Toolkit to support policymakers during the COVID-19 crisis

A virtual space where users can search and find what decision makers are doing in their countries worldwide to respond to and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in April 2020. 

It provides detailed information on how different countries, with different social and fiscal landscapes and diverse agricultural endowments, are trying to keep their supply chains moving amid the disruptions caused by travel and other health restrictions. 

FAO is relying on its recently revamped Food and Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis (FAPDA) database, an easy-to-use platform for countries to share what they are doing and rapidly search for ideas from their peers.

FAPDA was set up to collect countries' food security policy decisions in the wake of the global food price crises of 2008. On the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, the database was offering over 10 000 policy decisions and 2 000 national policy frameworks from 100 countries. FAO decided to adjust this database to host a new section that maps current official decisions being taken around the world to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on food and agricultural systems.

The platform is constantly updated to offer a searchable compilation of policy practices in more than 130 countries that all member states can use to inform their decision making and response today. It is structured into six thematic areas: Emergencies, Nutrition, Trade, Social Protection, Development and Transformation, plus Incentives and Disincentives. Navigation is available in multiple languages and aided by a map as well as a free-text search function.

(FAO/ile)

Read more at the FAO website

Visit the Food And Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis Tool (FAPDA)