FAO.org

These FAO/IFAD guidelines are designed as a sourcebook to address recurrent problems faced by practitioners to prepare Economic and Financial Analysis (EFA) during design, supervision and ex-post evaluation of projects. This volume offers practical, short and well-referenced EFA guidance notes built on actual cases from EFA of various development projects. It aims to offer methodological "hints", guidance and inspiration for EFAs of a wide array of development interventions, including: nutrition, climate-smart agriculture, natural resource management, livestock production, land tenure security, water and sanitation, rural finance, irrigation, rural roads, value chains and demand-driven investments.  The target audience comprises consultants working for governments, IFAD [...]

Empirical evidence on the role of forests in food security, poverty reduction through income and employment generation, and addressing the challenges of climate change is increasingly being generated and documented. For the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region where forest resources are scarce and the potentials for timber production are limited, non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are becoming ever more important. Local people use these products to meet their daily needs; as a source of food, fodder and medicine, and to generate income. However, current production of NWFPs represents a small fraction of what it could actually be in most countries in [...]

FAO recognizes the potential of rural women and men in achieving food security and nutrition and is committed to overcoming gender inequality, in line with the pledge to “leave no one behind”, which is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. The publication illustrates the consistent and sustained work of FAO towards gender equality and women’s empowerment, which are at the core of the Organization’s work to eliminate hunger and rural poverty. Each chapter highlights the relevance of gender work to achieving the FAO Strategic Objectives, and describes main results achieved, showcasing activities implemented [...]

The main objective of the study is to produce critical projections of domestic wheat production to 2024 for Belarus, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This will allow to answer the key question as to the limits of wheat production increases in the three countries. The main methodology of the study lies in a critical appraisal of the drivers of demand and supply for wheat in Belarus, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The first step in understanding the drivers of wheat demand and supply in these countries is to comprehend the farming system that produces wheat in these three countries. These countries are often cited as [...]

This policy brief is based on the proceedings of the Regional workshop on the use of the cold chain in the development of agriculture and agroindustries in sub-Saharan Africa, organized in Yaoundé (Cameroon) in June 2012. The workshop brought together speakers from diverse backgrounds to analyse findings from case studies conducted in food supply chains that included meat, fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, milk and dairy products.

This paper analyses foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in food, beverages and tobacco, including primary agriculture and retail, from 2003 to 2014. It provides information on global, regional and - where possible - national trends in FDI flows in food, beverages and tobacco. When data are available, this study also provides more detailed insights into particular qualitative traits of FDI flows, such as whether FDI seems to be market- or resource-seeking, or in how far changes in sub-sector-specific investment could be linked to changes in consumer demand. Thus it contributes to the ongoing global debate on the relevance and characteristics [...]

The E-agriculture strategy guide is an attempt to provide countries with a framework to develop their national e-agriculture strategies. E-agriculture strategies will help to rationalize both financial and human resources, and address ICT opportunities for the agricultural sector in a more holistic and efficient manner. This will help improve the livelihoods of rural communities and stakeholders involved in agriculture and rural development. See the e-agriculture policy briefs

The Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) approach, which is still in its nascent stages of development, is rapidly gaining attention as a more appropriate way to restore both degraded forests as well as the surrounding degraded landscape. The great value of this approach is that it integrates forest restoration actions with the desirable objectives of the landscape, and it is undertaken with the full participation of the people who will have a role in the management of the restored areas over the longer term. So, FLR brings together social, environmental and economic considerations in restoring the forests and lands, converse to [...]

The purpose of this document is to provide a full description of FAO’s partial equilibrium modelling system known as GAPS. GAPS has been developed by FAO to study the development of global food markets in the long-term and to assess how socioeconomic fluctuations, climate change and investment pay-offs may affect future global food demand. GAPS is a simple self-contained model which specifies demand and supply for agricultural and food commodities with global coverage and great detail for low and middle income countries. It is shaped around FAOSTAT data on production and commodity balance sheets, which enables a detailed specification of agricultural and food commodities. Furthermore, GAPS allows to assess [...]

Trade and related policy measures are defined as those that affect trade flows, be they instruments of border protection or domestic market interventions. Trade-oriented measures (like import and export tariffs and quotas and non-tariff measures) are only one of the many categories of policies that can affect the flow of trade.  See the complete series: Trade Policy Briefs