FAO Knowledge Repository BETA

The FAO Knowledge Repository is FAO's official open repository, providing access to all of its publications. Through its open access policy, FAO seeks to increase the dissemination of its knowledge and to contribute to the scientific and technical impact of the Organization. 

 

Search the repository

Search tip: Use quotation marks around exact phrase

Trending publications

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    The future of food and agriculture: Trends and challenges 2017
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    What will be needed to realize the vision of a world free from hunger and malnutrition? After shedding light on the nature of the challenges that agriculture and food systems are facing now and throughout the 21st century, the study provides insights into what is at stake and what needs to be done. “Business as usual” is not an option. Major transformations in agricultural systems, rural economies, and natural resources management are necessary. The present study was undertaken for the quadrennial review of FAO’s strategic framework and for the preparation of the Organization Medium-Term plan 2018-2021.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024
    Financing to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms
    2024
    Six years from 2030, hunger and food insecurity trends are not yet moving in the right direction to end hunger and food insecurity (SDG Target 2.1) by 2030. The indicators of progress towards global nutrition targets similarly show that the world is not on track to eliminate all forms of malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2). Billions of people still lack access to nutritious, safe and sufficient food. Nevertheless, progress in many countries provides hope of the possibility of getting back on track towards hunger and malnutrition eradication. Implementing the policies, investments and legislation needed to revert the current trends of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition requires proper financing for food security and nutrition. Despite a broad agreement on the urgent need to increase financing for food security and nutrition, the same cannot be said for a common understanding regarding how this financing should be defined and tracked. The report provides a long-awaited definition of financing for food security and nutrition and guidance for its implementation. There are recommendations regarding the efficient use of innovative financing tools and reforms to the food security and nutrition financing architecture. Establishing a common definition of financing for food security and nutrition, and methods for its tracking, measurement and implementation, is an important first step towards sustainably increasing the financing flows needed to end hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition, and to ensure access to healthy diets for all, today and tomorrow.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024
    Blue Transformation in action
    2024
    The 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture features the Blue Transformation in action, illustrated by activities and initiatives, led by FAO in collaboration with Members, partners and key stakeholders, to integrate aquatic foods into global food security and sustainability, enhance policy advocacy, scientific research and capacity building, disseminate sustainable practices and technological innovations, and support community involvement. Part 1 of this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture benefits from significant improvements in data collection, analytical and assessment tools and methodologies to present the most up-to-date review of world fisheries and aquaculture production and utilization. Part 2 highlights the role of FAO and its partners to catalyse the transformational changes required to support aquaculture expansion and intensification, effective management of global fisheries and upgrading of aquatic value chains. Part 3 covers the high-impact challenges and opportunities of the untapped potential of utilizing whole fish and by-products to improve food security and nutrition, expounds on the role of aquatic food systems in providing critical climate, biodiversity and environmentally sound solutions, and highlights the importance of their integration into national and multilateral processes. It also presents an outlook on future trends up to 2032 based on projections. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 provides the most up-to-date and evidence-based information, supporting policy, scientific and technical insights on challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector, for the benefit of a wide and expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society activists and consumers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Document
    Non-wood news
    An information bulletin on Non-Wood Forest Products
    2007
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    Behind the new-look Non-Wood News is the usual wealth of information from the world of NWFPs. The Special Features section covers two different aspects of NWFPs: a specific product (bamboo) and a developing market (cosmetics and beauty care). Bamboo is versatile: it can be transformed, for example, into textiles, charcoal, vinegar, green plastic or paper and can also be used as a food source, a deodorant, an innovative building material and to fuel power stations. Reports indicate that natural c osmetics and beauty care are a huge global market, with forecasts indicating an annual growth of 9 percent through 2008. The Special Feature on Forest cosmetics: NWFP use in the beauty industry builds on this and includes information industry interest and marketing strategies (consumers are being drawn to natural products and thus their content is emphasized). As can be seen from the articles on shea butter in Africa and thanakha in Myanmar, many societies have always used and benefited from nat ural cosmetics. This issue includes other examples of traditional knowledge, such as the uses of the secretions of a poisonous tree frog in Brazil and the use by the traditional healers in India of allelopathic knowledge.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Improving biosecurity through prudent and responsible use of veterinary medicines in aquatic food production 2012
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    The current trend towards increasing intensification and diversification of global aquaculture has lead to its dramatic growth, thus making aquaculture an important food-producing sector that provides an essential source of aquatic protein for a growing human population. For both developed and developing countries, the sector is recognized as creator of jobs and an important source of foreign export earnings. The expansion of commercial aquaculture, as is the case in commercial livestock and pou ltry production, has necessitated the routine use of veterinary medicines to prevent and treat disease outbreaks due to pathogens, assure healthy stocks and maximize production. The expanded and occasionally irresponsible global movements of live aquatic animals have been accompanied by the transboundary spread of a wide variety of pathogens that have sometimes caused serious damage to aquatic food productivity and resulted in serious pathogens becoming endemic in culture systems and the natura l aquatic environment. The use of appropriate antimicrobial treatments is one of the most effective management responses to emergencies associated with infectious disease epizootics. However, their inappropriate use can lead to problems related to increased frequency of bacterial resistance and the potential transfer of resistance genes in bacteria from the aquatic environment to other bacteria. Injudicious use of antimicrobials has also resulted in the occurrence of their residues in aquacultur e products, and as a consequence, bans by importing countries and associated economic impacts, including market loss have occurred. Since disease emergencies can happen even in well-managed aquaculture operations, careful planning on the use antimicrobials is essential in order to maximize their efficacy and minimize the selection pressure for increased frequencies of resistant variants. The prudent and responsible use of veterinary medicines is an essential component of successful commercial aq uaculture production systems. The FAO/AAHRI Expert Workshop on Improving Biosecurity through Prudent and Responsible Use of Veterinary Medicines in Aquatic Food Production was convened in Bangkok, Thailand from 15 to 18 December 2009, in order to understand the current status of the use of antimicrobials in aquaculture and to discuss the concerns and impacts of their irresponsible use on human health, the aquatic environment and trade. Such discussions became the basis for drafting recommenda tions targeted to the state and private sectors and for developing guiding principles on the responsible use of antimicrobials in aquaculture that will be part of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries Technical Guidelines on Prudent and Responsible Use of Veterinary Medicines in Aquaculture. Since aquaculture is expected to continue to increase its contribution to the world¿s production of aquatic food, offer opportunities to alleviate poverty, increase employment and community de velopment and reduce overexploitation of natural aquatic resources, appropriate guidance to aquaculture stakeholders on the responsible use of veterinary medicines has become essential. Safe and effective veterinary medicines need to be available for efficient aquaculture production, and their use should be in line with established principles on prudent use to safeguard public and animal health. The use of such medicines should be part of national and on-farm biosecurity plans and in accordance with an overall national policy for sustainable aquaculture. This publication is presented in two parts: Part 1 contains 15 technical background papers presented during the expert workshop, contributed by 28 specialists and which served as a basis for the expert workshop deliberations; Part 2 contains the highlights of the expert workshop.

