Featured publications
Booklet
Are you ready to lead? Using responsible business conduct to address risks in avocado businesses
27/09/2024
Responsible business conduct (RBC), implemented through due diligence, can help avocado producers and businesses improve the sustainability of their...
Booklet
Are you ready to lead? Using responsible business conduct to address risks in pineapple businesses
27/09/2024
Responsible business conduct (RBC), implemented through due diligence, can help pineapple producers and businesses improve the sustainability of their...
Book (stand-alone)
Responsible business conduct in the pineapple industry: a guide for producers and exporters
16/09/2024
This guide aims to support growers and businesses operating in the global pineapple industry in their efforts to implement responsible business conduct...
Full publication library
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2022
28/06/2022
This edition of The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) discusses how trade policies, based on both multilateral and regional approaches, can address today’s challenges for sustainable development. Trade policies in food and agriculture should aim to safeguard global food security, address the trade-offs between economic and environmental objectives, and strengthen the resilience of the global agrifood system to shocks, such as conflicts, pandemics and extreme weather.
Responsible Business Conduct Quarterly - Bulletin No.1, April–June 2022
10/06/2022
FAO’s Responsible Business Conduct Quarterly Bulletin (RBC-Q) shares events and resources on FAO’s activities on Responsible Global Value Chains and news from around the world related to business, risk and development in the agricultural sector. It is prepared by FAO’s Markets and Trade Division (EST). This issue of the bulletin covers the period April-June 2022, with selected items from January-March 2022.
Webinar #6: Water efficiency, sustainability and productivity. 26 April 2022
30/03/2022
This was the sixth in a series of technical webinars being organized by FAO’s Responsible Fruits project in response to the priorities and interests of participants from the private sector. The webinars will provide an opportunity for peer learning on precompetitive issues, and the identification and sharing of good practices
Webinar #5: Reduction of agrochemical use, sustainable pest and disease management and compliance with MRLs - 2 February 2022
24/03/2022
This was the fifth in a series of technical webinars being organized by FAO’s Responsible Fruits project in response to the priorities and interests of participants from the private sector. The webinars will provide an opportunity for peer learning on precompetitive issues, and the identification and sharing of good practices
Webinar #3: How the tropical fruits sector can tackle deforestation and contribute to forest positive value chains -21 October 2021
04/03/2022
This was the third in a series of technical webinars being organized by FAO’s Responsible Fruits project in response to the priorities and interests of participants from the private sector. The webinars will provide an opportunity for peer learning on precompetitive issues, and the identification and sharing of good practices
The State of Food and Agriculture 2021
01/11/2021
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of agrifood systems to shocks and stresses and led to increased global food insecurity and malnutrition. Action is needed to make agrifood systems more resilient, efficient, sustainable and inclusive.
Webinar #1: Climate change mitigation, 2 June 2021
03/08/2021
This was the first in a series of technical webinars being organized by FAO’s Responsible Fruits project in response to the priorities and interests of participants from the private sector. The webinars will provide an opportunity for peer learning on precompetitive issues, and the identification and sharing of good practices
Making avocado and pineapple supply chains more sustainable and resilient
15/07/2021
Concerned about business risk in avocado or pineapple supply chains? FAO can help. Global production and trade of tropical fruits have grown dramatically. Tropical fruits are a part of healthy diets for millions of people and contribute to rural and economic development in producer countries. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) have shown business risks that must be addressed to ensure continued success in these value chains. Thus, FAO is leading the project “Building responsible global value chains for the sustainable production and trade of tropical fruits”. This flyer introduces the project to the private sector, including companies, producer organizations, trade associations, and industry initiatives. It summarizes how the project will help companies operating in avocado and pineapple supply chains to make their operations more sustainable and resilient. This includes strengthen or establish risk-based due diligence systems; providing a confidential environment for peer learning on pre-competitive issues; developing a series of demand-driven guides on technical challenges; and identifying opportunities to accelerate sustainable investment in these supply chains.
Concerned about risk and sustainability in avocado or pineapple supply chains?
