Andrea Cattaneo

@andrcatt.bsky.social

Engineer turned economist, working on agrifood systems & dabbling with geospatial analysis.
I lead FAO's State of Food and Agric. flagship report (SOFA). Formerly @IFPRI and @OECD
Interests: #RuralUrban #Resilience #FoodSystems #Geography
Views my own .. more

Videos

Agriculture 26%

Economics 25%

Posts Replies Media Videos

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Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

1/ 🚀Big Update❗❗
Last year we published @NatCities, a systematic analysis of how countries are organized around multiple urban centres. That geospatial dataset is very complex. So we just launched the City-Region Explorer🔎... an easy to use platform for analysis. 🧵
#EconSky #Geography #GISChat

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · 7d

📢 New @FAO report finds that around 1.7 billion people live in areas where land degradation limits crop yields.

We can avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation with targeted policies and strengthened institutions. 🌱

👉 Interactive Story:
www.fao.org/interactive/...

#SOFA2025 #LandDegradation

Addressing land degradation for a sustainable future

Did you know that nearly 1.7 billion people live in areas where land degradation is cutting crop yields and threatening food security? The #SOFA2025 interactive story looks at how we can address land ...

www.fao.org

Reposted by Richard Waite, Andrea Cattaneo, Halley E. Froehlich , and 1 more Richard Waite, Andrea Cattaneo, Halley E. Froehlich, Pablo García‐Díaz

Nix Rust @nixrust.bsky.social · Oct 3

New #EatLancet report is out! What does it state? I've watched the livestream so you don't have to. Here's a summary of the findings
🍊🥓🍒

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems

The global context has shifted dramatically since publication of the first EAT–Lancet Commission in 2019, with increased geopolitical instability, soaring food prices, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacer...

www.thelancet.com

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Oct 2

🌍✨ New Paper Out!
Learn how to analyze properties of any City-Region in the world with a click of your mouse.
openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/c...

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo, Martin Kolk

Ryan Briggs @ryancbriggs.net · May 19

I think the current state of social science research is pretty bad and I wrote something for @asteriskmag.bsky.social about it. asteriskmag.com/issues/10/ca...

Text from an article:

Given the current state of evidence production in the social sciences, I believe that many - perhaps most - attempts to use social scientific evidence to inform policy will not lead to better outcomes.
This is not because of politics or the challenges of scaling small programs. The problem is more immediate. Much of social science research is of poor quality, and sorting the trustworthy work from bad work is difficult, costly, and time-consuming.

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

Global Alliance for the Future of Food @futureoffood.bsky.social · Jun 20

“#Power is often absent from conversations about food systems.”— Olivier De Schutter, @ipes-food.org

These words resonated at our recent Global Convening on #FoodSystemsTransformation.

Explore more powerful quotes ⬇️

📩 Subscribe to hear more from the convening—coming soon: bit.ly/GA_subscribe

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

Pete Macharia, PhD @pete-m-m.bsky.social · Jun 20

Health and place – my journey

www.itg.be/en/health-st...

#GeospatialHealth #GISchat #geosky

Where you live could save—or cost—your life

Interview with Dr Peter Macharia, a spatial epidemiologist from Kenya

www.itg.be

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 12

Thanks!
It is a great tool for PhD students because it helps leverage a novel geospatial dataset. We hope folks will find it helpful.
A week from the launch we have a lot of interest from international financial institutions.

Will Masters @willmasters.bsky.social · Jun 11

Impressive thread, great use of video -- paging #EconSky & #TeachEcon for both data and methods. Thank you Andrea!

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

Will Masters @willmasters.bsky.social · Jun 11

Impressive thread, great use of video -- paging #EconSky & #TeachEcon for both data and methods. Thank you Andrea!

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

9/ 🎥 Tutorial video: How to get into the City-Region Explorer panel and leverage FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Geospatial Platform functionalities
youtu.be/g7l9T85yG_0

The City-Region Explorer integrated with the Hand-in-Hand Geospatial Platform. Video 5.

YouTube video by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

youtu.be

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

8/ 🎥 Tutorial video: Aggregated Analytics in the City-Region Explorer
youtu.be/7ZBBTlj7J00

Aggregated Analytics in the City-Region Explorer. Video 4

YouTube video by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

youtu.be

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

7/ 🎥 Tutorial video: The City-Region Explorer Explained with the City of Toulouse (France)
youtu.be/JGDavYI5j1Q

The City-Region Explorer Explained with the City of Toulouse (France). Video 3

YouTube video by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

youtu.be

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

6/ 🎥 Tutorial video: Navigating the City-Region Explorer
youtu.be/u7b5y6lrrcc

Navigating the City-Region Explorer. Video 2

YouTube video by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

youtu.be

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

5/ 🎥 Watch the tutorial video:
Welcome to the City-Region Explorer!
youtu.be/nbVvUNLP6s4

Welcome to the City-Region Explorer! Video 1 Intro

YouTube video by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

youtu.be

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

4/ The City-Region Explorer is great for researchers and practitioners.
Some tutorials: 4️⃣videos on functionalities of the Explorer panel, and 1️⃣video on its embedding in the FAO's geospatial platform. Check them out below.

@patrickwebb.bsky.social ‪@waiterich.bsky.social‬ @isavagneron.bsky.social‬

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

3/The City-Region Explorer can replicate all figures & tables published in our @NatCities paper:
doi.org/10.1038/s442...
Users can go beyond replication and examine countries not highlighted in our paper.

