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This publication presents ten scalable intercultural collaboration experiences that demonstrate the importance, efficiency and effectiveness of working hand in hand with men, women and youth of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean in the search for practical solutions developed from the synergy between ancestral knowledge and scientific and technological innovation.Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants are two of the rural groups with the greatest potential to contribute to climate change mitigation in Latin America. Both groups are highly vulnerable to natural disasters and the effects of climate on agriculture and food, yet their ancestral knowledge and collective territorial [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by governments on social distancing and mobility restrictions have contributed to boosting the use of digital technology to bridge some of the physical access gaps. An increasing number of services and extension/information activities are delivered through digital tools and applications. E-commerce has also flourished. As a result, the potential of digital technologies has gained prominence in immediate response and recovery strategies and programmes.See the full list of policy briefs related to COVID-19.

In recent years, several major drivers have put the world off track to ending world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. The challenges have grown with the COVID-19 pandemic and related containment measures. This report presents the first global assessment of food insecurity and malnutrition for 2020 and offers some indication of what hunger might look like by 2030 in a scenario further complicated by the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also includes new estimates of the cost and affordability of healthy diets, which provide an important link between the food security and nutrition indicators [...]

This publication provides an overview of the common and unique sustainability elements of Indigenous Peoples' food systems, in terms of natural resource management, access to the market, diet diversity, indigenous peoples’ governance systems, and links to traditional knowledge and indigenous languages. While enhancing the learning on Indigenous Peoples food systems, it will raise awareness on the need to enhance the protection of Indigenous Peoples' food systems as a source of livelihood for the 476 million indigenous inhabitants in the world, while contributing to the Zero Hunger Goal.In addition, the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025) and the UN Food [...]

This strategy proposes that FAO’s vision for nutrition is a world where all people are eating healthy diets from sustainable, inclusive and resilient agri-food systems. The mission is to tackle malnutrition in all its forms by accelerating impactful policies and actions across agri-food systems to enable healthy diets for all. Through this mission, and in the realization of the aspiration of Better Nutrition, FAOwill contribute to the achievement of targets across the SDGs including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG10, SDG12, SDG 14, and SDG 17.

Soil pollution is invisible to the human eye, but it compromises the quality of the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe and puts human and environmental health at risk. Most contaminants originate from human activities such as industrial processes and mining, poor waste management, unsustainable farming practices, accidents ranging from small chemical spills to accidents at nuclear power plants, and the many effects of armed conflicts. Pollution knows no borders: contaminants are spread throughout terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and many are distributed globally by atmospheric transport. In addition, they are redistributed through the global [...]

Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development – why population growth, employment and urbanization lie at the heart of sustainable food systems development. Current food systems are facing paramount challenges: they must ensure equitable access to a healthy diet both in rural and urban areas while decrease burdens of malnutrition and environmental impacts. A new UN report - prepared with FAO’s support - explores the role of sustainable development for food security and  nutrition in the context of global population change.

The methodology captures the multifaceted nature of small and medium agrifood enterprises (SMAE) business models, adding contextual insights to the literature and policy formulation processes on these small firms, which are often treated homogenously. The framework upon which the methodology is based links the business model of an SMAE to various policy areas including farmer-market linkages, decent employment (including gender equality and youth inclusion aspects), rural finance and investment, nutrition, food losses and waste as well as food safety and quality. This makes it possible to identify intervention areas that can help reconcile the commercial objectives of SMAEs with sustainable rural [...]

Traditional foods, diets and food systems play an important role in people’s nutritional status. As the best products of traditional food systems, geographical indication (GI) foods have a great potential to contribute to healthy diets and curb non-communicable diseases.This paper presents five case studies around the world on the nutritional potential of registered GI foods and explores the link between the production processes and the nutritional composition of the final products. The nutritional characteristics of these foods can be largely attributed to their unique ingredients and production procedures, which are linked to their geographical origins.The paper also discusses the development [...]

Progressively more countries are reportedly incorporating school-based food and nutrition education (SFNE) into their education, nutrition and school feeding policies, acknowledging its role in impacting children’s food outlooks and practices, and that of their parents, families and the community. Despite this increasing interest and global recognition, there is no clear picture of SFNE implementation at school level, which makes it challenging to identify gaps, take corrective measures, make reforms or introduce new policy initiatives.Framed under FAO’s school food and nutrition work, the aim of the survey was to determine the current role, approach, scope and linkages of government run SFNE [...]