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This publication offers a synthesis of the major factors at play in the global food and agricultural landscape. Statistics are presented in four thematic chapters, covering the economic importance of agricultural activities, inputs, outputs and factors of production, their implications for food security and nutrition and their impacts on the environment. The Yearbook is meant to constitute a primary tool for policymakers, researchers and analysts, as well as the general public interested in the past, present and future path of food and agriculture. Read online the digital report See also the World Food and Agriculture - Statistical Pocketbook 2022

This report aims at inspiring strategic thinking and actions to transform agrifood systems towards a sustainable, resilient and inclusive future, by building on both previous reports in the same series as well as on a comprehensive corporate strategic foresight exercise that also nurtured FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31. It analyses major drivers of agrifood systems and explores how their trends could determine alternative futures of agrifood, socioeconomic and environmental systems. The fundamental message of this report is that it is still possible to push agrifood systems along a pattern of sustainability and resilience, if key “triggers” of transformation are properly activated. [...]

Evaluation can bring a lot of value to learning and forging solutions as part of global efforts to address climate change. The dialogue discussed shifts in evaluation methods and practices, and explored new ways of working that can enable evaluators to enter into the climate change debate and prove the worth of evaluation.Key messages:     Evaluation can play a key role in climate change negotiations     Evaluation is the solution to impact washing: climate promises must be assessed for their true impact     To save the planet, decision makers need to draw on the best evidence     Common standards must be set to measure [...]

Seven years into the 2030 Agenda, there is an urgent need to understand where the world stands in eliminating hunger and food insecurity, as well as in ensuring sustainable agriculture. FAO's new report, “Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators”, offers analysis and trends on indicators across eight SDGs (1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 12, 14 and 15), highlighting areas of progress and areas where further effort is needed.Available in digital format, this year’s edition also discusses selected indicators for which FAO is a contributing agency and/or have key implications for food and agriculture across these Goals. These additional [...]

This report presents the results of assessments based on the food insecurity experience scale (FIES), data collected by FAO in twenty least developed countries (LDCs), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) between November 2021 and February 2022. For nine of the countries (including eight SIDS), it was the first time FIES data had been collected. The surveys described in the report were conducted to provide accurate and timely food insecurity assessments of the 20 countries for which food security data are scarce. The detailed results, presented at the subnational level, can support country-level decision-making and will [...]

The AGRISurvey programme is a country-led initiative aimed at strengthening countries’ agricultural surveys systems and promoting access to agricultural statistics. The programme supports countries in enhancing evidence-based decision making at national level and in monitoring the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators, particularly those related to agriculture. The AGRISurvey programme was launched in 2017 and ended in 2021. Activities continue under the 50x2030 Initiative to Close the Agricultural Data Gap.This document presents the success stories and lessons learned from the implementation of the programme in countries and accompanies the release of the final project report.

Food insecurity in the African context is a critical issue; yet total food losses are estimated at 15.9% and 17.2% in quantity and in caloric value, respectively (FAO, 2019). Currently across the continent, there is insufficient funding and the lack of policy mechanisms to support interdisciplinary analytical approaches and data collection systems to better inform the reduction of food loss. This paper highlights the critical need for a paradigm shift of current research and development programs aimed at food loss reduction, as demonstrated by findings of a project implemented in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda by the [...]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warn that acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in 20 countries or situations (including two regional clusters) – called hunger hotspots – during the outlook period from June to September 2022. Acute food insecurity globally continues to escalate. The recently published 2022 Global Report on Food Crises alerts that 193 million people were facing Crisis or worse (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC]/Cadre Harmonisé [CH] Phase 3 or above) across 53 countries or territories in 2021. This increase must be interpreted with care, [...]

Diet and nutrition are critical to health, well-being and longevity. The economic and health burdens associated with poor quality diets are a worldwide concern, but for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the long-term impact of these burdens has the potential to be especially devastating. Many of these LMICs are currently grappling with the deepening multiple burdens of malnutrition, with undernutrition, nutrient inadequacies, and overweight and obesity often presenting simultaneously in communities, households and even in single individuals.Time-relevant data is a necessary and critical component of any process or initiative that aims to ensure healthy diets. Robust data on what people [...]

Access to formal credit is critical to farmers for purchasing inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, plant protection materials or animal feed. In the absence of personal savings, borrowing from informal sources (such as moneylenders, relatives and friends) may involve unduly high interest rates and unfavourable conditions, which may make many agricultural operations uneconomical. The lack of access to credit is particularly problematic for farmers as there is a gap between the time that money is spent on cultivating crops or raising livestock, and the time money is made from the sale of the products.Credit to agriculture measures the amount of [...]