@DavidUbilava.bsky.social @willmasters.bsky.social‬ @robertfinger.bsky.social‬

Worldwide delineation of multi-tier city–regions - Nature Cities

This study uncovers the surprising interconnectedness of urban centers globally, finding that 3.2 billion individuals can access multiple urban tiers ranging from towns to large cities within an hour’...

doi.org

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jun 11

2/ The City-Region Explorer 👇https://data.apps.fao.org/cityregions

Examine 30,000 urban centers classified into four tiers—towns, small, intermediate, and large cities—as well as their interconnections and surrounding areas. No geospatial expertise needed.
Example: Toulouse, France.👇

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

Will Masters @willmasters.bsky.social · Jun 5

Want a cheap & sustainable healthy diet? New preprint confirms that less expensive options generally emit less GHGs. Main exception is animal source foods. The least emitting healthy diets cost ~$7/day and emit 0.7 kg CO2e, while actual choices cost ~$10 and emit 2.4 kg.
arxiv.org/abs/2505.24457

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · May 15

SAVE THE DATE❕❕ June 3rd📅
Link to register: fao.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Link to join: fao.zoom.us/s/9833663912...

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · May 6

This posting will close in two2️⃣days... ⏳
Please consider applying or distribute in your network.

This is a great job, working on major agrifood issues Topic changes yearly and you interact with world experts on a given theme. Our team also has a good publication record in peer-reviewed journals.

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · May 2

Deadline May 8th.
💢 Join FAO's State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) Team 💢

Exciting opportunity! 👀
Ideal candidates combine strong analytical skills with expertise in agrifood systems and excellent communication abilities.

jobs.fao.org/careersectio...

Economist

Click the link provided to see the complete job description.

jobs.fao.org

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · May 2

Economist

Click the link provided to see the complete job description.

jobs.fao.org

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · May 1

Hi Will. Great stuff. Fio and I were study mates back in Pavia when we were doing electrical engineering together. Have not seen him in a while. Need to find an excuse to visit Tufts. :-)

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

Patrick Webb @patrickwebb.bsky.social · Apr 24

Our new paper shows how critical it is to use reliable data to achieve effective targeting and use of development resources: doi.org/10.1038/s414....

Sadly, the source of these data was terminated a few weeks ago. Draw your own conclusions...

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

TCA Accelerator @tcaaccelerator.bsky.social · Apr 15

@jennxer.bsky.social opens the True Cost Accounting Global Summit, hosted by @fao.org!

As Jenn said in her opening remarks:
"This is our moment to align, commit, and act. The future of food systems depends on it."

#TCAGlobalSummit2025 #scalingtca

Reposted by Christina C. Hicks, Andrea Cattaneo

Will Masters @willmasters.bsky.social · Mar 22

New paper uses lowest-cost healthy diets in each country plus alternative definitions of other basic needs to measure the extent and depth of global poverty.

Great work from @jonasstl.bsky.social & coauthors @unigoettingen.bsky.social, much needed for #TeachEcon #EconSky & #FoodSky

Global poverty and the cost of a healthy diet

Access to a healthy diet is a fundamental human need, yet a significant portion of the global population faces barriers to realizing it. Conventional …

www.sciencedirect.com

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Mar 11

A real pity.
Farmers are not happy, and children will lose out on a healthier diet.
www.morningagclips.com/usda-cancels...

USDA Cancels Local Food Funding

The Iowa Farmers Union is deeply alarmed disappointed by the USDA’s sudden termination of state contracts for the 2025 Local Food funding

www.morningagclips.com

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo, Akiko Suwa‐Eisenmann

Will Masters @willmasters.bsky.social · Mar 10

The UN Statistical Commission #UN56SC has just formally adopted the Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) score as a global diet quality indicator.

Measurement is a first step for action, using #FoodPricesForNutrition and other data to lower costs, improve access, and provide healthy diets for all.

New SDG indicator on Minimum Dietary Diversity adopted by UN Statistical Commission

FAO assumes joint custodianship of indicator seen as key to ending malnutrition

www.fao.org

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo

Jennifer Clapp 🇨🇦 @jennifer-clapp.bsky.social · Feb 12

Happy to share this piece I wrote (with input from @ipes-food.org colleagues) as a counter to the recent call for more technological 'moonshots' to end hunger.

No amount of technology can ensure people are well fed - we need political will to tackle inequities

theconversation.com/only-politic...

Only political will can end world hunger: Food isn’t scarce, but many people can’t access it

Massive political efforts are needed to tackle the root causes of hunger – conflict, poverty, inequality. Technology alone is not sufficient.

theconversation.com

Reposted by Andrea Cattaneo, Zoë D. Peterson

Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · Feb 9

Andrea Cattaneo @andrcatt.bsky.social · Jan 27

My thanks to Preet for leading this effort.
Great collaboration and happy to see this out!

Preet Lidder @lidderpr.bsky.social · Jan 27

Our latest paper explores how #innovation and #technology can drive resilient & inclusive rural transformation. We identify 5 levers of change that are particularly important for traditional and transitional agri- #foodsystems prevalent in LMICs.
@andrcatt.bsky.social

Innovation and technology for achieving resilient and inclusive rural transformation

This paper examines the shifts needed in the development, adoption and scaling of innovation and technology to achieve resilient and inclusive rural t…

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