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The present study reviews recent trends in rural finance and investment in general, and in the agricultural sector in particular, within the Asian region. The analysis of these trends aims to offer a critical perspective on some of the main constraints to achieving more inclusive rural financial systems in developing countries in the region, and to propose areas of public and private intervention that could advance this objective, based on evidence compiled from important innovations led by local rural actors in various countries within the region. The study makes a joint analysis of recent trends in both agricultural markets and [...]

Turkey’s agri-food sector will be of tremendous importance in the decades to come. In 2013, in terms of its total gross agricultural production value (at 2004-06 constant prices), Turkey was ranked eighth in the world, just behind Argentina and closely followed by France and Mexico. The first objective of this report is to compile empirical evidence from official statistics on water usage in the Turkish agricultural sector and to combine this with available qualitative information and first-hand company-level and stakeholder information about water usage in typical processing steps along the Turkish food value chain. This analysis was conducted while taking [...]

The document follows the agenda of the workshop. It starts with a background description of the situation that has lead to the organization of the technical event. It sets the scene presenting the FAO's strategy on Rural Poverty Reduction and on Social Protection. It starts then with the policy review and the national Priorities presenting the learnings from the Republic of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The second part treats the expanding of Social Protection to Rural Areas, presenting the experiences from Leabnon and the expansion of universal health to rural areas. The [...]

This factsheet contributes to FAO Organizational Strategic Objective 1 "Eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition", Strategic Objective 2 "Increase and improve provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner", and Strategic Objective 3 "Reduce rural poverty". The purpose of this factsheet is to briefly introduce the four case studies conducted in Bangladesh and Indonesia and summarize their key findings and recommendations under the initiative "Women's Empowerment in Aquaculture Production System in Asia: Comparative Case Studies and Synthesis from Bangladesh and Indonesia".

While there has been an unprecedented achievement in poverty reduction in the last three decades, eradicating extreme poverty and halving poverty by 2030 are still two of our greatest challenges. Today, about 767 million people continue to live in extreme poverty. Roughly, two thirds of the extreme poor live in rural areas, and the majority are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In the past 30 years, private and public investments in agriculture and rural areas have remained stagnant or have declined in most developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where poverty and hunger are most [...]

L’objectif de cette note technique est d’analyser l’évolution des dépenses publiques en soutien à l’agriculture et l’alimentation (DPAA) au Bénin. La présente analyse s’emploie à identifier l’évolution du soutien aux sous-secteurs de l’agriculture et l’alimentation (recherche, subventions aux intrants, infrastructures,...) et aux produits du secteur agricole dans le temps, par type et source de financement. Aussi, l’ambition de cette note est davantage de livrer une analyse détaillée du niveau, de la composition et de la cohérence des DPAA dans le pays, que de fournir une analyse en profondeur du lien entre la performance du secteur et les dépenses publiques, ou [...]

The Ministerial Decision on Export Competition introduced prohibitions to agricultural export subsidies. It foresees the elimination of export subsidies in different timeframes for developed and developing countries. Specific exceptions have been agreed upon for some products and for particular developed and developing members. The Decision also covers the other three elements (namely Export Credits and Guarantees, International Food Aid and State Trading Enterprises) of the Export Competition pillar. While the elimination of export subsidy entitlements is not expected to induce changes in existing policies, it will, however, prevent future use of the measure.  

Investments in agriculture have proven to be one of the most effective means of reducing poverty in rural areas of developing countries. Acting in accordance with the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security can help investors better understand and manage the substantial financial, legal, operational and reputational risks inherent in investing in landbased assets. Those who plan and operate their investments in a way that is consistent with the Guidelines can reduce their investment risk and increase the likelihood of realizing a reasonable risk-adjusted return. Such investments are more likely to be successful [...]

La presente publicación fue elaborada por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO), por encargo de la Dirección de Integración Regional Multilateral (DIREM) del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile, punto focal de la CELAC en el país, y con el apoyo de las instituciones públicas que forman parte del Comité Nacional del Plan SAN CELAC: Capítulo Chile. El fin de esta publicación fue contribuir a la implementación del Plan SAN CELAC: Capítulo Chile, a través de la recopilación y sistematización de las principales dimensiones nutricionales y de seguridad alimentaria, instituciones e iniciativas públicas [...]

Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers of Trade met on 3 October 2016 at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome to debate and exchange views on policies and strategies within the context of ‘Long-term Commodity Price Trends and Sustainable Agricultural Development’. This report presents the topics of discusson of the Ministerial Meeting.