FAO.org

This database provides a platform where what is constitutionally committed to on the right to adequate food at the national level can be found. Member countries will find quotes of relevant articles on the right to adequate food as well as the ratification status of some key international instruments. 

Is trade a threat or an opportunity for food security? Longstanding debates over this question remain unresolved. This is understandable when one considers that the agricultural sector serves a range of vital functions in society. This paper seeks to shed light on this debate by providing an overview of the main opposing narratives and the rationale behind them. It does not seek to advocate one viewpoint over the other. Instead, it seeks to examine the contours of the debate with a view to uncovering why it is so polarized, and how we might move beyond the current impasse in international [...]

Uganda is putting significant efforts toward addressing the constraints responsible for its low agricultural productivity, which affects farmers’ incomes and therefore, their food security. The biggest developments are being seen in improving the added value of its production, as well as in supporting strategic commodities such as livestock and rice. 

The government of Burundi has timidly decreased State involvement in strategic value chains, with a view to open the market, enhance effectiveness, and reduce the fiscal deficit. With regards to social protection, no specific national programmes are in place, though the country joined the Scaling Up Nutrition movement in 2013 committing to tackle the alarming levels of malnutrition in the country (the highest in the region). For more country policy briefs by FAPDA please see here.

Consistent with its mandate to pursue a world free from hunger and malnutrition, the following “FAO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples” has been formulated so as to ensure that FAO will make all due efforts to respect, include and promote indigenous issues in relevant work. In so doing, it joins the international community’s increasing mobilization in favour of the rights and concerns of indigenous peoples, most of whom suffer disproportionately from multiple adversities such as discrimination, poverty, ill health, political under-representation, and environmental and cultural degradation. Although much attention is focused on the challenges that indigenous peoples face, it [...]

The “Right to Food Handbook” series is a collection of 10 publications, prepared in collaboration with PROSALUS, based on the different volumes of the Right to Food Methodological Toolbox.  Each publication provides practical information and guidance on how to implement the right to food and apply human rights-based approaches to key areas of work, namely, legislation, monitoring, assessment, budget and education.   

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union 15 new countries entered the world stage. The CIS countries are very different in size, economic structure and agricultural profile. The same is true even for the smaller group of seven CIS countries that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). By late 2013 seven of the twelve non-Baltic ex-Soviet countries had acceded to the WTO: Armenia, Georgia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Tajikistan. Four others were in the process of WTO accession: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan had started to prepare for an eventual accession process.  This publication examines the experience and main issues of twelve [...]

Fish plays a key role for food security. It is a primary source of protein and essential nutrients. Fisheries, aquaculture and related activities provide income and livelihoods for numerous communities across the world, including small-scale fisheries. The growing demand for fish questions the sustainability of marine fisheries and aquaculture, now a fundamental supplier of fish. The report considers the environmental, social and economic challenges faced by all actors towards a sustainable supply of fish, sustainable livelihoods of fish-dependent communities and an equitable access to fish for the good nutrition of all populations worldwide. It presents policy-oriented analysis and recommendations addressed to governments, private sector and civil society [...]

The Mozambique land law provides statutory recognition of customary land rights and is considered one of the most progressive legislations in Africa. However, the law continues to face implementation challenges, including the realization of equal rights for women and institutional reform. Simply having a progressive law ‘is not enough’ to bring about transformative change in a country. Recognizing these challenges, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed a programme to support the legislation through the capacity development of both direct beneficiaries and those responsible for implementing it. This publication, presents an overview of how this programme [...]

The aim of the Toolkit is to showcase concrete examples of good practices for food loss and waste reduction, while pointing to information sources, guidelines and pledges favoring food wastage reduction.