More on cactus pear... Our Crop and Grassland Service has expanded its online resources on cactus pear, the hardy desert plant used increasingly as livestock forage. Recent additions include several technical bulletins from an FAO project for livestock development in Eritrea. Starts here (for more on cactus pear, see also Spotlight)...
Ethnoveterinary medicine... A report by two Danish parasitologists says of the use of herbal medicines - rather than veterinary drugs - in treating worms in livestock has fewer negative side-effects, produces no toxic residues in meat, and appears not to trigger chemo-resistance. Get the facts from AG's World Animal Review...
Food contaminants... INFOCRIS, the International Food Contaminant and Residue Information System developed by the FAO/IAEA Joint Division, has been incorporated in Ecoport, the biodiversity portal co-sponsored by FAO, the University of Florida and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Link to INFOCRIS, or Ecoport...
Farmer credit... An integrated soil management project executed by FAO and Nicaragua's Instituto de Tecnología Agropecuaria used an innovative farmer credit scheme to finance the purchase of inputs, provide technical advice and organize farmers into groups. Read all about it (in Spanish, PDF, 1 MB)...
Market infrastructure... New from our Marketing and Rural Finance Service is Market infrastructure planning, a guide for agricultural and urban planners on determining the size, location and operation of wholesale, retail and assembly markets and storage facilities. Click here for details, or here to download the full publication (PDF, 374K)...
Irrigation equipment... Need polyethylene pipes for your irrigation project? Our new Irrigation Equipment Supply database can help you find them. The database provides contact details for major suppliers/manufacturers, descriptions of 55 items of equipment and a list of international standards. Take a look...
Agro-ecological zones... A major new addition to our web site is Global Agro-Ecological Zones, a comprehensive guide to land resources evaluation. It presents FAO's AEZ methodology and includes maps and data sets on soil and climate constraints to rain-fed agriculture, land suitability for 27 crops, and land with cultivation potential. Get an overview in Spotlight, or take this link to the site...
Animal feed database... FAO's Animal Feed Resources Information System is now available in Chinese and Spanish. The searchable database holds some 100MB of text and images on 650 feeds, including cereals, fodder, fruits, roots, straw and sugarcane. To the English, Chinese and Spanish gateways...
Irradiation for agriculture... The FAO/IAEA Joint Division announces two new on-line databases. The Mutant Variety Database
provides plant breeders with more than 600 references on induced mutations suitable for breeding programmes and genetic analysis. The International Database on Insect Disinfestation and Sterilization gives radiation dosages used to disinfest agricultural commodities and sterilize flies.
Post-harvest CD-ROM... AG's Information Network on Post-harvest Operations (INPhO) is distributing a new CD-ROM containing 480MB of data. In English, French and Spanish, it includes INPhO's complete virtual library and its databases on traditional storage, recipes and post-harvest experts, and a gallery of 500 images. For a copy of the CD-ROM contact inpho@fao.org...
More on coconut water... Our article on a new process for making biologically pure coconut water (see Spotlight) generates a steady stream of emails from people seeking further details. We publish them here...
Mating medflies... Slow-motion videos of mating flies were shown at a recent workshop in Guatemala organized by the FAO/IAEA Joint Division. The workshop was part of research into the mating behaviour of sterile male medflies used in pest eradication programmes. Details...
Rice with wheat... The productivity of East Asia's rice-wheat cropping systems is stagnating due to overintensive cultivation, and inappropriate soil and water management. To help revitalize the rice-wheat combination, AG is co-sponsoring an international workshop on conservation agriculture, in Pakistan next February. More...
Inventory credit... Just published is the Spanish version of FAO's Inventory credit, a guide for banks, warehouse operators, traders and farmers' organizations on financing the purchase and storage of farm produce. The guide is based on case studies from Ghana, India, Mali and the Philippines. Get details in English or download the full Spanish version (PDF, 552K)
LabInfo on livestock diseases... The FAO/IAEA Joint Division (AGE) is working with our Animal Health Service on software - dubbed LabInfo - to help veterinary diagnostic laboratories keep track of animal disease samples and report their findings quickly to national authorities. Details in AGE's Animal production and health newsletter (PDF, 375K)
Plant genetic resources... A 40-nation contact group negotiating revision of the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture meets in Neuchatel, Switzerland from 12-17 November to review the latest negotiating draft. Learn more about the Undertaking, view meeting documents...
Fertilizer consumption... A new report from our Land and Water Development Division says fertilizer consumption in Africa rose by an estimated 35% in 1998/99. However, the region's share in total world consumption remains miniscule - just 3.5%. Get the global picture on fertilizer (PDF, 155Kb)...
