News and Press Releases
World rice production contracts slightly but international prices remain soft
Thailand heading for world number-one rice exporter in 2015
10.04.2015 Bangkok/Rome
Following years of bumper harvests, rice production has experienced its first annual contraction since 2009, while global prices for the grainremain soft, according to the first rice market report of 2015, published today by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
FAO has lowered its 2014 estimated global paddy production by 3.3 million tonnes since December, to 741.3 million tonnes (494.4 million tonnes milled), a level only 0.5 percent below the record 2013 performance. The largest downward revisionrelated to Thailand, one of the world’s leading rice exporters,where unseasonable dryness leading to severe constraints in...
Safe to eat? Countries in Asia and the Pacific examine ways to better coordinate their national approaches to food safety
01.04.2015 Bangkok, Thailand
Food safety is being jeopardized in many parts of Asia and the Pacific – in part due to poor hygiene, handling and storage – but also often due to a bewildering system of poorly-organized and coordinated inter-ministerial procedures, a regional consultation convened by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) heard today.
“We all recognize the need for food safety, it is in the interests of each and every one of...
A glass of milk for every child – Asia’s dairy farmers aim to boost production, livelihoods and nutrition
23.03.2015 Anand, India
As demand for nutritious dairy products continues to grow across Asia and the Pacific, experts and policy-makers from dairy-producing countries in the region are meeting in Anand, the Milk Capital of India, to discuss and adopt a Strategic Framework for Sustainable Dairy Development in Asia that would boost livelihoods of smallholders and lower levels of undernutrition.
The meeting is co-organized by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the National Dairy...
Vanuatu: Early reports suggest vast majority of crops destroyed
FAO calls for emergency support for farmers to rebuild livelihoods
21.03.2015 Vanuatu
20 March 2015, Rome -- Strong winds, heavy rains and floods resulting from Tropical Cyclone Pam have caused extensive damage to agriculture throughout Vanuatu, including the main food and export crops, livestock, and fisheries infrastructure, FAO said today.
According to initial rapid assessments that the Vanuatu government led in four provinces, the banana crop throughout the country has been almost entirely destroyed, as havemost coconuts and all of the inland cabbage...
Vanuatu: Early reports suggest vast majority of crops destroyed
FAO calls for emergency support for farmers to rebuild livelihoods
20.03.2015 Rome, Italy
Strong winds, heavy rains and floods resulting from Tropical Cyclone Pam have caused extensive damage to agriculture throughout Vanuatu, including the main food and export crops, livestock, and fisheries infrastructure, FAO said today.
According to initial rapid assessments that the Vanuatu government led in four provinces, the banana crop throughout the country has been almost entirely destroyed, as have most coconuts and all of the inland cabbage plants and leafy vegetables....
Fighting illegal fishing in Tonga
20.03.2015 Tonga
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to threaten effective conservation and management of fish stocks in the wider Pacific Region. IUU fishing is causing economic and social losses for the Pacific Countries and negatively impacts their food security and livelihoods.
FAO, Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the Tongan Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFFF) are working together to implement the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures...
On International Day of Forests, Asia and the Pacific needs to stop for a breath of fresh air
20.03.2015 Bangkok, Thailand
With pollution levels off the charts in some Asian cities and haze from forest fires blanketing much of Southeast Asia, this year’s International Day of Forests on 21st March reminds us what’s at stake if countries don't get more serious in dealing with deforestation and climate change, an official at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.
“The present efforts to address climate change clearly need to be stepped...
Training in organic farming and food production for farmers in Samoa
19.03.2015 Savai'i, Samoa
FAO is cooperating with a local non-government organization to promote and up-scale organic farming and food production for farming communities with protected areas in Savaii, Samoa.
Women in Business Development (WIBDI) is an NGO that helps rural families develop sustainable businesses which will make the most of their farm-based resources.
Villages recently decided to conserve the cloud forests by establishing Community Conservation Areas in the highlands of Savaii. In order to improve...
Publication: 2014 Rapid Biodiversity Assessment, Socioeconomic Study and Archaeological Survey of the Greater Delaikoro Area
19.03.2015 Fiji
FAO provides technical assistance towards improved management of conservation and protected areas in Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Niue.
In Fiji, the Greater Delaikoro Area is an upland region spanning the main mountain range of Vanua Levu, encompassing Mt Sorolevu (1,032m) Mt Delaikoro (928m), and the Waisali Reserve. This region is under consideration as a Protected Area.
The 2014 Rapid Biodiversity Assessment, Socioeconomic Study and Archaeological Survey of the Greater Delaikoro Area is...
Forests and trees sustain and protect us in invaluable ways. They provide the clean air that we breathe and the water that we drink. They host and safeguard the planet’s biodiversity and act as our natural defence against climate change. First observed in 2013, the International Day of Forests (IDF) provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests.
The theme...