On 8 March 2020, the Philippine government declared the State of Public Health Emergency to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). On 13 March 2020, the Government imposed enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) over Luzon. Subsequently, similar measures were imposed throughout the country, including in Mindanao, and especially in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Although the COVID-19 epidemic is primarily a public health concern, the necessary measures enacted to contain the spread of the virus, especially the restrictions placed on the movement of people and goods, were likely to have a significant impact on all levels of the agricultural market chain. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) decided to conduct a rapid assessment on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on food security and nutrition. The results of the impact assessment was envisioned to inform key government agencies in identifying the appropriate measures and programs that will ultimately help ensure food security for all, at all times.

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health, economic, and social disruptions caused by this global crisis continue to evolve. The impacts of the pandemic are likely to endure for years to come, with poor, marginalized, and vulnerable groups the most affected. In COVID-19 & Global Food Security: Two Years Later, the editors bring together contributions from new IFPRI research, blogs, and the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub to examine the pandemic’s effects on poverty, food security, nutrition, and health around the world. This volume presents key lessons learned on food security and food system resilience in 2020 and 2021 and assesses the effectiveness of policy responses to the crisis. Looking forward, the authors consider how the pandemic experience can inform both recovery and longer-term efforts to build more resilient food systems.

“This timely volume chronicles and analyses the intersection of rice policies and the pandemic through case studies of a diverse range of Southeast Asian countries: rice exporters, rice importers and city-states. There is no group of eminent researchers better suited to carrying out this work, and they conduct the analysis by illuminating the historical context that is essential to an understanding of rice policies in the region. This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in rice policies and politics in contemporary Southeast Asia.”--David Dawe, Former Senior Economist with the International Rice Research Institute and the Food and Agricultural Organization. “This is highly recommended reading for those interested in an up-to-date and in-depth treatment of the political economy of rice policies in five major ASEAN countries, one chapter per country. While the book title indicates a topical focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southeast Asia’s rice sector, these chapters are much more than this, giving considerable historical context leading up to the outbreak of the pandemic and looking forward after the pandemic.”--Howarth Bouis, Laureate, World Food Prize; Emeritus Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute

This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2020 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.

Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, Volume Six looks at the challenges, constraints and solutions necessary to maintain a healthy and accessible food supply in different communities. This ongoing series addresses a wide range of issues on food sustainability and security, with chapters in this release covering the Significance of Short Food Supply Chains During Pandemic Times, Food Security Challenges and Opportunities in Indonesia Post COVID-19, Understanding the genetic diversity and association mapping of nutritional traits in graminaceous crops: Progress and prospects, and Traditional foods and food security: Actors, production, and the challenge of integration into markets before and after the pandemic. - Contains expertise from leading contributors on presented topics - Covers a vast array of subjects related to food security and sustainability - Explores challenges related to protecting environmental resources while also meeting human nutritional requirements

Conscious of the data scarcity during the COVID-19 pandemic, FAO collaborated with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future (CLF), within the Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH), to document the impacts of, and responses to, the pandemic. To do so, it conducted a systematic literature review and implemented a survey with support from Globefish, Eurofish and the other Fish Info Networks, together with case studies of Eurofish Member States.This circular describes the findings from the FAO and CLF-supported surveys, and the literature review. The report was further enriched with a collection of work from large studies across the world.