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Building more resilient livelihoods is increasingly being recognized as one of the most powerful means to mitigate – or even prevent – food security crises.Since 2008, FAO has been at the forefront of efforts to measure the resilience capacity of people to food insecurity and the effectiveness of resilience strenghtening interventions. In this framework, FAO has pioneered the development and the use of Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA).RIMA is an innovative quantitative approach that explain why and how some households cope with shocks and stressors better than others do. The first version of RIMA has been technically improved based [...]

Since  the  effects  of  climate  change  are  already  being  felt,  incorporating adaptation  into agricultural policies, plans and investments is needed to maintain and enhance the benefits obtained from agriculture. Risk  management  strategies have  a  prominent  role  to  play  in adaptation,  ranging  from  increasing resilience  of  agro-ecosystems  through  better management  of  ecosystem services,  increasing  resilience of livelihoods through social protections policies to disaster risk response.

Women and men play specific and complementary roles in agriculture and food and nutrition security, and building the resilience of their livelihoods in different ways. In most countries, women have less access to productive resources, services and employment opportunities than men. The gender gap is found for many assets, inputs and services such as land, livestock, labor, education, information services, and technology, all affecting the capacity to protect their communities from crises. While men account for the majority of direct casualties during wartime, women and children suffer more from displacement, reduced access to services and assistance, and loss of livelihoods. [...]

In Senegal, the government has given great importance and priority to the development and promotion of national rice production to achieve self-sufficiency by 2017. Besides, emphasis has been placed on risk management with the creation of the National Agricultural Insurance Company (CNAAS) and several plans dedicated to flood and water management.

The Strategy and action plan are part of an initiative of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management in fisheries and aquaculture in the CARICOM and wider Caribbean region. The aim was to develop a strategy and action plan for integrating disaster risk management (DRM), climate change adaptation (CCA) and fisheries and aquaculture, with a focus on small-scale fisheries (SSF) and small-scale aquaculture. The strategy and action plan were reviewed and refined by65 local, national and regional stakeholders during the regional workshop on the Formulation of a strategy, action plan and [...]

The selection of the spatial area designated for aquaculture development and careful selection of farm sites are essential first steps to ensure the success and sustainability of aquaculture. They should be carried out in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, (CCRF) and the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) FAO Technical Guidelines for Responsible Fisheries, No. 5, Suppl. 4. Rome, FAO. 53 pp.

Agriculture is a source of livelihood for over 35 percent of the world’s population. Natural hazards and disasters – such as floods, drought, storms, earthquakes, landsides, tsunamis or wildfire – disproportionately affect the small-scale farmers, herders, fishers and forest dependent communities who generate over half of the world’s agricultural production. Between 2004 and 2013, agriculture absorbed more than 22 percent of total damage and losses caused by natural disasters in developing countries. Vulnerability increases with each event, reversing improvements to food security, poverty reduction and agricultural development. As a result of climate change, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, intense [...]

This study assesses the impact of medium to large scale natural hazards and disasters on the agriculture sector and subsectors in developing countries between 2003 and 2013, focusing on direct physical damage and indirect economic losses. The findings of the study are expected to support national and international efforts to reduce damage and losses caused by disasters and strengthen the resilience of the agriculture sector, in line with resilience targets set under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Agreement.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted by UN Member States on 18 March 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The Sendai Framework defines seven targets and four priorities for action on disaster risk reduction. The Framework aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries.

In Cambodia, the government has given increasing priority to commercial rice production by promoting higher yield seeds and expanding irrigation and post production infrastructure. Relevant reforms have been adopted in favour of the fisheries sector. Child malnutrition remains a critical development challenge for the country despite the enhancement of nutritional policies and programmes over the past few years. For more country policy briefs by FAPDA please see here.