The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will vary for different groups of rural population, with the highest impact expected to be on farmers and other vulnerable groups, especially women and youth. Targeted support is feasible only by activating a network of actors or organizations within agricultural innovation systems (AIS) and promoting customized technologies and practices suitable for location specific contexts.

“Business as usual” is no longer an option for a food-secure future. Pastoralism can be an innovative system: a time-tested, undervalued alternative to high-input and resource-intensive farming, and a valuable lesson for the much needed evolution towards ‘farming with nature’, with largely-untapped potential for income growth and employment in marginal areas.

This flyer illustrates the list of side events organised by TAP Partners during the Seventh TAP Partners Assembly, taking place virtually from 16 to 20 November 2020. 

This flyer described the collaboration between FAO and Agrinatura and in particular two main areas of activities:

1) Joint implementation of the EU-funded Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project from 2015 to 2019, in eight countries: Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Rwanda;

The publication is a part of the FAO work to assist the member countries in reforming their national Extension and Advisory Services (EAS). It highlights the main elements and provides concrete guidelines for the policy makers to make EAS demand-driven, i.e. responsive to diverse needs and demands of rural producers, including the most vulnerable groups, women and youth etc.

This brochure on Global Knowledge Product provides an update of work carried out in 2020 on the development of some selected strategies, guidelines for the assessment of innovation systems, strategies for promoting agricultural innovation, and knowledge portals for sharing of technologies and good practices that integrate sustainable agricultural production and food security. The development of knowledge products contributes to FAO’s strategic objective of making agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable.

Sustainable food systems are fundamental to ensuring that future generations are food secure and eat healthy diets. To transition towards sustainability, many food system activities must be reconstructed, and myriad actors around the world are starting to act locally. While some changes are easier than others, knowing how to navigate through them to promote sustainable consumption and production practices requires complex skill sets.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a major economic shock, throwing into question the resilience of the agrifood sector at this stage, particularly in developing countries where self-employed, wage and informal workers are threatened by food supply chain disruptions, limitations on movement and trade restrictions. Even before the crisis, small and medium agribusinesses were often considered to be credit-constrained and extremely vulnerable to shocks.