These foods contribute an average of only 9 percent of daily [...]