Pest portal... Our Plant Protection Service has opened a new web portal on migratory pests. It links to the latest reports on desert locust breeding and movements, and to FAO's EMPRES programme on transboundary plant pests and diseases. You'll also find publications, reports and details of meetings. Click here..
Foot-and-mouth disease... Nine outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease have been reported in livestock worldwide this year. Foci of the debilitating viral disease were found in places as far apart as Brazil, Japan, Greece and Namibia. For details, consult the new web pages of FAO's European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
Oil palm... FAO is promoting in Africa a cold-tolerant, high yielding oil palm that could help boost the region's edible oil production. The latest initiative is in western Kenya, where 700 seedlings from Costa Rica have been transferred to community nurseries. More on the oil palm...
Land use planning... We are offering free copies of The future of our land, the last in a series of three publications aimed at promoting better planning frameworks for land resources development and management. Get details, or download the publication in PDF (1MB)...
Grasses and legumes... Our Crop and Grasslands Service has expanded its picture gallery on grasses and legumes, which now covers some 50 species and varieties. For each entry, the gallery offers full colour images and essential data, such as common names, habitat, soils, management and propagation. Starts here...
Forage tree legumes... Despite years of promotion, the adoption of tree legumes (e.g. prosopis, gliricidia) as animal forage has been disappointing in many tropical countries. Max Shelton, of Australia's University of Queensland, explores tree legumes in a paper published here...
Farm mechanization... New from AG's Agricultural Support Systems Division is Strategies for agricultural mechanization, a guide to building stronger links among farmers and farm machinery retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and importers. Download the full publication (PDF, 57K)...
Dairy farming manual... Our Animal Production Service has published online its Small-scale dairy farming manual. The six-volume manual contains 45 modules covering milk production, cattle breeds, feeding systems, cattle diseases, and accounting systems. Starts here...
Cactus pear... Our Plant Production Service is preparing a major new publication on the use of cactus pear as forage for livestock in arid areas. Already extensively used in North Africa and Mexico, the cactus is cultivated in plantations covering an estimated 10,000 sq km. For more, see Spotlight...
New home page... Our Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP) has restyled its web site, starting with a new-look home page. The new site features a full description of AGP's 2000-2001 work programme, which includes urban and periurban agriculture, plant genetic resources, seed security and pesticide management.
Agricultural marketing... FAO and the German development agency GTZ are working to help countries of Eastern and Central Europe improve their agricultural marketing information systems. A recent workshop found that while most systems were doing a good job of collecting price data, they were less successful in delivering it to farmers. More...
Plant protection... The world's regional plant protection organizations meet in San Diego, USA in October for their 12th technical consultation. The annual meeting aims to promote exchange of information on regional phytosanitary issues and foster implementation of the International Plant Protection Convention. More from the IPPC web site...
Book offer... Our Information Network on Post-harvest operations has an offer that's hard to refuse: a free copy (including postage) of Proceedings of an International Conference on Controlled Atmosphere and Fumigation in Grain Storage, held in Canada in 1992. See INPhO news for details...
Plant genetic resources... The web site of FAO's World information and early warning system on plant genetic resources (WIEWS) has been updated with a new search engine and other features. The site is now also available in French and Spanish.
Plant pests... An International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) working group has found that plant pest risks associated with living modified organisms and other products of biotechnology fall clearly within the scope of the IPPC. It urged the Commission to develop standards to specifically address those risks...
Animal power... Despite increasing modernization of agriculture, the use of animals for farm work and transport persists in rural Asia, Europe and Latin America, and is expanding each year in Africa. Our Spotlight article, Draught animals plough on, explains why...
Rural watersheds... AG's Land and Water Development Division is holding an email conference on land-water linkages in rural watersheds from 18 September to 28 October 2000. The conference will focus on the impact of upstream land use on downstream stakeholders, and instruments and mechanisms to distribute costs and benefits. Submit a paper...
Milk challenges... Some 560 people from around the world participated in a recently ended FAO email conference on small scale milk collection and processing in developing countries. We publish online participants' papers and comments.
Good weather for locusts... AG's Migratory pests group advises that, after a quiet year, summer rains in the Sahel and the onset of monsoons in southwest Asia have markedly improved conditions for desert locust breeding. Read the latest bulletin (PDF, 63K)
Domestic animal diversity... Government representatives from around the globe meet at FAO in Rome on 4 September to finalize preparations for the first Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. Details...
TERRASTAT... New from our Land and water development division is TERRASTAT, containing statistics on land resource potentials and constraints worldwide. Its data covers actual and potential arable land, major soil constraints, deserts and dryland areas, and land degradation. Take a look...
