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Young people are key agents of change, with enormous innovation potential. FAO recognizes that youth are already at the frontline to build more sustainable agrifood systems and are best placed to rejuvenate the sector, acquire the knowledge and skills needed to innovate, uptake new technologies, and spearhead the digital transformation. The Organization provides support to countries to develop more youth-inclusive policies, strategies, investments and programmes, in order to enhance the overall well-being of young women and men. This compendium of good practices brings together snapshots of selected FAO’s youth-specific projects, activities and products in support of the Rural Youth Action [...]

The State of Land and Water Resources (SOLAW) in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is part of a FAO flagship series launched in 2011. Being one of the most land and water scarce region in the world, the preservation of land and water resources is of critical importance to ensure food security and address the increased food demand. The publication aims at providing policy makers, institutions and other stakeholders a comprehensive overview of the current situation for land and water and the effect of climate change and urbanization on food production facilitating informed decision-making. The report provides [...]

If the world is to transition towards agrifood systems that are more sustainable and equitable, small-scale production systems will be key to progress. Large parts of the world depend on small-scale systems for maintaining food security and nutrition (Lowder, Sánchez and Bertini, 2021; Herrero et al., 2017). Despite this centrality, neither small-scale production systems nor small-scale producers have received due recognition under predominant agrifood systems paradigms.This paper analyzes the diversity of small-scale producers and demonstrates how understanding small-scale production can have consequences for how policies and investments are directed and how they impact small-scale producer livelihoods. The diverse roles and [...]

This series of technical briefs aims to provide a solid knowledge base for building or strengthening stakeholder capacities on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and applying CSA practices to five crops that are critical to the global agri-food sector: coffee, cowpea, maize, rice and wheat. These briefing notes reflect the growing recognition of the need to share knowledge, best practices, lessons learned and experiences on CSA. They are intended to support stakeholders to make the transition to more sustainable and resilient crop production systems and, thereby reach targets laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals. It is our intent to reach a [...]

The December issue of the publication summarizes the salient trends and market outlook in 2022. International dairy prices eased in recent months due to subdued import demand. Moreover, global milk production is forecast to expand slightly, sustained by growth in Asia. Meanwhile, world dairy trade may contract for the first time in two decades.

Cette note de recommandations pour des politiques publiques au Niger a été élaborée dans le cadre du projet AgrInvest-Systèmes Alimentaires «favoriser l’investissement efficace et inclusif du secteur privé dans les systèmes agroalimentaires». L’objectif de la présente note est de formuler des propositions de politiques publiques facilitant les investissements durables dans la filière oignon au Niger. La note vise aussi à identifier des stratégies pour l’engagement de plusieurs parties prenantes dans la mise en œuvre de ces interventions.

At the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, a joint FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) took place in June and July 2022 to analyse the country’s agricultural production in 2022, particularly of the main staple cereals, and to assess households’ food security conditions. The request was prompted by expectations of a well below agricultural output in 2022, owing to the effects of the severe macroeconomic crisis, which also pushed up food prices to record or near-record levels. This caused a significant worsening of households’ food security.Last updated 12/09/2022

Food waste management and circular economy can be levers for sustainable food systems: food security in the Mediterranean region is threatened by natural resource scarcity, food import dependency, and current trade market instability to global crises. A circular economy approach to food waste would enableto recognize and maintain the value and utility of food products, nutrients and resources for as long as possible, minimizing resource use and upcycling food waste and by-products

This report addresses the role of forest products in replacing fossil-based and GHG-intensive products. The overarching objective is to provide recommendations to strengthen the contribution of substitution by forest products to sustainable development. To that end, this report firstly provides an overview of the understanding of the bioeconomy and the role of forest products across the world. Secondly, we present examples of conventional and innovative forest products and describe their role in the bioeconomy. Thirdly, we present a review of the quantitative and qualitative understanding of the environmental impacts and benefits of substituting fossil fuel-based or -intensive products with forest-based products, and of [...]

This report addresses the role of forest products in replacing fossil-based and GHG-intensive products. The overarching objective is to provide recommendations to strengthen the contribution of substitution by forest products to sustainable development. To that end, this report firstly provides an overview of the understanding of the bioeconomy and the role of forest products across the world.   Secondly, we present examples of conventional and innovative forest products and describe their role in the bioeconomy. Thirdly, we present a review of the quantitative and qualitative understanding of the environmental impacts and benefits of substituting fossil fuel-based or -intensive products with forest-based products, and of [...]