All publications and documents

Infectious diseases caused by food-borne parasites have not received the same level of attention as other food-borne biological and chemical hazards. Nevertheless, they cause a high burden of disease in humans, may have prolonged, severe, and sometimes fatal outcomes, and result in considerable hardship in terms of food safety, security, quality of life, and negative impacts on livelihoods. The…

The drylands of the world occur on every continent, covering some 41% of the terrestrial surface. One third of humanity inhabits these harsh degrading landscapes, eking out a living through adaptive processes that have served them well until recent increases of land degradation. Growing pressures from population growth, increasingly erratic climatic conditions, and a general…

The workshop will try to answer five crucial questions that could facilitate the uptake and scaling-up of VSS: (1) how to make them work for farmers and small food producers; (2) how can VSS be used to enable green trade opportunities, particularly in agri-food products not currently using VSS; (3) how to make them work for consumers globally; (4) how to make it work for the private sector; and …

Across sub-Saharan Africa agriculture is the backbone of the economy, accounting for 30-40% of nations’ gross domestic product, and a leading source of jobs for over two-thirds of the population. Improving the productivity, profitability and sustainability of agriculture on the millions of farms that cover the African continent is essential for ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity…

This report reviews the main linkages between climate change, water and agriculture as a means to identifying and discussing adaptation strategies for better use and conservation of water resources. It aims to provide guidance to decision makers on choosing an appropriate mix of policies and market approaches to address the interaction between agriculture and water systems under climate change.

The overarching challenge for Africa in the decades to come is massive population growth in a context of wide-spread poverty that, in combination, generate complex and interrelated threats to the human habitat. The main premise of this report is that successfully and effectively addressing the vulnerabilities and risks to which the African populations are increasingly being exposed may, perhaps,…