Making the Food Aid Convention meet the realities of the 21st century

Emergency situations have become increasingly frequent over the past 25 years, often coupled with acute and chronic food insecurity in the affected countries. International responses to these crises have generally focused on addressing immediate humanitarian needs, as evidenced by the growing share of food aid that is channelled to emergencies. However, achieving lasting food security would often require an integrated development approach that combines short-term relief measures with longer-term mitigation strategies. A reformed Food Aid Convention (FAC) could provide the institutional framework for more effective interventions.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

Price Volatility in Agricultural Markets - Evidence, impact on food security and policy responses

Recent bouts of extreme price volatility in global agricultural markets portend rising and more frequent threats to world food security. A new Policy Brief of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization argues that countries should improve market functioning and equip themselves better to cope with the adverse effects of extreme volatility. Apart from improving global safety nets, countries can lower their vulnerability by raising agricultural productivity for a diverse set of crops that proves both competitive and sustainable, as well as by promoting dietary diversification.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

Fighting Poverty and Hunger - What role for urban agriculture?

Towns and cities are growing rapidly in developing countries. This process is often accompanied by high levels of poverty and hunger, leading many urban dwellers to engage in farming activities to help satisfy their food needs. Policy makers need to recognize this reality and actively seize the opportunities offered by urban agriculture.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

Adapter la Convention relative à l’aide alimentaire aux réalités du XXIe siècle

Les situations d'urgence sont devenues de plus en plus fréquentes au cours des 25 dernières années, souvent combinées avec une insécurité alimentaire aiguë et chronique dans les pays touchés. Les réponses internationales à ces crises ont généralement porté sur le traitement des besoins humanitaires immédiats, comme en témoigne la part croissante de l'aide alimentaire destinée aux situations d’urgence. Toutefois, parvenir à une sécurité alimentaire durable nécessiterait la plupart du temps une approche intégrée du développement qui combine des mesures de secours à court terme avec des stratégies d'atténuation à long terme. Une Convention relative à l’aide alimentaire réformée pourrait fournir un cadre institutionnel favorable à des interventions plus efficaces.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

La lucha contra el hambre y la pobreza - ¿Cual es el papel de la agricultura urbana?

Los pueblos y ciudades crecen con rapidez en los países en desarrollo. Este proceso va acompañado a menudo de niveles elevados de hambre y pobreza, lo que conduce a muchos residentes urbanos a ocuparse en actividades agrícolas para ayudar a cubrir sus necesidades alimentarias. Los responsables de las políticas deben admitir esta realidad y aprovechar de forma activa las oportunidades que ofrece la agricultura urbana.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

Lutter contre la pauvreté et la faim - Quel est le rôle de l'agriculture urbaine ?

Les villes des pays en développement connaissent une croissance rapide. Ce processus est souvent accompagné de niveaux élevés de pauvreté et de faim qui poussent beaucoup d'habitants urbains à entreprendre des activités agricoles pour satisfaire leurs besoins alimentaires. Les décideurs doivent être conscients de cette réalité et tirer parti des possibilités offertes par l'agriculture urbaine.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

La volatilidad de precios en los mercados agrícolas - Evidencia, efectos en la seguridad alimentaria y respuestas normativas

Los últimos episodios de volatilidad extrema de los precios en los mercados agrícolas mundiales presagian mayores y más frecuentes amenazas a la seguridad alimentaria mundial. Para reducir la vulnerabilidad de los países, las políticas deberían equiparlos para que puedan hacer frente a los efectos adversos de una volatilidad extrema, y mejorar el funcionamiento del mercado.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

Genre et droit à la terre - Comprendre les complexités, adapter les politiques

Accroître l'accès des femmes à la terre est crucial pour lutter contre la faim et la pauvreté. Toutefois, les disparités entre les sexes concernant l'accès aux terres restent importantes dans la plupart des pays, quel que soit leur niveau de développement. Une nouvelle base de données de la FAO aide à comprendre les facteurs qui empêchent les femmes d'accéder à la terre, et à concevoir de meilleures politiques pour lutter efficacement contre cette situation.rural development, hunger, food security, economic crisis, prices, agriculture

Assessing data availability for the development of REDD-plus national reference levels

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Data availability in developing countries is known to be extremely varied and is one of the constraints for setting the national reference levels (RLs) for the REDD-plus (i.e. 'Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries') under the UNFCCC. Taking Thailand as a case study country, this paper compares three types of RLs, which require different levels of datasets, including a simple historic RL, a projected forest-trend RL, and a business-as-usual (BAU) RL.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Other than the finding that different RLs yielded different estimations on future deforestation areas, the analysis also identified the characteristics of each RL. The historical RL demanded simple data, but can be varied in accordance with a reference year or period. The forest-trend RL can be more reliable than the historical RL, if the country's deforestation trend curve is formed smoothly. The complicated BAU RL is useful as it can demonstrate the additionality of REDD-plus activities and distinguish the country's unintentional efforts.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>With the REDD-plus that involves widespread participation, there should be steps from which countries choose the appropriate RL; ranging from simpler to more complex measures, in accordance with data availability in each country. Once registered with REDD-plus, the countries with weak capacity and capability should be supported to enhance the data collection system in that country.</p

Livelihoods, conflict and aid programming: Is the evidence base good enough?

In conflict-affected situations, aid-funded livelihood interventions are often tasked with a dual imperative: to generate material welfare benefits and to contribute to peacebuilding outcomes. There may be some logic to such a transformative agenda, but does the reality square with the rhetoric? Through a review of the effectiveness of a range of livelihood promotion interventions—from job creation to microfinance—this paper finds that high quality empirical evidence is hard to come by in conflict-affected situations. Many evaluations appear to conflate outputs with impacts and numerous studies fail to include adequate information on their methodologies and datasets, making it difficult to appraise the reliability of their conclusions. Given the primary purpose of this literature—to provide policy guidance on effective ways to promote livelihoods— this silence is particularly concerning. As such, there is a strong case to be made for a restrained and nuanced handling of such interventions in conflict-affected settings.Department for International Development - PO511