FAO emergencies and resilience

Anticipatory Action

©FAO

FAO is forging a way for a faster, more effective humanitarian system by shifting from disaster response to anticipation.

Anticipatory action is changing the way we manage disasters. Acting ahead of crises means protecting people's lives and livelihoods with benefits that reach far into the future.

Disasters are predictable. Thanks to technological advances, early warning information is more accurate and readily available than ever before. The FAO anticipatory action approach uses risk analysis and forecasts to trigger interventions before a crisis escalates into a humanitarian emergency. This is particularly critical in the agriculture sector. For small-scale farmers, heeding early warning signals can make the difference between a shock and a crisis.

News
©FAO/Fahad Kaizer
News
Spearheading the shift from disaster response to anticipatory action in agriculture
07/12/2021

FAO Director-General: Acting ahead of crises means protecting people's lives and livelihoods with benefits that reach far into the future

News
Anticipatory actions to safeguard the food security and livelihoods of vulnerable farmers and herders in the Dry Corridor of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala
28/07/2021

One of the world’s most vulnerable regions to climate-related threats, Central America’s Dry Corridor has been directly impacted by climate change over...

News
Protecting livelihood assets through anticipatory actions in flood-prone communities in northwestern Bangladesh
21/06/2021

Floods are an annual occurrence in Bangladesh, and the risk weighs heavily on families when the monsoon season begins.

Publications
Publications
Anticipatory action: Annual report 2023
10/2024

In 2023, about 281 million people in 59 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity, marking the fifth consecutive year of rising humanitarian...

Publications
Afghanistan: Minimizing secondary impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural livelihoods of food insecure households through Anticipatory Action
08/2022

In early 2020, a scenario analysis on the expected secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan pointed to a potential disruption of agricultural...

Publications
Myanmar: Mitigating a potential food crisis in Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region through Anticipatory Action
08/2022

The political crisis in Myanmar started on 1 February 2021, and by May 2021, political tensions and conflict had led to more than 114 000 people moving...

Project highlights
Publications
Afghanistan: Minimizing secondary impacts of COVID-19 on agricultural livelihoods of food insecure households through Anticipatory Action
08/2022

In early 2020, a scenario analysis on the expected secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan pointed to a potential disruption of agricultural...

Publications
Myanmar: Mitigating a potential food crisis in Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady Region through Anticipatory Action
08/2022

The political crisis in Myanmar started on 1 February 2021, and by May 2021, political tensions and conflict had led to more than 114 000 people moving...

Publications
Madagascar: Anticipatory Action to avert a Malagasy migratory locust upsurge
08/2022

Madagascar is highly prone to natural hazards, and in the Grand Sud region, three years of consecutive severe drought have wiped out harvests and hampered...

Multimedia
Video
Anticipatory Actions to mitigate the impact of floods in the Sahel
16/04/2024

In 2022, West Africa experienced some of the worst flooding on record. Millions lost their homes. Thousands lost their lives. The heavy rainfall destroyed...