Enviro News Asia, Rome — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched its first Global Emergency and Resilience Appeal, seeking $2.5 billion to assist more than 100 million people across 54 countries and territories in 2026. The initiative, announced on the sidelines of the 179th FAO Council in Rome, aims to deliver faster and more coordinated agricultural assistance amid rising levels of acute food insecurity and shrinking humanitarian resources.
FAO structured the appeal as a single framework encompassing both emergency relief and resilience-building support. The approach is designed to reduce long-term dependency by protecting local food production and strengthening the livelihoods of rural households most vulnerable to crises.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasized that acute food insecurity has tripled since 2016, despite substantial humanitarian spending, highlighting the urgency of a new approach. He stated that enabling farmers to maintain production is vital for stabilizing communities and reducing future humanitarian needs. The appeal, he added, reflects a “Member-driven, reality-driven, demand-driven and solutions-driven” strategy that responds to what communities in crisis consistently request: opportunity over long-term aid dependence.
The 2026 Appeal prioritizes actions that address the root causes of hunger in protracted crises. Although the majority of people facing acute food insecurity live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, only a small share of humanitarian funding currently supports farming, livestock, fisheries or forestry. FAO argues that strengthening agricultural livelihoods can significantly improve food availability, support markets, create jobs, and reduce the need for repeated emergency assistance.
The appeal underscores the importance of anticipatory measures such as early seed distribution, livestock vaccination, restoration of critical infrastructure, cash support and market-oriented interventions. Evidence shows that early agricultural action can yield benefit–cost ratios of up to 7:1, saving future losses and reducing humanitarian needs.
Aligned with the upcoming 2026 Global Humanitarian Overview, the appeal provides a comprehensive breakdown of funding targets:
- $1.5 billion for life-saving emergency interventions reaching 60 million people.
- $1 billion for resilience programs benefiting 43 million people, focused on climate-smart agrifood solutions, water systems, market access, and ecosystem restoration.
- $70 million for global services including evidence systems, food chain threat monitoring, anticipatory action, and cross-sector coordination.
Regional allocations include:
- Asia and the Pacific: $521.6 million for 30.5 million people.
- Near East and North Africa: $519.1 million for 29.2 million people.
- Eastern Africa: $471.6 million for 18.4 million people.
- West and Central Africa: $593.4 million for 17.7 million people.
- Southern Africa: $179.6 million for 5.3 million people.
- Latin America and the Caribbean: $111.9 million for 1.3 million people.
- Europe: $64.7 million for 358,713 people in Ukraine.
FAO called on donors, governments and partners to increase investment in agricultural solutions that help families withstand shocks, recover production capacity and reduce reliance on future humanitarian support. The organization described the appeal as part of a “new, faster, leaner and more effective FAO” committed to maximizing the impact of every contribution. (*)