05/06/2021
n recent decades, global production and trade of tropical fruits have grown dramatically. Today they are a part of a healthy diet for millions of people and contribute to rural and economic development. The COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about sustainability (including environmental, social and economic aspects) have highlighted business risks that must be addressed to ensure continued success in these value chains. Many companies are taking steps to address sustainability risk in their operations. However, value chains are vulnerable to risks and shocks beyond the control of any single actor. Thus, concerted actions can benefit all industry stakeholders. With this in mind, FAO is leading the project “Building responsible global value chains for the sustainable production and trade of tropical fruits” (GCP/GLO/022/GER). This project helps companies operating in avocado and pineapple supply chains to strengthen or establish risk-based due diligence systems that will make their operations more sustainable and resilient to shocks such as COVID-19. The project will provide a confidential environment for peer learning on pre-competitive issues. It will develop a series of demand-driven guides on specific technical challenges to be determined by project participants (e.g., water footprint, climate change, traceability, gender, labor issues, etc.) and identify measures and good practices to overcome these challenges. It will analyze the policy environment and incentives, aiming to identify opportunities to accelerate sustainable investment in these supply chains. This flyer provides an overview for stakeholders including international organizations, researchers, academics and policy makers.
Building responsible global value chains for sustainable tropical fruits
09/03/2021
This three-year project is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and titled “Building responsible global value chains for the sustainable production and trade of tropical fruits” (the Responsible Fruits project).
In Brief to The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020
31/10/2020
The In Brief version of the FAO flagship publication, The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020, contains the key messages and main points from the publication and is aimed at the media, policy makers and a more general public.
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020
31/10/2020
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020 (SOCO 2020) aims to discuss policies and mechanisms that promote sustainable outcomes – economic, social and environmental – in agricultural and food markets, both global and domestic. The analysis is organized along the trends and challenges that lie at the heart of global discussions on trade and development.
Assessing the impact of trade and other policies on global value chain (GVC) participation, positioning and vertical specialization in agriculture and food
09/10/2020
This technical paper includes: A literature review of the impact of trade policies and domestic support measures (for example, subsidies) on global value chain (GVC) participation including the effects of tariffs and non-tariff measures, Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and Rules of Origin, as well as recent market developments and trade tensions on GVC linkages.
A quantitative analysis of trends in agricultural and food global value chains (GVCs)
09/10/2020
Over the last decade, increasing international fragmentation of production has affected both trade and production: these activities have become increasingly organized around what is commonly referred to as global value chains (GVCs). Increased fragmentation has brought with it challenges of tracing and measuring international divisions of labor, value-added, and so forth. In fact, conventional measures of trade only measure the gross value of exchanges between partners.
Mapping global value chain (GVC) participation, positioning and vertical specialization in agriculture and food
09/10/2020
This Technical Report includes: • A policy note with: 1) a short review of the literature on the state-of-art methodologies for computing indicators for global value chain (GVC) participation, positioning and vertical specialization; and 2) a mapping and short analysis of agriculture and food GVCs by world region.
The effects of global value chain (GVC) participation on the economic growth of the agricultural and food sectors
09/10/2020
Trade liberalization has long been advocated as a means to foster growth and welfare. In developing countries, the expansion of global value chain (GVC) participation of agriculture and food sectors could support transformation from a subsistence-oriented and farm-centered system to a commercialized, productive and off-farm centered one.
Innovative business models for small farmer inclusion
09/10/2020
Farmer participation in agricultural markets is of major importance for rural economic growth and poverty alleviation in developing countries. This paper discusses market failures and constraints in agriculture in low-income countries, focusing on how these failures and constraints affect small farmers, input sellers and output buyers.
Competition, market power, surplus creation and rent distribution in agri-food value chains
09/10/2020
This paper reviews competition issues in agro-food value chains, including forms of governance and organization, concentration and market power and private standards implications. The paper discusses different value chains in food and agriculture and analyses how services and technologies are embedded in the final value and assesses the share of the different value chain segments.
Digital technology and agricultural markets
19/09/2020
Digital technologies have a high potential to enable further development of the agricultural sector, significantly reshape food value chains (FVCs), and greatly contribute towards more productive, resilient and transparent food systems. This paper provides a non-technical overview of digital technologies that have a high potential to revolutionize the agriculture and food industry, and contribute towards inclusion of small farmers into FVCs.
Agricultural value chains and social and environmental impacts: Trends, challenges, and policy options
19/09/2020
With the global population approaching 8 billion, the role of agricultural value chains (VCs) is increasingly important in ensuring sustainable and equitable food production. However, in developing countries, market failures can prevent small farmers from fully participating in domestic and global value chains, and issues related to climate change create further challenges.