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Climate change is a major challenge for agriculture, a vital source of food, income and employment for most of the world’s poor. Agricultural investments, as a result, need to become more climate sensitive. This is as true for general agricultural investments focused on development outcomes as for projects specifically addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation. This comprehensive knowledge product provides investment practitioners with practical reference material on integrating climate risk considerations at all stages of the investment project cycle, from design to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Produced by multidisciplinary teams across FAO, the knowledge product is organized as a compendium of [...]

There has been a surge in the attention to sustainable agricultural mechanization for Africa. The need to support agricultural mechanization in the value chain in order to achieve agricultural and rural development is well recognized. Therefore, it is vital to address the major challenge of ensuring that business models for mechanization hire services driven by the private sector (including farmers, cooperatives, and small and medium enterprises) are not only profitable, sustainable and inclusive for smallholder farmers and vulnerable community members including women and youth, but also resilient to the effects of climate change. For a better understanding of how agricultural [...]

The following publication "Indigenous youth as agents of change - Actions of Indigenous youth in local food systems during times of adversity" highlights six initiatives from Indigenous youth in regions around the world who are leading innovative solutions and collaborations in the face of adversity brought about by climate change and exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The youth initiatives describe how grassroots groups, networks, and platforms established by Indigenous youth have been essential to the fulfillment of basic needs within their communities in the face of this adversity. The publication has been produced under the Koronivia Joint Work on [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is, directly and indirectly, impacting health and well-being around the globe. Illness and containment measures are compounding the social and economic disadvantages of the most vulnerable in society. These social and economic impacts stand to cause devastating setbacks to efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Pervasive inequalities between rural and urban inhabitants, rich and poor, women and men will exacerbate these effects. People in areas impacted by severe climate change, conflict, forced displacement, and migration will be even more vulnerable.Vulnerable groups include rural women, youth and children, indigenous people, the elderly, and people with [...]

The action plan for the implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations strategy on mainstreaming biodiversity across agricultural sectors was approved at the 166th FAO Council in 2021 in view of preparations for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.This action plan is based on and serves the purpose of operationalizing the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors (Strategy) and is intended to strengthen the work of FAO and its partners, in consultation with Members, to mainstream biodiversity across agricultural sectors.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have cooperated over several decades to develop and implement the Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZ) modelling framework and databases. AEZ relies on well-established land evaluation principles to assess natural resources for finding suitable agricultural land utilization options. It identifies resource limitations and opportunities based on plant eco-physiological characteristics, climatic and edaphic requirements of crops and it uses these to evaluate suitability and production potentials for individual crop types under specific input and management conditions. Managing the constraints imposed by agro-ecological conditions and knowing what [...]

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) are essential to sustainable agriculture and food security.  They are the raw materials to meet the current and future needs of crop improvement and adaptation programmes. It is therefore very important to conserve and sustainably use them.WIEWS is the information system used by FAO for the preparation of periodic, country-driven global assessments of the status of conservation and use of PGRFA. WIEWS also monitors, on the basis of country reports, the implementation of the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, adopted in 2011. National Focal [...]

FAO has been monitoring the world’s forests at 5 to 10 year intervals since 1946. The Global Forest Resources Assessments (FRA) are now produced every five years in an attempt to provide a consistent approach to describing the world’s forests and how they are changing. The Assessment is based on two primary sources of data: Country Reports prepared by National Correspondents and remote sensing that is conducted by FAO together with national focal points and regional partners. The scope of the FRA has changed regularly since the first assessment published in 1948. These assessments make an interesting history of global [...]

The SFM Toolbox collates a large number of tools, case studies and other resources, organised in modules. It has been created to provide forest owners, managers and other stakeholders with easy access to those resources for the implementation of SFM.

The Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) is a landmark decision that was reached at the UN Climate Conference (COP23) in November 2017 on the next steps for agriculture within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).The objective of this brief is to provide recommendations on how the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) can support the adequate integration of Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices in international, national and local governance systems.