Food contaminants... The Joint FAO/IAEA Division (AGE) has opened for testing its on-line International Food Contaminant and Residue Information System (INFOCRIS). The system's database, which is maintained by 36 volunteer editors, currently holds detailed records on 170 bacteria, funghi and chemical agents. To the INFOCRIS home page...
Food safety and flies... Also from AGE, the Clearance database of irradiated food, containing a list of clearances in various countries and the Authorized food irradiation facilities database...
Farm machinery... Our Agricultural Engineering Branch has helped create the Worldwide agricultural machinery and equipment directory (WAMED), which provides key information on manufacturers of farm machinery in 20 countries. Starts here...
Molecular diagnostic techniques... Our Animal Health Service has produced a hypertext introduction to molecular diagnosis of animal diseases. The 3.7MB application contains an overview of the topic, a search engine and a glossary of terms. Download details...
African pastoralists... Managing mobility in African rangelands is a new study published by Intermediate Technology Publications in association with FAO. It proposes measures to help pastoralists achieve ecologically and economically sustainable development. Order your copy...
Tsetse fly in Ethiopia... The Joint FAO/IAEA Joint Division has designed a geographic information system to help Ethiopia identify priority areas for tsetse fly control operations. Read all about it in the Division's latest Animal production and health newsletter (.pdf, 390K). See also Spotlight for more on tsetse fly.
Ticks, ticks, ticks... One of this web site's most requested sections is our Animal Health Service's home page on ticks. The site has detailed information on tick species, diseases and treatments, and FAO tick eradication programmes. Click for ticks...
Agronomic experiments... AG's Land and Water Development Division publishes a guide to 89 long-term agronomic experiments ongoing throughout the world. It shows how agricultural systems affect the environment and how their capacity to provide food varies over time. Start here...
Cryopreservation... Our Plant Production and Protection Division will hold a course in New Delhi in October 2000 on in vitro conservation and cryopreservation of plant germplasm. The course, for Asia and Pacific countries, is being held with India's National Plant Genetic Resources Bureau. Details...
Coconut water... The UK Patent Office has granted FAO a patent on its process for making bottled coconut water. The patent (No. 2318969) says the invention provides a high quality beverage through a combination of centrifugation and microfiltration. See Spotlight for background...
Ecoport on-line... FAO's Global plant and pest information system has been incorporated in Ecoport, a shared, on-line database (or "knowledge commons") aimed at integrating inter-disciplinary information on the Earth's biodiversity. Explore Ecoport...
E-conference on milk... Our Animal Production Service is hosting an e-mail conference on small-scale milk collection and processing in developing countries. The conference, which runs to 28 July, will define priorities and policies for future FAO activities. Full details...
Grasslands gallery... Our Crops and Grasslands Service has opened an on-line gallery containing 50 photographs of common grasses and legumes. View close-ups of Mimosa pudica, beds of red clover, and glycine in Vanuatu...
All quiet on locust front... Apart from small infestations of hopper bands on the Algeria/Libya border, there are no new reports of significant locust activity in North Africa and the Near East. The latest forecast...
Cassava strategy... FAO will coordinate implementation of a global strategy for cassava development. The decision came at an FAO/IFAD forum held in Rome and attended by scientists, donors and farmers' representatives. For more, see Spotlight; see also the Cassava strategy web site...
Mulberry as animal feed... Everyone knows silk worms feed on mulberry leaves. Now, studies in Costa Rica have shown that mulberry trees also produce excellent forage for ruminant animals. Explore mulberry's potential through our ongoing e-mail conference...
Livestock and environment... FAO's Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative publishes an on-line decision-support toolbox for policy makers, planners and project leaders. The toolbox enables them to assess interactions between livestock and the environment. Starts here...
Land suitability for crops... New from our Land and Water Development Division is a searchable database on the suitability of land worldwide for 30 different crops. It generates maps showing six grades of suitability at high, intermediate and low levels of inputs. For example, rainfed cowpea...
Wholesale markets... A new manual, Wholesale market management, analyses the policy, legal, economic and commercial aspects of managing and operating wholesale produce markets. We have more information, and the full publication for downloading (.pdf, 1.9MB)...
Phytosanitary measures... Phytosanitary aspects of genetically modified organisms, biosafety and invasive species will be discussed in Rome from 13 to 16 June at a meeting organized by the IPPC's Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures. More...
Finance for farmers... Our Rural finance service has launched AgriBank-Stat, an on-line database of some 90 rural financial institutions serving farm households in developing countries. This way...
