This report provides an overview of the impact evaluation findings of the FNS-REPRO project in South Sudan. [Author] The report draws on data collected from a panel and two rounds of surveys (baseline in 2020 and endline in 2023), collected from both intervention and non-intervention areas in the programme's target areas. [Author] This method of panel data collection provides the strongest evidence for attribution of a causal relationship between the implemented interventions and the effect on beneficiaries. [Author] Estimation of the household resilience capacity is done using the FAO RIMA-II tool. [Author] Among others, the analysis found that rescaled Resilience Capacity Index among the beneficiary households increased from 50 in baseline to 55 in endline. [Author] The overall RCI reported a significant positive impact, with a change of 3. [Author]95 points. [Author] The adaptive capacity and social safety net pillars reported the highest significant and positive impact, with a change of 4. [Author]7 and 4. [Author]9 points respectively. [Author] In addition, the project had a significant positive impact (11 percent) on the percentage of households reported to have used quality seeds and planting materials during the cropping season preceding the survey. [Author] Lastly, the project had a positive impact on overall income, income from crop production and income from livestock production. [Author] There was an increase of SSP (South Sudanese pound) 7 898 and SSP 3 030 in overall income and income from crop production respectively. [Author]

This booklet is directed towards FAO Member States, UN system and all other potential partners, and sheds light on the role that resilient agriculture livelihoods can play in addressing some of the root causes of migration in protracted crises and assisting displaced populations and host communities to cope with protracted displacement. The document aims at improving understanding of migration in situations of protracted crisis by explaining the context and providing examples of the work that FAO, together with its partners, has been doing across different countries to strengthen the resilience of communities and leave no one behind before, during and after protracted crises.

This note focuses on the topic of forced migration in protracted crises, presenting the challenges and some possible approaches to address root causes of forced migration and support displaced and host populations, illustrated by case studies from FAO’s interventions in such contexts. Improved food security, sustainable agricultural practices, access to and management of natural resources, employment and social protection benefits are key in supporting populations affected by displacement and to ease the strain on host communities. Although forced migration poses many challenges, the long-lasting presence of forcibly displaced can create opportunities for local economies and bring skills, capital and connectivity to broader markets that might fill the unmet needs of the host communities. By identifying and strengthening the livelihood capacities of the forcibly displaced, conditions conducive to solutions can be developed while still in displacement. These can strengthen self-reliance and help people seize opportunities, paving the way for durable solutions.

On top of a decade of exacerbated disaster loss, exceptional global heat, retreating ice and rising sea levels, humanity and our food security face a range of new and unprecedented hazards, such as megafires, extreme weather events, desert locust swarms of magnitudes previously unseen, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Agriculture underpins the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people – most of them in low-income developing countries – and remains a key driver of development. At no other point in history has agriculture been faced with such an array of familiar and unfamiliar risks, interacting in a hyperconnected world and a precipitously changing landscape. And agriculture continues to absorb a disproportionate share of the damage and loss wrought by disasters. Their growing frequency and intensity, along with the systemic nature of risk, are upending people’s lives, devastating livelihoods, and jeopardizing our entire food system. This report makes a powerful case for investing in resilience and disaster risk reduction – especially data gathering and analysis for evidence informed action – to ensure agriculture’s crucial role in achieving the future we want.

The paper discusses the role that social protection can play in saving livelihoods while also enhancing the capacity of households to respond, cope and withstand threats and crises. The paper builds on FAO Social Protection Framework (FAO, 2017) and focuses on the role of social protection systems in humanitarian contexts, with a closer look at protracted crises and a discussion on the importance of shock-sensitive and responsive systems, even in stable contexts.

The main objective of this exercise has been to collect and analyze the experiences of Farmer field schools (FFS)/Agro-pastoralist field school (APFS) members, graduates, and practitioners in relation to gender equality, social inclusion, and individual and community empowerment, as well as changes to these as a result of participation in an FFS/APFS. Furthermore, the purpose of the initiative is to make farmers’ experiences more visible, and not only demonstrate the impact of FFS/APFS programs but also use these experiences in future implementations of the FFS/APFS approach. By identifying gaps in knowledge and opportunities, achievements and challenges, and best practices and lessons learned, this exercise aims to provide an insight into and deeper understanding of the FFSs’/APFSs’ gender and social dimensions. It offers the opportunity to reflect on this cross-cutting issue to allow these aspects to be better incorporated into the broader FFS/APFS discussion and its wider work. The exercise also identifies the needs of FFS/APFS facilitators in their work with issues of gender equality, social inclusion and community empowerment, and examines the relevance of related concepts and approaches and its modalities . A review of the existing work on strengthening gender equality and improving access for vulnerable groups within the context of FFS/APFS programs has also been conducted. The exercise’s main thematic areas of the exercise are gender equality and women’s empowerment, social inclusion and community empowerment, with additional areas including nutrition-related decision-making and sustainable agricultural production, and in some cases, access to and control over natural resources.

The factor that makes some communities rebound quickly from disasters while others fall apart: “A fascinating book on an important topic.”—E.L. Hirsch, in Choice Each year, natural disasters threaten the strength and stability of communities worldwide. Yet responses to the challenges of recovery vary greatly and in ways that aren’t explained by the magnitude of the catastrophe or the amount of aid provided by national governments or the international community. The difference between resilience and disrepair, as Daniel P. Aldrich shows, lies in the depth of communities’ social capital. Building Resilience highlights the critical role of social capital in the ability of a community to withstand disaster and rebuild both the infrastructure and the ties that are at the foundation of any community. Aldrich examines the post-disaster responses of four distinct communities—Tokyo following the 1923 earthquake, Kobe after the 1995 earthquake, Tamil Nadu after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and New Orleans post-Katrina—and finds that those with robust social networks were better able to coordinate recovery. In addition to quickly disseminating information and financial and physical assistance, communities with an abundance of social capital were able to minimize the migration of people and valuable resources out of the area. With governments increasingly overstretched and natural disasters likely to increase in frequency and intensity, a thorough understanding of what contributes to efficient reconstruction is more important than ever. Building Resilience underscores a critical component of an effective response.