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Trade Policy Brief No. 32 With agriculture accounting for roughly 70 percent of employment and 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in low-income countries, trade in agricultural products has the potential to significantly affect rural employment, incomes and poverty in these countries. See the complete series: Trade Policy Briefs  

The country fact sheet provides a contribution to organizational outcome by monitoring and analysing recent policy trends related to food and agriculture in the specific country, thus providing evidence on what policies are implemented or not in the country and what could be challenges or policy gaps. Thailand country fact sheet provides a glimpse of the overarching agriculture, food security and nutrition policy frameworks and highlight trends in key national policy decisions affecting producers, consumers and trade in the country. The fact sheet synthesizes policy information that is stored in the online policy database, the FAPDA tool. See all FAPDA country fact sheets.

Millions of pastoralists worldwide provide food and important environmental benefits, yet they have little say in policies that affect them. In this video, experts and pastoral representatives discuss the importance of pastoralism and the role of the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub in bringing together various stakeholders to advocate sustainable pastoralism. For more information on the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub, please visit http://www.fao.org/pastoralist-knowledge-hub/en/ 

It is generally assumed that there are strong links between conflict, food security and peace. However, the precise underlying causes and channels that determine these links are often not well understood. More research and data are required to generate the evidence base that helps guide both national and international responses. The present study aims to add to this knowledge. It comes at a time of enhanced risk of famine and severe food crisis in several parts of the world, with conflict as the common denominator. It also comes at a time when the total number of hungry people in the [...]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is conducting a comprehensive study across regions to assess the benefit from applying disaster risk reduction (DRR) good practices in agriculture. The study identify practices that help to reduce the vulnerability of households and communities to natural hazards. The study uses a systematic approach to quantify, on a case-by-case basis, how much damage and loss can be reduced in the agriculture sector through the implementation o f DRR good practices at farm level, compared with usual practices. The approach compares the performance under hazard and non-hazard conditions, including various types [...]

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is the most prevalent and economically important infectious disease of livestock in Pakistan. The project aimed to develop a national FMD control program and control FMD outbreaks, improve the livelihood of livestock farmers, curtail the losses caused by the disease and improve overall productivity of livestock.

The agricultural sector in Lebanon is faced by a series of challenges made more acute by the effect of the Syrian crisis on the country, especially in rural areas. Farmers have increasingly abandoned their livestock as they are unable to cope with rising feed prices and the declining prices of animals and animal products. It is essential to strengthen the dairy sector to ensure that it continues as a viable source of livelihood and employment, particularly for women. The project enhanced the liv elihood and food security of Lebanese women by providing household dairy production materials, and by improving the [...]

In view of the existing tension and potential conflict between the host community and conflict-affected refugees in Turkana County, Kenya, an improvement in relations was urgently needed. It was noted that support could be given to disadvantaged hosts, linking them to market opportunities offered by the refugee situation, to the benefit of all concerned. The project sought to enable host communities to supply fresh produce (primarily vegetables and animal products) to the camp as part of the fresh food voucher component of the World Food Programme’s General Food Distribution and provide support to ensure that increased income from vouchers was [...]

This brief summarizes FAO’s analysis of NDCs and provides an overview of how the Organization, through policy processes, capacity development and technical interventions on the ground, supports the implementation of NDCs in the agriculture sectors. 

Achieving the SDGs to end hunger and extreme poverty by 2030 will depend crucially on developing rural areas in the poorest nations of the world. More resources need to be allocated for investment in rural areas, not just because that is where most of the poor live, but also because these areas have great potential for economic development. The FAO report The State of Food and Agriculture 2017 (SOFA) shows that, across all regions, rural-based economic activity can be just as effective for poverty reduction as that of urban sectors. See the complete series here.