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. 

 

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    Book (series)
    An Overview on How Sustainability is Addressed in Official Bioeconomy Strategies at International, National and Regional Levels 2016
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    This report provides an overview of about twenty bioeconomy strategies, at international , national and sub-national levels. It analyses how these strategies have addressed sustainability issues. The report also provides a brief discussion on approaches used to develop bioeconomy strategies. Finally, it also discusses the action plans of 10 action plans related to some of these strategies,and some comncluding remarks.
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    Book (series)
    Review of the state of world marine fishery resources – 2025 2025
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    Marine fisheries are crucial to the food security and nutrition, economy and overall well-being of coastal communities. Maintaining the long-term prosperity and sustainability of marine fisheries is therefore not only ecologically significant, but has social, economic and political importance. The aim of this report is to provide FAO Members, national and regional policymakers, academia, civil society, fishers and managers of world fishery resources with a comprehensive, objective and global review of the state of the living fishery resources of the oceans. This document updates the regular reviews of the state of the world’s marine fishery resources, based on stock assessments and complementary information up to 2023, and official catch statistics through to 2021. The introductory and methodology chapters provide the wider context in which this updated edition of the Review of the state of world marine fishery resources was prepared, highlighting evolutions in the landscape of fisheries and stock assessment capacities since the previous edition of this report in 2011. The methodology section gives a detailed overview of the updated FAO process for providing the state of stocks index, which involved a highly participatory and transparent process (including 19 regional workshops and consultations, with around 650 in-person experts representing 92 countries and 200 organizations). Importantly, the total number of stocks in the assessments included in this report has significantly increased to 2 570. Discussions on major trends and changes at the global level are explored in a dedicated global overview chapter, while more detailed information on the status of stocks for each of the FAO Major Fishing Areas is set out in dedicated regional chapters. Special sections address the global issue of tunas and tuna-like species, and other high-profile fisheries such as deep-sea fisheries in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and highly migratory sharks. Summary tables are provided for each species grouping used in this assessment, indicating the number of stocks included, their sustainability classification between overfished, maximally sustainably fished, and underfished categories, and the number of stocks classified into tiers based on the availability and quality of information and thus the assessment methods used.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    The future of food and agriculture: Trends and challenges 2017
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    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.
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    Booklet
    Anticipatory action: Annual report 2023 2024
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    In 2023, about 281 million people in 59 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity, marking the fifth consecutive year of rising humanitarian needs. Weather extremes were the main driver of food crises in 18 of these countries, and affected the food security of almost 72 million people. Such worrying trends, combined with strained resources, call for scaling up innovative approaches, such as anticipatory action, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of support provided to vulnerable agriculture-dependent households.This annual report highlights the proactive measures that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) takes to safeguard agricultural livelihoods and food security against forecast hazards and shocks. In 2023, FAO's anticipatory actions reached over 2 million people across 24 countries, focusing especially on mitigating the effects of El Niño-induced floods and droughts globally. This included the provision of tailored early warnings, trainings, drought-tolerant seeds, animal health support, and conditional and unconditional cash transfers, which have helped farmers and herders keep their animals healthy, sustain agricultural production and safeguard their food security ahead of climate extremes.FAO’s regional and national efforts – closely coordinated with partners at all levels – have been instrumental in establishing and implementing anticipatory action frameworks. In 2023, FAO was engaged in 29 anticipatory action protocols serving as effective tools to monitor priority risks and to inform timely interventions ahead of disasters.The report also emphasizes the need for pre-arranged, flexible financing to ensure timely anticipatory action implementation, and highlights successful collaborations with governments, international organizations and local communities. Looking forward, FAO aims to expand its anticipatory action reach, improve early warning systems and strengthen partnerships in the face of food crises.
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    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.

