Most contributions reflect an evolution of thinking during the 1990s.

The rural poor, who are the most vulnerable, are likely to be disproportionately affected.

Unless action is taken now to make agriculture more sustainable, productive and resilient, climate change impacts will seriously compromise food production in countries and regions that are already highly food-insecure. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, represents a new beginning in the global effort to stabilize the climate before it is too late. It recognizes the importance of food security in the international response to climate change, as reflected by many countries prominent focus on the agriculture sector in their planned contributions to adaptation and mitigation. To help put those plans into action, this report identifies strategies, financing opportunities, and data and information needs. It also describes transformative policies and institutions that can overcome barriers to implementation. The State of Food and Agriculture is produced annually. Each edition contains an overview of the current global agricultural situation, as well as more in-depth coverage of a topical theme."

After steadily declining for over a decade, global hunger is on the rise again, while various forms of malnutrition coexist. Climate change is already exacerbating this grim picture, which is why food security and food production will be a major focus of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 6th Assessment Cycle. Thanks to the participation of 250 experts from all around the world, the International Symposium on Food Security and Nutrition in the Age of Climate Change highlighted the importance of food and agricultural systems in the fight against climate change and presented concrete multi-sector solutions to address this global issue. The event placed special emphasis on the regional realities of West Africa and the Canadian North, as well as to the presence of young people and members of Indigenous and Northern communities directly affected by these issues. The summaries of these four days of plenaries, interactive workshops, and special events have been grouped under seven major themes for this publication: 1) Climate change, food security and nutrition: the issues; (2) The agriculture sectors in the context of climate change; (3) Food systems in the face of climate change; (4) Natural resources: challenges and solutions; (5) Food security and nutrition in a changing North; (6) Summary of solutions; (7) Strengthening and adapting regional and international cooperation.

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

The State of the World's Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture is FAO's first flagship publication on the global status of land and water resources. It is an 'advocacy' report, to be published every three to five years, and targeted at senior level decision makers in agriculture as well as in other sectors. SOLAW is aimed at sensitizing its target audience on the status of land resources at global and regional levels and FAO's viewpoint on appropriate recommendations for policy formulation. SOLAW focuses on these key dimensions of analysis: (i) quantity, quality of land and water resources, (ii) the rate of use and sustainable management of these resources in the context of relevant socio-economic driving factors and concerns, including food security and poverty, and climate change. This is the first time that a global, baseline status report on land and water resources has been made. It is based on several global spatial databases (e.g. land suitability for agriculture, land use and management, land and water degradation and depletion) for which FAO is the world-recognized data source. Topical and emerging issues on land and water are dealt with in an integrated rather than sectoral manner. The implications of the status and trends are used to advocate remedial interventions which are tailored to major farming systems within different geographic regions.

The book has a comprehensive account of the climate change with possible projections on food security in India. Global scenario of extreme climatic events and the corresponding probable climatic parameters in the years to come are discussed elaborately. The effect of climatic variability on the productivity of crops particularly cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits and flowers etc and incidences of plant diseases are highlighted. Moreover, the environmental effect on edible mushroom and rubber cultivation is also brought under the discussion in the book. Besides crop productivity, the information on the impact of climatic variability on the productivity/survival of livestock and freshwater fisheries is also made available. To avert weather vagaries, agro-advisory services on national perspectives are rendered with due importance. Finally, a focus on district level agro-advisory followed by a proper crop planning is also bestowed.