Food prices up again: Food Outlook December 2009
Global food prices are on the ascent again with the FAO Food Price Index – a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar – registering four straight monthly rises. [ more... ]

Investments in Agriculture
International investment in agricultural land has attracted substantial media interest and international concern more generally. Certainly, complex and controversial issues – economic, political, institutional, legal and ethical – are raised in relation to food security, poverty reduction, rural development, technology and access to resources, especially land. On the other hand, lack of investment in agriculture over decades has meant continuing low productivity and stagnant production in many developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This lack of investment has been identified as an important underlying cause of the recent food crisis and the difficulties developing countries encountered in dealing with it. [ more... ]

OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2009-2018
This is the fifth time that the Agricultural Outlook report has been prepared jointly by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The report draws on the commodity, policy and country expertise of both Organisations in providing a longer-term assessment of future prospects in the major world agricultural commodity markets. [ more... ]

The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2009
High food prices and the food crisis – Experiences and lessons learned
The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2009 aims to bring to a wider public an accessible discussion of agricultural commodity market issues and policy matters. It seeks to provide an objective and straightforward treatment of economic issues for all those interested in agricultural commodity Market developments and their impact on developing countries. [ more... ]

YEMEN - Special Report - 09 December 2009
An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission visited Yemen from 3 to 17 October 2009 to estimate the 2009 main season cereal production and assess the overall food security situation for the 2010 marketing year (January/December). [ more... ]

30th Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Oilseeds, Oils and Fats, the 32nd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Grains and the 43rd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Rice
IMPORTANT NOTICEThe 30th Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Oilseeds, Oils and Fats, the 32nd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Grains and the 43rd Session of the Intergovernmental Group on Rice, scheduled to be held in Santiago Chile on 20-22 July 2009 has been postponed to 4-6 November 2009 due to technical reasons. Please contact Rita.Ashton@fao.org for further information. [ more... ]

GIEWS Crop Prospects and Food Situation No. 4, November 2009
FAO's latest forecast confirms a good 2009 world cereal production, slightly below last year's record level, which coupled with large carryover stocks from the previous season have resulted in ample market supplies. [ more... ]

International Year of Natural Fibres 2009
The International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 was officially launched on 22 January 2009 at FAO in Rome. [ more... ]

WTO provisions in the context of responding to soaring food prices, by Ramesh Sharma and Panos Konandreas. FAO Commodity and Trade Policy Research Working Paper No. 25
This paper discusses certain WTO rules and provisions that have a bearing on response measures to the soaring world food prices. In doing so, it also reflects upon new rules that are being negotiated under the Doha Round. [ more... ]

Commodity Market Review 2007-2008
The biennial publication Commodity Market Review (CMR) analyses important agricultural commodity market developments likely to have significant implications for FAO member countries, both developed and developing. This issue of the Review is devoted to exploring in depth a variety of issues related to global agricultural commodity value chains. Value chains have become more complex as production and processing activities turn out to be increasingly fragmented. Moreover, concentration and the prospective of market power, as well as the emergent scope of food standards add to this complexity. [ more... ]