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    Book (stand-alone)
    Ветеринарные вакцины: принципы и применение 2025
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    В публикации содержится краткий и авторитетный справочник по использованию вакцин против болезней скота.Составленная старшими специалистами по охране здоровья животных Продовольственной и сельскохозяйственной организации Объединенных Наций при участии ведущих международных экспертов публикация "Ветеринарные вакцины: принципы и применение" - это краткий и авторитетный справочник, содержащий легко читаемые обзоры последних исследований в области вакцинологии и иммунного ответа вакцин на патогены, оказывающие значительное экономическое воздействие на скот.В ней содержатся советы и рекомендации по производству вакцин, контролю качества и эффективным схемам вакцинации, включая выбор вакцин, спецификации, программы вакцинации, обращение с вакцинами в полевых условиях, применение, неудачи и оценку защиты стада. Кроме того, в книге представлены обсуждения текущего состояния и потенциальных будущих разработок вакцин и вакцинации против отдельных трансграничных болезней животных.Публикация "Ветеринарные вакцины: принципы и применение" - важный ресурс для практикующих ветеринаров, должностных лиц департаментов охраны здоровья животных, ученых-вакцинологов и студентов-ветеринаров. Она также будет интересен профессиональным ассоциациям и НПО, работающим в животноводческой отрасли.Эта глава книги посвящена бруцеллезу.
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    Booklet
    General and food consumer price indices inflation rates
    March 2025 update
    2025
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    Annual changes in global and regional consumer price indices (CPIs) measure inflation rates of food and general consumer prices for a group of countries at different geographical scales: subregional, regional and global. The general CPI covers 207 countries, and the food CPI covers 203 countries worldwide; 18.7 percent of the observations for the food CPI and 7.9 percent for the general CPI are estimated. Country and regional consumer price indices are updated in FAOSTAT quarterly. This FAOSTAT Analytical Brief analyses the March 2025 update.In 2024, many countries witnessed a decrease in general and food inflation due to a decline in fuel and energy costs, lower farm-gate prices, and a gradual fading of the effects of previous shocks. Demand decreased, owing also to tighter monetary policies.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Orientations sur le renforcement au niveau national des interfaces entre science et politiques au service des systèmes agroalimentaires 2025
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    Conformément à sa Stratégie en matière de science et d’innovation, la FAO a élaboré un document d’orientation sur le renforcement au niveau national des interfaces entre science et politiques au service des systèmes agroalimentaires, l’objectif étant de faire en sorte que des décisions efficaces soient prises en matière de politiques sur la base d’éléments scientifiques et factuels suffisants, pertinents et crédibles. Ce document s’adresse aux interfaces qui sont axées sur la transformation des systèmes agroalimentaires à l’appui de la réalisation des objectifs de développement durable, l’accent étant mis sur les besoins des pays à faible revenu et de ceux à revenu intermédiaire. Il s’intéresse d’abord à la raison d’être de ce type de mécanisme au niveau national; pour ce faire, il en analyse les avantages potentiels s’agissant de remédier aux problèmes spécifiques qui touchent les systèmes agroalimentaires à l’échelle nationale, puis cartographie et évalue l’écosystème des services de conseil à l’interface entre science et politiques. Dans un deuxième temps, le document décrit brièvement les caractéristiques fondamentales vers lesquelles une interface devrait tendre pour être fonctionnelle, y compris ses objectifs et ses rôles ainsi que ses principes directeurs, et présente trois grands modèles d’interface.
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    Book
    Worldwide Perspectives on Geographical Indications
    Crossed views between researchers, policy makers and practitioners
    2025
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    Geographical Indications (GI) are distinctive signs that associate products of quality and reputation with their place or area of production and thereby help identify and distinguish such products on the market. In July 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le dével oppement (CIRAD) in collaboration with the Swiss Intellectual Property Institute (IPI) and oriGIn (Organization for an International GI Network), brought together more than 200 representatives of researchers, public authorities, producers and their collective organizations, public authorities and international organizations from 47 countries to discuss recent research and practices on global perspectives on Geographical Indications. This book is a collection of selected contributions from those discussions authored by academics, practitioners and policy-makers and presenting key research and developments in the practices of geographical indications from across the globe. The book presents a rich analysis of GI’s from the nature and legal definition to public and private management, market forces, sustainable development, intellectual property rights as well as consumer rights and welfare. This is an open access book.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Assessment of drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in West Africa
    Methodology and main findings
    2025
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    This report presents the methodology and main findings of an assessment conducted between 2015 and 2020 to identify the primary drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in West Africa. Developed under the project “Global Transformation of Forests for People and Climate,” this assessment supports regional forest governance by providing robust, participatory, and data-driven insights.Combining a systematic literature review with spatial analysis using high-resolution satellite imagery and open-source tools such as SEPAL and Collect Earth, the methodology enabled the identification of changes in land use and forest cover across 64 000 sample plots. National experts from West African countries contributed to the prioritization and interpretation of drivers, ensuring local relevance and ownership.The results reveal that small-scale agriculture, logging, and fire are the predominant drivers of forest change, often occurring in combination within the same plot. These findings highlight the complexity of deforestation and degradation processes and underscore the need for integrated responses. The study also maps the spatial distribution of drivers across countries and provides recommendations for national adaptation of the methodology, policy integration, and community engagement.This assessment offers a replicable framework for understanding forest loss in West Africa and sets the stage for more targeted, science-based forest monitoring and management at both national and regional levels.