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These guidelines are primarily directed towards decision-makers responsible for integrating the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into national policies and programmes. They will be of value to public and private actors, including investors, researchers and technical practitioners, involved in the broad area of food and agriculture, and rural development. Complementing FAO’s Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture and its five principles, this publication presents 20 practical and interconnected actions with the aim of transforming food and agriculture and driving achievement across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The publication complements the FAO Guiding Framework on gender-sensitive value chain development by providing practical tools and examples of successful approaches to address the gender-based constraints that affect agrifood value chains. The guidelines are intended to assist practitioners in integrating gender equality dimensions more effectively in the design and implementation of value chain interventions in the agricultural sector. See also: Developing Gender-Sensitive Value Chains. A Guiding Framework

The Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition initiative (GODAN), the Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL) organised an e-consultation on ethical, legal and policy aspects of open data affecting smallholder farmers.  Forum dates: 4 till 8 June 2018. The objectives of this e-consultation are to: Clearly identify the ethical, legal and policy gaps that currently prevent data from benefiting smallholder farmers. Using practical examples, give a clear picture of what the desired scenarios would be by 2030 for a policy, legal [...]

FAO’s previous contribution to the development of contract farming saw the publication in 2015 of the UNIDROIT/FAO/IFAD Legal Guide on Contract Farming, which focused on the bilateral relationship between an agricultural producer and a contractor. This Legislative Study develops that research and focuses on the regulatory frameworks for contract farming, aiming to highlight different possible approaches for different contexts. Responsible contract farming can be a powerful tool for small scale farmers in developing countries to move towards larger scale commercial production. It can create economic wealth, contribute to supply chain efficiency through the production of higher quantities of better quality products, and contribute to achieving domestic [...]

Sustainable wood products and their value chains can play a fundamental role in achieving the objectives stated in the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement, delivering a wide range of benefits to populations in remote forest areas as well as to local, regional and global society. Generation of income and employment, disaster risk reduction, and reduction of the material and carbon footprint of the planet are some of the direct contributions sustainable forest products can provide to the SDGs and the climate change commitments. Furthermore, sustainable management of natural forests reduces forest degradation and forest production can increase the opportunity cost for deforestation, while generating revenues [...]

Agroecology has been gaining interest in recent years among governments, research and civil society organizations worldwide and many actors present it as a strategic pathway to transition to sustainable food and agriculture systems for achieving food security and nutrition. Following the First International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition, held in Rome in 2014, FAO organized a series of regional multistakeholder seminars in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, China, Europe and Central Asia, and the Near East and North Africa from 2015 to 2017. These seminars provided many opportunities for exchange and debate and revealed that while the scientific [...]

Gaps between policy and implementation, and limited availability of sex disaggregated data and gender-sensitive indicators to inform sound policies and budgets have kept women marginalized in many sectors. No baselines mean no measurement of progress in effectively implementing the array of commitments towards gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture, food security and nutrition, rural development and management of natural resources. This report reveals gender disparities in access to critical agriculture and rural resources, knowledge, opportunities, services and markets. It explores the existing gender relations and gaps in the various sub sectors of agriculture, and their possible causes and impact on food and nutrition [...]

The Conference of the Parties (COP) of UNFCCC is a prime opportunity to communicate FAO’s work on climate change and to liaise with potential partners, at the numerous side events and parallel events organized around the COP. This booklet seeks to raise awareness on the impacts of climate change on food security and nutrition and advocate for the importance of having the agricultural sectors properly considered in climate change mechanisms, policies and finances.

This sourcebook provides an overview of the second, digital edition of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. The new edition includes new findings, case studies and lessons learned. It also takes into account the changes in the landscape of international climate action since the original edition was published in 2013. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which encompasses the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – provides an international framework for strong national actions and collective efforts to achieve sustainable development. Climate-smart agriculture, as an approach to achieve sustainable food and agriculture, [...]

E-agriculture or ICT in agriculture holds great promise in providing access to innovative solutions to many challenges faced by smallholder resource-poor farmers. Access to the right information at the right time makes a great impact on the livelihoods of communities involved in agriculture and allied activities. This publication presents case studies in innovative use of emerging technologies to significantly improve the living standards of farming communities.