Smallholders make up 85% of the world’s farms but cultivate just 9% of agricultural land. Because of their scale, many lack access to machinery, finance and certification. Collective solutions like cooperatives and contract farming are key to connecting them to higher-value markets.
When farmers own their land, they are more likely to invest in it. Yet, globally, only 25% of land is formally recognised.
@fao.org's @maximotorero.bsky.social explains how land tenure reform and regulation, incentives, finance, and extension services can help change this.
🔗 https://bit.ly/47DdzOq
Women are one of the most powerful forces in the world’s agrifood systems. Closing gender gaps could add nearly $1 trillion to global GDP and lift 45M people out of food insecurity.
#InternationalWomensDay
Women are not just beneficiaries of agrifood transformation — they are drivers of it. Across rural economies, women power farms, food businesses, and communities. The future of agrifood systems depends on empowering women.
#InternationalWomensDay
Changing a law to achieve #GenderEquality is a powerful first step.
But as Lauren Phillips of @fao.org explains, change happens in the field — informing women of their rights and turning policy into access to land, resources and opportunity.
🎙️https://bit.ly/4l32b3U
#IWD2026 #IYWF2026
@fao.org and @embrapa.bsky.social agreed to strengthen collaboration to support resilient agrifood systems, especially in tropical regions that have one of the fastest-growing populations and most climate-exposed agricultural areas, and where research investment has been historically limited.
Brazil’s agricultural transformation shows the power of long-term investment in science and innovation. @embrapa.bsky.social turned the Cerrado -- once thought unsuitable for farming -- into one of the most productive regions, helping shift Brazil from a food importer to a top exporter.
Food reserves have a mixed record. Large, multi-purpose stock programs have often proved costly, divert resources and can distort markets. Evidence supports small, targeted emergency reserves, minimizing financial burden and avoiding market distortion. 📷FAO/Bizzarri tinyurl.com/326zmuau
La tenencia de la tierra condiciona decisiones productivas, el uso de insumos y el manejo del suelo. Reformarla y protegerla es una palanca estructural para la sostenibilidad y la seguridad alimentaria. #ICARRD20
maximotorero.com/2026/02/25/r...
Evidence shows that farmers with insecure land agreements invest less in soil and water management. Without land as collateral, credit and insurance also remain out of reach. To regenerate land, governments must ensure secure tenure. #ICARRD20
www.ipsnews.net/2026/02/why-...
For Spanish-speaking colleagues:
La tenencia de la tierra condiciona decisiones productivas, el uso de insumos y el manejo del suelo. Reformarla y protegerla es una palanca estructural para la sostenibilidad y la seguridad alimentaria. elpais.com/america-colo...
Secure land rights shape how farmers treat the land. Without them, short-term extraction wins over long-term regeneration and degradation follows. Today, 1.7B people live on land with declining productivity. Reform is possible. Laws must be enforced and rights protected. #ICARRD20
What gives us hope? NGOs, farmers’ organizations, parliamentarians and companies are stepping up on women and youth in agrifood systems. The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 is especially a chance to elevate women’s voices. #IYWF2026
Full episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGMK...
41% of agrifood systems workforce are women. In some regions, they are the majority. Yet barriers to land, finance & technology persist. The International #YearOfTheWomanFarmer is a moment to turn awareness into investment.
Full episode 🎥 https://bit.ly/4qVqUbR
#IYWF2026
Without women’s full participation, agrifood systems cannot be productive or resilient. In @fao.org podcast, Lauren Phillips explains why change requires more than new laws and why the Int'l Year of the Woman Farmer is an opportunity to elevate women’s voices. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGMK...
When a disaster is 95% predictable, response shouldn’t be reactive. @fao.org supports countries to act before crises by using early warning data to trigger pre-arranged financing and deliver timely support, so shocks don't become crises. #AnticipatoryAction youtube.com/shorts/Zeq83...
Trade underpins food security, but it relies on infrastructure and logistics systems. Disruptions in the Suez and Panama canals show how chokepoints raise structural costs. Our modeling suggests $91-95B annual losses ($18-19B in food trade). Food security requires resilient trade portfolios.
Food Security is Global Security.
At @munsecconf.bsky.social, honored to exchange views with @iomchief.iom.int @maximotorero.bsky.social @alexander-de-croo.bsky.social and others.
ICYMI Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADxi...
🎙️FAO's new podcast, “The Work We Do” is out!
On episode 1 FAO Chief Economist explains why building stronger, more resilient agrifood systems matters for everyone’s future.
🎧 Discover how food security connects to global stability! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeowVp5jM0U
#WorldRadioDay
Potential disruptions in Suez or Panama canals force rerouting, raise fuel, insurance costs and emissions. Without diversification, a local shock can turn into a global crisis. Countries must treat agrifood systems as strategic infrastructure and invest in prevention & capacity to absorb shocks.
Agrifood systems are much more than farming -- they shape health, economy and how societies absorb shocks from climate and conflict. This is one of the themes I discuss in @fao.org's new podcast, The Work We Do. Tune in for this and many more convo to come!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeow...
When hunger rises, migration follows. The world is too interconnected for “walls” to be a viable strategy. If we want global stability, we must invest in reducing inequality and poverty -- it’s the only way everyone wins.
Agriculture is aging fast. To engage youth, countries must reimagine it as a modern, skills-based sector across the value chain -- processing, logistics, services, research, agri-tech -- offering a living wage and career paths, not low-return farming activities.
Our farmers are heroes. Through COVID-19, wars and climate stress, global agrifood systems held -- because supply chains adapted and institutions learned fast. @fao.org tools like
@amisoutlook.bsky.social now give near-real-time insight into risks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw5I...
AI is driving layoffs, but cutting costs through tech today might hollow out human capital economies need tomorrow. The IMF estimates 40% of jobs are affected by AI. Whether societies gain or lose depends on the skills and education of people and capable institutions.
During COVID, currency depreciation forced food-importing nations to pay more for the same food and domestic inflation eroded families' ability to buy food. Sometimes, weakened currencies alone erased gains from falling world prices (see chart). Currency stability is essential for food access.
In many countries, food prices are rising faster than overall inflation. This matters because poor families who spend more of their income on food may be forced to skip meals or compromise on nutrition. This is an ongoing crisis, not a temporary spike, undermining affordability.
Transforming agrifood systems is about managing trade-offs. Every policy choice has consequences across people, sectors and time. The goal isn’t to avoid trade-offs but to make them explicit, measure them and manage them better. That’s what a systems approach means. 📷 FAO/Eduardo Soteras
At @FAO, we use "agrifood systems" deliberately because agriculture delivers more than food; it delivers livelihoods, resilience, and sustainability across crops, livestock, fisheries, forests and value chains. Real transformation needs the whole system, not just food. 📷FAO/Mulinge