Recently added

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Codex Alimentarius Commission Procedural Manual
    Thirtieth edition
    2025
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    The Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission helps national delegations and international organizations attending as observers, participate effectively in the work of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. It sets out the basic rules of procedure, procedures for the elaboration of Codex standards and related texts, and basic definitions and guidelines for the operation of Codex committees. It also gives the membership of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The 30th edition of the Codex Procedural Manual continues to work towards a harmonization of language, particularly around synonymous terminology, thus setting precedent for Codex’s other written materials. Specifically, this latest edition contains three changes to "Section 4.6: Risk analysis principles applied by the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods", 1) a revision of "Annex C: Approach for the extrapolation of maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs to one or more species"; 2) the inclusion of "Annex D: Criteria and procedures for the establishment of action levels for residues of veterinary drugs in food of animal origin resulting from unavoidable and unintentional veterinary drug carryover in non-target animal feed"; and 3) a consequential amendment to paragraph 133, Establishment of priority list. In "Section 5.1: Table of committees, document references and terms of reference", following the decision by the Commission to reactivate the Codex Committee on Cereals, Pulses and Legumes, this committee was moved from “commodity committees (adjourned sine die)” to “commodity committees (active)”. Finally, editorial changes have been made to more consistently apply abbreviations and provide more accurate cross-referencing by numbering subsections.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Measuring agricultural land inequality
    Conceptual and methodological issues
    2025
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    Measures of agricultural land inequality have primarily relied on the distribution of farm size, using information from agricultural census data. In this paper, we use an expanded approach, recognizing the complexity and the multiple dimensions that involve the concept of land inequality. Beyond land area, we propose a set of indicators to account for aspects of land rights and land quality, as well as to integrate the landless population, to measure more comprehensively land inequality, in a cross-country comparable manner while leveraging data from both living conditions household surveys and agricultural censuses. We then apply these indicators to household survey data from sub-Saharan Africa, enriched with a set of geospatial data features that determine agricultural land quality. Our results show that not accounting for land quality and secure tenure rights can lead to a significant underestimation of land inequality. We also discuss the scalability of this approach in other countries and regions considering both current data limitations and opportunities. Our assessment of existing data across the globe reveals that accounting for land rights represents the biggest challenge since most of the data sources capture limited information on land tenure diversity and individual rights. Finally, we map countries worldwide where data is available for scaling up our approach.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Recomendaciones para la vigilancia de la influenza A(H5N1) en el ganado vacuno
    Con una aplicación más amplia a otros mamíferos de cría
    2025
    Also available in:

