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Forests feed people: FAO publishes a report on food and rural livelihoods
On 15 September, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) presented a report developed with the Landscape Alliance on forests and food. The authors call for forest resources to be considered in decisions about nutrition and rural development.
An economy beyond timber
FAO says more than 5 billion people depend to some extent on forests and trees for their livelihoods. This is a broad measure of dependence, not a count of forestry workers or people entirely dependent on forests.
What it means for a small enterprise
Consider an editorial example: a business buying berries or nuts needs to assess more than the volume of a delivery. It also needs to understand the origin of the goods, next season’s supply, storage and how payments are shared between gatherers and processors. A strong one-off sale does not establish that the supply chain is sustainable.
Useful questions include who may use the resource, how quality is verified, who bears losses and what the local community receives. These are questions for examining an individual enterprise, not a universal assessment of profitability.
The report brings attention back to the everyday rural economy: a natural resource creates public value when its use supports food and livelihoods while preserving opportunities for the future.
Source: FAO, 15.09.2026.
Related reading: Elinor Ostrom: shared resources need clear rules.