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This volume outlines a simple and practical way to analyse the design and implementation of food and nutrition security (FNS) policies and programmes from a right to food perspective. The right to food approach, as an instrument to help formulate FNS policies and programmes, is emphasized. The primary focus is on national overarching FNS policies. The question of how to assess sector policies that may have direct or indirect impacts on food security and nutrition security is also addressed. Good policies need an enabling implementation environment, which includes evidence-based decisions, adequate financial and human resources and sound governance. These aspects [...]

Over the coming 35 years, agriculture will face an unprecedented confluence of pressures, including a 30 percent increase in the global population, intensifying competition for increasingly scarce land, water and energy resources, and the existential threat of climate change. To provide for a population projected to reach 9.3 billion in 2050 and support changing dietary patterns, estimates are that food production will need to increase from the current 8.4 billion tonnes to almost 13.5 billion tonnes a year. Achieving that level of production from an already seriously depleted natural resource base will be impossible without profound changes in our food [...]

This publication presents evidence with regard to the effectiveness of policies and programmes introduced in response to rising food prices in eight selected Latin American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. The case studies provide insights into the economic and policy environment at the time of the first price spike of 2007–08, analyse the measures that were introduced in response and discuss the evidence on the effects on the food security situation. As such they provide lessons learned in terms of the effectiveness of the different measures in achieving the intended food security goals, including [...]

The aim of the Toolkit is to showcase concrete examples of good practices for food loss and waste reduction, while pointing to information sources, guidelines and pledges favoring food wastage reduction.

Wheat is of paramount importance in Pakistan, with 80 percent of farmers growing it on a total of about 9 million hectares (ha) - close to 40 percent of the country’s total cultivated land. The crop is grown by predominantly small (0.5 to 5.0 ha) and medium-sized (5 to 10 ha) farmers, whose livelihoods depend on it. Wheat yields in Pakistan remain low, lagging behind those in other countries with comparable agroclimatic conditions. The agro-ecological potential for irrigated wheat in Punjab, Pakistan’s primary production area, suggests that yields of about 6 tonnes/ha could be attained, compared with current yields of 2.5 to 3 tonnes/ha. Assuming that this potential [...]

Malnutrition in all its forms - undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity - imposes unacceptably high economic and social costs on countries at all income levels. "The State of Food and Agriculture 2013: Food systems for better nutrition" argues that improving nutrition and reducing these costs must begin with food and agriculture. The traditional role of agriculture in producing food and generating income is fundamental, but agriculture and the entire food system - from inputs and production, through processing, storage, transport and retailing, to consumption - can contribute much more to the eradication of malnutrition.

This Technical Note seeks to address two central questions relating to negotiations towards further disciplines on domestic support measures: (i) what are the characteristics of domestic support measures that cause such measures to have a potentially trade distortionary effect? and (ii) will further WTO disciplines on domestic support measures be effective in reducing levels of trade distorting support? To provide context, the Note begins by summarizing how domestic support measures are currently disciplined within the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture (UR AoA) and discusses the effectiveness of these disciplines. It then highlights the most significant aspects of the August 2004 Framework [...]

Gender equality is central to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ (FAO’s) mandate to achieve food security for all by raising levels of nutrition, improving agricultural productivity and natural resource management, and improving the lives of rural populations. FAO can achieve its goals only if it simultaneously works towards gender equality and supports women’s diverse roles in agriculture and rural development. Gender equality is not only an essential means by which FAO can achieve its mandate, it is also a basic human right. Available in French and Spanish.

Agricultural policies should redress gender inequalities to ensure that development interventions in the sector are effective and can achieve enduring positive impacts on the lives and economic potential of rural women, men, girls and boys. One powerful instrument for promoting realization of the rights and potential of rural women and girls is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance on how FAO and national ministries of agriculture (MoAs) can support and use CEDAW at the country level as a tool for policy development and programming [...]

This comprehensive sourcebook on climate-smart agriculture (CSA), produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, consists of eighteen modules covering every aspect of planning and implementing CSA policies and projects.  Aimed primarily at developing countries, the opening module outlines the case for CSA (including forestry and fisheries), discussing issues such as food security, resilient systems, and systemic efficiency. The sourcebook argues that if we are to match growing demand whilst simultaneously combating climate change, it is crucial that greater efficiency and resilience is achieved in our food systems to aid climate mitigation and adaptation respectively. This has to happen globally, and in [...]