    Dado que la influenza A(H5N1) del clado 2.3.4.4b sigue propagándose de las aves silvestres a las aves domésticas y a los mamíferos terrestres y marinos, los recientes casos observados en el ganado vacuno ponen de relieve la importancia fundamental de estar preparados y responder rápidamente ante los eventos de contagio, y de planificar la detección y respuesta rápidas a nivel nacional, en especial en países de ingresos medianos y bajos.Estas recomendaciones de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO) pretenden ayudar a los países a mejorar la vigilancia de la influenza A(H5N1) en las poblaciones de bovinos, con una aplicación más amplia a otros mamíferos de cría, para fundamentar la evaluación de riesgos y las medidas de control de la enfermedad basadas endatos empíricos. Las estrategias integradas de vigilancia pueden aprovechar los programas existentes de lucha contra la influenza aviar y otras enfermedades del ganado, y permitir que los países mejoren sus capacidades en materia de vigilancia, al tiempo que mantienen la eficacia función del costo.Con respecto a la preparación eficaz, la FAO recomienda una combinación de diferentes métodos de vigilancia, entre ellos estrategias de vigilancia basadas en el riesgo y adaptadas a los contextos de los distintos países. La adopción de estas recomendaciones fortalecerá los esfuerzos de detección temprana, contribuirá a la toma de decisiones basada en datos empíricos y ayudará a aplicar medidas selectivas de mitigación de riesgo para proteger al ganado y la salud pública.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Evaluación de la tenencia del agua 2025
    Also available in:

    El incremento en la demanda hídrica, unido a los efectos previstos del cambio climático, constituye un desafío significativo para todos los países con relación a la distribución del agua en el contexto de la seguridad alimentaria. Para gestionar y emplear los recursos hídricos de manera más eficiente y equitativa, resulta imperativo comprender bien las normas y los acuerdos que regulan el acceso a dichos recursos. La evaluación de la tenencia del agua ayuda a comprender estos acuerdos que rigen el acceso a los recursos hídricos, los cuales se basan tanto en leyes formales como en costumbres y tradiciones. Este análisis proporciona una perspectiva imparcial de las relaciones entre los individuos y los recursos hídricos, permitiendo la revisión y mejora de los procesos de gobernanza del agua. La presente publicación tiene como objetivo esclarecer conceptos básicos y delinear los seis pasos esenciales de una evaluación de la tenencia del agua. Asimismo, describe herramientas y métodos prácticos para aplicar la evaluación en la práctica.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Gender-inclusive toolkit for financial institutions in sub-Saharan Africa
    Making the African Continental Free Trade Area work for women
    2025
    Also available in:
    No results found.

    The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Trade Centre have collaborated to support women in overcoming gender-based obstacles in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement. The "Empowering Women and Boosting Livelihoods through Agricultural Trade: Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area" programme, developed in 2021, aims to promote women’s participation in the agreement and increase their access to capacity-building and higher-productivity activities. This initiative capitalizes on the new opportunities in regional trade created by the agreement.One of the main challenges women face is access to finance. Agriculture is traditionally associated with lower returns and high-risk investments, and women are perceived to be a riskier segment due to discriminatory social and gender norms. These biases affect capital providers’ perceptions of women, as well as women’s financial literacy, bookkeeping skills, and investment readiness. Furthermore, the lack of collateral is a major constraint, largely due to women’s limited ownership and control over land in Africa.The objective of this toolkit is to raise awareness of the business case for financing women in agricultural value chains and to provide financial institutions with practical guidance for advancing gender-inclusive strategies across different parts of their organizations. This toolkit complements a policy brief developed under the same programme, which provides concrete recommendations for financiers and other relevant stakeholders to foster gender-responsive financing. Building on case studies from Ghana and Nigeria, the policy brief offers insights for promoting gender-inclusive financial practices in the agrifinancing ecosystem.