Date palm network... Date-producing countries will create a global network to share information on production, marketing, research and processing technologies. The decision came at an FAO-sponsored symposium in Namibia. Background...
New-look web site on livestock... AG's Animal production and health division has restructured its web site. The new focus is on global information and policy, poverty alleviation, decision support, genetic resources, veterinary public health and transboundary diseases. See AGA's Site map.
Pesticide residues... Laboratories in developing countries must meet tough standards on pesticide residues in commodities entering international trade. FAO and IAEA are organizing a training workshop to help them.
Get details...
Legal advice... Inappropriate laws stifle development of efficient agricultural marketing systems. A new FAO guide provides law-makers with tools for analysing the legal environment and carrying out reforms. Free download available here.
Land use planning... FAO and UNEP publish the last in a three-part series on better land use planning. The future of our land gives guidelines for "an integrated approach based on a partnership between governments and people". Get more details, download the complete publication (.pdf, 1MB).
Asian livestock on the web... FAO's Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific (APHCA) has a new web site, with pages on events and publications, its e-journal Asian livestock, news flashes and links. Coming soon: an interactive forum for exchange and education in the APHCA region. Go there now...
On-farm plant nutrition trials... FAO has released Guidelines for on-farm plant nutrition and soil management trials and demonstrations. It provides detailed guidelines for selecting sites and treatments, analysing results and making recommendations. Download the publication (.doc, 1.1MB).
Trade in irradiated food... Food food industry representatives from Asia and Pacific countries meet in Hawaii in May for a seminar on growing trade opportunities for irradiated food. The seminar is sponsored by the International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation. Registration details...
Livestock and environment... FAO will host a virtual centre for research and development on livestock-environment interactions. For details, contact lead@fao.org. For background on livestock-environment issues, see Spotlight.
Fertilizer strategies... In the new economic era of tight budgets and declining development aid, how can governments help meet farmers' need for fertilizer? Look for answers in FAO's Fertilizer strategies, a new, in-depth guide to setting priorities and policies for an efficient fertilizer sub-sector. Download the report (.pdf, 313K).
Rinderpest assays... FAO and IAEA are planning a workshop in Mali in June to test assaying tools that detect antibodies against the devastating viral disease rinderpest in bovine species (essentially cattle, water buffaloes and yaks). More about rinderpest from our EMPRES programme.
Rice productivity... FAO has called an expert consultation in September to study recent productivity declines in intensive rice cultivation, observed both at research stations and in farmers' fields. For background, see Spotlight: Rice crisis looms in Asia.
Plant nutrients... The French and Spanish versions of FAO's Guide to efficient plant nutrition management are now available. It proposes guidelines for using local and external sources of plant nutrients to improve soil fertility without harming the environment. Download the publication (.pdf. 517K), see also Spotlight: Managing plant nutrients.
Cassava strategy... FAO and IFAD host in Rome from 26 to 28 April a validation forum on a proposed global strategy to develop cassava, the main crop of up to 500 million of the world's farmers. All the background documents you'll need are here...
Land and water web site... Our Land and water development division (AGL) unveils a crisp, new-look web site. The site features more than 100 online documents, major portals to land and water information, plus news, highlights and a search engine. Take a look...
Symposium on nuclear techniques... FAO and IAEA have called for papers for an international symposium on nuclear techniques in sustainable soil, water and nutrient management (Vienna, Austria, 16-20 October). The deadline for synopses is 19 May. Further details...
New head of AG Department...
Louise O. Fresco is the new Assistant Director-General of FAO's Agriculture Department. A Netherlands national, Ms Fresco replaces Abdoulaye Sawadogo, of Côte d'Ivoire, who retired in December 1999. Details...
Optimism on world water supply... FAO forecasts that by 2030, developing countries could boost food output significantly while using only 12% more water. Find out how in Spotlight: Using water wisely, download report, Crops and drops (.pdf, 4.2MB).
Pesticides "hazardous"... International experts have recommended adding two pesticides to a list of 29 hazardous chemicals subject to strict global trade controls. See News report, browse Substances subject to the PIC procedure.
Agrimarket 2.0... FAO unveils Agrimarket 2.0, a computer program that automates the entry, processing, reporting and electronic diffusion of agricultural market data. Order your copy now.
Locust watch... FAO is watching closely the movement of desert locusts in northern Mauritania. Unusually heavy rain has favoured breeding, and eggs laid in February are now hatching. Get our latest forecast...
Africa's soil fertility...
Soil experts from 11 African countries attended a recent consultation on soil management in the region. The meeting was held as part of FAO's Soil Fertility Initiative (SFI). Download the meeting report (.pdf, 78K), learn more about the SFI (.pdf, 81K).