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The availability of, and access to, quality seeds of a diverse range of adapted crop varieties is essential for achieving food and livelihood security and for eradicating hunger, especially in developing countries. This guide explains what seed policies are and how they differ from seed laws; describes the participatory process of seed policy formulation; the nature and layout of seed policy documents; key elements contained in seed policies; and addresses issues involved in their implementation. It is specifically intended for use by policymakers, national seed agencies, civil society, and public and private sector organizations, including national seed associations and farmers’ [...]

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.

Download the FAO VCA-Tool  This analytical tool allows users to systematically gather, store and manage data for the implementation of cost-benefit and value-added analyses. Users can build different scenarios and analyze the socio-economic impact of various policies — such as domestic prices liberalization, opening to international trade, new technologies adoption. Users can use the software to build a baseline scenario which corresponds to a benchmark situation; once users generate the policy measures or changes in the value chain, their impacts will modify the original reference scenario.  The software is the complementary tool to the "Value Chain Analysis for Policy Making: Methodological Guidelines for [...]

Developing countries are increasingly using agrocorridors to develop their agricultural sectors. These corridors promote inclusive agribusiness growth, building on a linear agglomeration of people and activities along existing transportation infrastructure. Based on initiatives in Central Asia, the Greater Mekong Subregion, Indonesia, Mozambique, Peru and the United Republic of Tanzania, this report shows how agrocorridors help improve physical connectivity and functioning of markets, while generating economies of scale in agriculture. Agrocorridors do this because they integrate public and private investments in “hardware” (transport and agribusiness infrastructure), “software” (policy and regulatory framework) and “orgware” (institutional strengthening and capacity building). The goal of [...]

This framework helps practitioners and researchers to use political economy analysis to understand and respond to practical problems. The framework has three dedicated, but related, phases: problem identification, problem diagnosis and consideration of plausible change processes. In this introductory note we describe the key components of the framework, the relationships between them and how to use the framework to undertake analysis. Annex 1 contains a diagram of the overall framework. Annex 2 provides a glossary of key terms.

These guidelines provide users with the key notions required to carry out analyses of policy impacts by means of a value chain approach and show how to do it in a practical way by making use of relevant tools. In particular, the reader will find this material useful to: Identify the basic units operating in a given value chain (=agents) and the activities they undertake; Quantify the gross revenues, value added creation and profits of every agent; Build different scenarios and measure changes in revenues, value added creation and profits for the different scenarios; Build a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) and compute protection and [...]

This study, developed jointly with the Geneva academy of humanitarian law and human rights, aims to provide guidance on how the right to adequate food can best be integrated into the two frameworks ”The Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition (GSF)” and “the UN Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA)”. Formed as both an analytical and practical tool, the study divided into four main sections: the evolution of the right to adequate food and the rights-based approach to the fight against hunger; an introduction to the CFA/UCFA as well as the GSF; possible ways to introduce the right to adequate [...]

The FAO project, Articulating and mainstreaming agricultural trade policy and support measures, was implemented during 2008-2010. With a view to maximize the contribution of trade to national development, a process has been underway in many developing countries to mainstream trade and other policies into national development strategy such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). A similar process of mainstreaming is strongly advocated, and underway, for trade-related support measures, inc luding through the Aid for Trade initiative. In view of this, there is a high demand for information, analyses and advice on best approaches to undertaking these tasks. It was [...]

The FAO Value Chain Analysis for Policy Making: FAO VCA Tool 3.2  is a programme that has been developed for Value Chain Analysis to analyze and compare the effects of different policy options for agriculture and sustainable rural development. This tool allows you to create an accounting framework for value chain analysis and to compare different scenarios. It also helps you to build and handle your own database. More specifically, the software enables you to systematically gather, store and use data for the implementation of Cost-Benefit and Value Added Analyses. The FAO VCA-Tool software provides you with an effective alternative to spreadsheets, where you can [...]

Many countries develop or revise forest policies to keep abreast of changing circumstances and to enhance the value of forests to society. Experience from these processes shows that substantial changes have occurred in the past 20 years in both the content of forest policies and the ways in which they are developed or revised. This guide aims to support countries in planning and conducting forest policy development processes. Based on a review of practical experiences, it outlines the rationale  and purpose of a national forest policy and the different elements of the forest policy development process. This publication will help [...]