FAO.org

This policy brief emphasizes the critical importance of leveraging domestic resources and effectively reallocating subsidies to amplify their efficacy in addressing food crises and fostering the transformation of agricultural food systems. By strategically directing resources within national economies and optimizing existing subsidy frameworks, governments can significantly enhance their capacity to prevent and mitigate food crises while simultaneously advancing sustainable agricultural practices. This approach not only ensures the efficient utilization of available funds but also promotes greater resilience and long-term viability within the agricultural sector.

This brief provides a snapshot of agrifood policymaking in Costa Rica. It summarizes the government's efforts in achieving sustainable agrifood systems in recent years, highlighting economic, environmental and social aspects. Against the backdrop of the country's participation in the UN Food Systems Summit, and follow-up processes, it discusses the nation's agrifood policy coordination, multistakeholder engagement, and the importance of investments for sustainable agrifood systems.

This background paper to the guidance that FAO is developing on strengthening science–policy interfaces (SPIs) for agrifood systems at the national level sets provides information about the structures and patterns common to global SPIs. It aims to: 1) provide a broad overview and comparison of how international SPIs work, 2) identify a set of categories that are relevant to the work of SPIs, 3) present a systematic, comparative analysis based on publicly available data, 4) draw preliminary conclusions based on findings, and 5) suggest further avenues for study. The conceptual framework identifies three key components of SPIs that, operating together, [...]

Transforming agrifood systems depends crucially on how people can promote and benefit from innovation in governance. Fresh ways to look at policy dialogues and decision-making processes can help societies rapidly face interconnected challenges such as food insecurity and malnutrition, conflicts and the climate crisis. FAO promotes governance innovation to support countries in adopting the best-tailored strategies to pursue a sustainable, efficient, inclusive and resilient agrifood systems transformation. - In Indonesia, FAO has helped the government rethink its national strategic planning by using innovative analysis and modelling and supporting continuous consultation of actors at national and decentralized levels. - In Uganda, FAO has helped [...]

FAO’s Office of Innovation is working with partners on an FAO Chief Scientist initiative on Foresight on emerging agrifood technologies and innovations, aligned with the UN 2.0 process and the FOFA 2022: engaging all key actors of agricultural innovation systems in the foresight on emerging technologies and innovations to better prepare for alternative futures, feeding it into anticipatory action, and convening the global community for constructive dialogue and knowledge exchange. The aim is to support policymakers, investors and innovation actors in their approaches and decision-making. The study assesses a selection of technologies and innovations, which potentially could be of paramount [...]

This interactive tool compiles expert knowledge about a series of catalytic levers for agrifood systems transformation, while telling inspiring stories from the ground about the people striving to transform the region’s agrifood systems through multistakeholder collaboration and innovative ideas. Most of the information was collected through a series of technical webinars curated by the SFS-MED Platform between 2022 and 2023.

This policy brief is a summary to the Guidelines for action on food loss and waste reduction in the Near East and North Africa, which aims at providing support to Member Countries to implement the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction, an international instrument designed to guide FLW policymaking and interventions at global level. These regionally tailored Guidelines offer a basis for developing national strategies, policies, and legislation enabling food loss and waste reduction in line with national agrifood system objectives of NENA countries. The actions and principles put forward herein have the goal of accelerating [...]

The Guidelines for action on food loss and waste reduction in the Near East and North Africa provide support to Member Countries to implement the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction, an international instrument designed to guide FLW policymaking and interventions at global level. These regionally-tailored Guidelines offer a basis for developing national strategies, policies, and legislation enabling food loss and waste reduction in line with national agrifood system objectives of NENA countries. The actions and principles put forward herein have the ultimate goal of accelerating the region’s transition to sustainable and resilient agrifood systems. Check out [...]

Public policies for family farming – when done appropriately – provide a perfect match between different policy areas related to productive, economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions of sustainable food systems. The Learning framework for inclusive, integrated and innovative public policy cycles for family farming was developed under the framework of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (2019–2028) to support policymakers, family farmers’ organizations and other relevant stakeholders to increase their understanding of public policy cycles and family farming related policies. This technical and methodological capacity development programme is adaptable to local, national or regional priorities. It offers a [...]

In the context of fiscal reform in Costa Rica (value added tax revision), the definition of a new basic tax basket – canasta básica tributaria (CBT), incorporating nutritional criteria – is underway in the country. Measuring price elasticities is essential because it allows: knowing the extent to which food demand reacts to price changes, anticipating changes in the quantities demanded as a result of fiscal policy changes, measuring potential substitution and complementary effects between food groups, and potential nutritional effects of fiscal policies. As a result, it helps to provide recommendations on the content of a CBT with nutritional criteria. The [...]