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The document presents the definitions and components of the food system, as well as proposing a definition and search areas for food phenomena. It also updates the empirical evidence and the opinion of experts based on how these eating phenomena are defined in the literature. Finally, it presents a reflection on the identified phenomena, how they are presented and should be addressed in the Latin American and Caribbean region, in the current COVID-19 scenario. Some of the phenomena mentioned are: food deserts and swamps, eCommerce and regulatory standards for critical ingredients in food. See more publications on COVID19 here.

The number of Dimitra Clubs in sub-Saharan Africa has reached 3 000, marking a milestone. This gender-transformative approach aimed at rural people’s empowerment through community mobilization has proved increasingly successful.Through this flexible approach developed by FAO, the rural communities themselves, through their decisions and actions, determine the changes that need to be made to their environment, and how to improve their livelihoods.The Dimitra Clubs’ areas of impact are many and varied. Several themes shape this special edition of the newsletter: community mobilization, gender and women’s leadership, food security and nutrition, social cohesion and peace, adaptation to climate change, rural organizations, [...]

The 27th Session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG 27) will be conducted as a virtual event from 28 September to 2 October 2020.Sustainable Livestock for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a main theme.The livestock sector is a key driver for a sustainable agricultural development. Sustainable livestock farming must improve food security, nutrition and healthy diets, inclusive economic growth, livelihoods, animal health and welfare, and address environment issues.Challenges and opportunities for the livestock sector’s contribution to SDGs will be discussed at COAG 27.COAG is one of FAO’s Governing Bodies with over 120 Member Nations. It provides policy and regulatory guidance [...]

As the world population continues to rise, new ways are needed to sustainably increase agricultural production, improve supply chains, reduce food losses and waste, and ensure access to nutritious food for all at all times.This brochure includes the contribution of genetic resources for food and agriculture to food security and to the achievement of relevant sustainable development goals. Available in following languages: Arabic, French, Mandarin, Spanish and Russian.

FAO’s Investment Centre provides a wide range of investment support services to developing and transition countries. This third annual review shines a light on the work of the Investment Centre and its partners - the international financing institutions - carried out in 2019 to increase the volume and quality of investments in food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development. During that year, the Centre supported investment-related policy studies and processes to increase policy dialogue and contributed to the design, technical assistance, supervision or evaluation of investment projects in 133 countries. It increasingly linked both its policy work with investment support to [...]

Sustainable food systems are fundamental to ensuring that future generations are food secure and eat healthy diets. To transition towards sustainability, many food system activities must be reconstructed, and myriad actors around the world are starting to act locally. While some changes are easier than others, knowing how to navigate through them to promote sustainable consumption and production practices requires complex skill sets. This handbook is written for “sustainable food systems innovators” by a group of innovators from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe who are leading initiatives to grow, share, sell and consume more sustainable foods in their local contexts. [...]

More than 820 million people in the world were hungry in 2018 (FAO, 2019). In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there were 239 million undernourished people, with a prevalence of 22.8 percent as measured by the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU), a Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) indicator. The target is to bring this prevalence to zero by 2030 (Ritchie et al., 2018). According to the latest Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), 9.2 percent of the world’s population (or more than 700 million people) were exposed to severe levels of food insecurity in 2018, with Africa having the highest level of 27 [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has created supply and demand shocks in the food systems, disproportionately affecting the poor and nutritionally vulnerable groups. A possible economic slowdown further compounds challenges faced by governments in tackling malnutrition in all its forms.This brief presents policy and programmatic actions adopted by countries and development partners to ensure that food and agriculture responses promote healthy diets and improve nutrition. Furthermore, this brief explains supply and demand measures, taken from recent worldwide good practices. See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19

Key findings of this report show that much progress has been made towards the goal of ending hunger. Yet, many countries continue to face moderate to high degrees of undernourishment, especially where economies made least progress in transitioning towards high-productivity, modern agriculture and non-farm economic development and where policy stances have been weak in promoting agricultural development, reducing gender inequalities, and improving infrastructure and basic social services. The decline in undernourishment has come with a rise in the prevalence in overweight and obesity. The spread of this form of malnutrition has come with dietary shifts towards the consumption of more animal-sourced [...]

This document was prepared within the framework of the FAO’s Strategic Objective 1 (SO1): Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. This document served as a background paper to present the status of policy mainstreaming and policy research for the improvement of policy development in aquaculture in support of food security, nutrition and poverty eradication. The document was presented in various African fora and received the validation of the stakeholders for its publication as part of policy research. Specifically, the paper was presented and included the inputs from the Consultative Meeting on Aquaculture Policy Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 3 [...]