This compendium is the result of a first-of-its-kind stocktaking exercise looking at FAO activities to address child labour in agriculture in Malawi, Mali, Uganda, the Niger and the United Republic of Tanzania over a decade (2010–2020). It is intended to make a practical contribution to the field of child labour elimination in agriculture, by shedding a light on some of the FAO-supported activities, country processes and practices as well as achievements, and lessons learned. As such, it highlights the general main lessons learned and key messages, outlines and provide details on country processes and related outcomes and achievements on knowledge generation, capacity development, awareness raising, policy advice and promotion of advocacy and partnerships. The contents on these FAO strategies for the elimination of child labour in agriculture are complemented by examples of areas of work such as promoting safe practices and labour-saving technologies and empowering and building the skills of youth aged 15–17 by facilitating school-to-work transition in agriculture.

The purpose of the FAO’s framework is to guide the Organization and its personnel in the integration of measures addressing child labour within FAO’s typical work, programmes and initiatives at global, regional and country levels. It aims to enhance compliance with organization’s operational standards, and strengthen coherence and synergies across the Organization and with partners. The FAO framework is primarily targeted at FAO as an organization, including all personnel in all geographic locations. But the framework is also relevant for FAO’s governing bodies and Member States, and provides guidance and a basis for collaboration with development partners. The framework is also to be used as a key guidance to assess and monitor compliance with FAO’s environmental and social standards addressing prevention and reduction of child labour in FAO’s programming.

The Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC) 2022 annual progress report captures the key achievements of the FVC, both in terms of its role as a pooled fund for non-earmarked and softly earmarked contributions from resource partners and the implementation of development initiatives through FVC subprogrammes. The report provides a comprehensive understanding of the FVC's role within the Organization, the contribution of FVC-funded work to the achievements of FAO's four betters and their respective Programme Priority Areas (PPAs), and the future direction of the FVC based on experiences in 2022. The report comprises six sections: (1) Introduction, (2) Achievements of the FVC as a fund, (3) Achievements of FVC programmes (the four betters), (4) Key FVC principles, (5) Challenges and lessons learned, and (6) Conclusions and future actions.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Millions of children throughout Africa undertake many forms of farm and domestic work. Some of this work is for wages, some is on their family's own small plots and some is forced and/or harmful. This book examines children's involvement in such work. It argues that framing all children's engagement in economic activity as 'child labour', with all the associated negative connotations, is problematic. This is particularly the case in Africa where many rural children must work to survive and where, the contributors argue, much of the work undertaken is not harmful. The conceptual and case-based chapters reframe the debate about children's work and harm in rural Africa with the aim of shifting research, public discourse and policy so that they better serve the interest of rural children and their families.

"الغرض من إطار منظمة الأغذية والزراعة هذا هو توجيه المنظمة وموظفيها في ما يخص دمج التدابير التي تعنى بعمالة الأطفال ضمن عمل المنظمة وبرامجها ومبادراتها النموذجية عالميًا وإقليميًا وقطريًا. [Author] ويهدف إلى تعزيز التماسك والتآزر عبر المنظمة ومع الشركاء". [Author]

At head of title: Rural employment, knowledge materials.

The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.

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.

On 2–3 November 2021, to mobilize global action and highlight concrete solutions to eradicate child labour in agriculture, FAO, in close collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and in partnership with the International Partnership for Cooperation on Child Labour in Agriculture (IPCCLA) and the Alliance 8.7, organized a high-level virtual event: the Global Solutions Forum (GSF). The objectives of the GSF were to raise the voices and commitment of agricultural stakeholders, share game-changing solutions, and identify ways to step up concerted action to prevent and end child labour in all agricultural subsectors. The outcomes of the event are expected to inform the V Global Conference on Child Labour in 2022, along with other global initiatives such as the United Nations Decade of Family Farming.

This illustrated volume identifies the challenges and opportunities facing food and agriculture in the context of the 2030 Agenda, presents solutions for a more sustainable world and shows how FAO has been working in recent years to support its Member Nations in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.