Refining national true cost accounting for agrifood systems

The State of Food and Agriculture 2024 report prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) considers the effectiveness of actions at global, national and local level to avoid the hidden costs estimated in The State of Food and Agriculture 2023. Expert analysis and practitioner discussion of national levers and pathways for sustainable agrifood systems led to questions of the scope of hidden costs, and the role of imported commodities or transnational air and water pollution, for national hidden cost exercises. This technical note documents some considerations on the scope of hidden costs for the purpose of informing national and subsequent hidden cost exercises. The technical note has two parts: First, a detailed discussion on additional categories of hidden costs, such as pesticide use and its impact on ecosystem services, which were not included in the earlier analysis, and how incorporating them can align with national agrifood system priorities. Second, an exploration of how hidden costs from food production and consumption, particularly from imports, can be redistributed across national borders and affect the national scope for hidden costs. The note discusses different approaches to accounting for these cross-border hidden costs and suggests national exercises could refine their scope to include costs incurred in origin countries. However, there are challenges in achieving precise national estimates due to data limitations and uncertainties. National analyses should carefully define cost-bearing scopes to improve upon The State of Food and Agriculture 2023 estimates.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lord, S. ;
Format: Book (stand-alone) biblioteca
Language:English
Published: FAO ; 2024
Online Access:https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd2990en
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