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Even before the pandemic struck, the ambitious path that was laid out by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was going to require a concerted effort to stay on track; COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the context in which Agenda 2030 was being pursued and we now risk a reversal of gains made in the last few years. The poorest and most vulnerable groups will experience the most negative effects of the current pandemic. This demographic includes subsistence farmers as well as smallholder farmers’ enterprises. This policy brief is intended for decision-makers in developing Member Countries where food security and nutrition are [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented emergency and grave societal threat. It is affecting key sectors that contribute to global food security, nutrition and livelihoods, including the livestock sector. This policy brief describes the observed and potential impacts of COVID-19 on the livestock sector, based on evidence from the ongoing crisis and past epidemics. It highlights key impacts on animal production, processing, transport, sales and consumption as well as on the poorest and most vulnerable. Finally, the brief provides examples of country responses as well as policy options for consideration by national policy makers to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 [...]

This policy brief reviews on going challenges and proposes recommendations on integrated water resources management approach that embraces the value of water in all its forms and recognizes the intrinsic role of water in protecting human, animal and ecosystem health. This multi-sectoral approach to integrated water resources management under the One Water One Health concept of water recognizes that decisions regarding land and water use have real implications for health. Less-resilient ecosystems, shifts in patterns of disease emergence and spreading, manifest themselves when we fail to recognize this relationship.

Specific information about the virus responsible for COVID-19 is and remains scant; however, the behaviour and characteristics of the virus can be predicted based on data from similar viruses such as those responsible for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Despite the hypothesis that the virus may have originated in bats and infected another animal used for food, there is no evidence of continued transmission of the virus from animals to humans through the food chain. The application of sound principles of environmental sanitation, personal hygiene and established food safety practices will reduce the likelihood [...]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the World Bank, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), have developed the Livestock Sector Investment and Policy Toolkit (LSIPT) toolkit to support teams and decision-makers to increase and improve policies and livestock investments that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The toolkit enables a shift from the traditional approach centred on livestock production to one that focuses on households and human well-being with the goal of poverty reduction.

The leaflet provides a brief overview of two projects implemented by FAO's Plant Production and Protection Division and when combined create a model that can be adapted and used in various different regions. The leaflet also sheds light to the projects in practice, in Zambia and Sri Lanka - what has been accomplished so far and in what ways the project has been successfully implemented.  

The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme is the first international initiative to tackle the wild meat challenge by addressing both wildlife conservation and food security. This African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) initiative is funded by the European Union through the 11th European Development Fund (EUR 45 Million). The SWM Programme mobilizes an international group of partner organizations with strong expertise and experience in wildlife conservation, food security and policy development. It is implemented through a consortium partnership, which includes the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Wildlife [...]

Unhealthy diets now pose a greater risk to morbidity and mortality than unsafe sex, alcohol, and drug and tobacco use combined. They are at the root of the global obesity and diet-related non-communicable disease (NCD) pandemic. The ways of food production that lead to these unhealthy diets also pose a major threat to climate stability and ecosystem resilience, and constitute the most important driver of environmental degradation and natural resources depletion.In the short term, there is little that we can do to curb the global demand for food and other products that depend on biological resources. Demand will continue to [...]

Nigeria's society and the economy will grow swiftly and transform extensively in the next three decades. Along this transformative process, the demand for animal-source food will exponentially increase and livestock is likely to become the most important sector of agriculture.This document is the executive summary and it condenses the main reflections of a broader report about the feasible future scenarios for livestock in the country and how to be prepared to ensure sustainable livestock production.

In an effort to improve the capacity of countries to promptly react to fast-moving transboundary animal diseases, the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia has developed a series of awareness materials in different languages on priority diseases of the region. Three type of materials have been produced so far: leaflets, posters and videos. Leaflets and posters have been developed in a fully editable format (PowerPoint) that allows veterinary services and other institutions to quickly adapt, translate, add logos, change pictures, etc. when faced with an animal health emergency. The materials are now available online in English, plus some other [...]