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Vientiane - Lee Yay Sayaxang, a 27 year old student in his final year at the Faculty of Agriculture at the National University of Laos, beat over 260 other entrants to win the FAO Nutrition Quiz, receiving a 150 000 Kip prize.Inspired by the signing of the new National Nutrition Policy, the Nutrition Quiz was a popular feature of the FAO stand at the recent Agricultural and Forestry Fair, held...

Bangkok (FAO) - Delivery of agricultural inputs to vulnerable farm households under FAO’s Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP) has recently begun in Bhutan, the Philippines and the Pacific Island Countries; has almost been completed in Afghanistan and is nearing completion in Cambodia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. More than half of allocated ISFP assistance was provided to farmers to Mongolia, Pakistan and Timor-Leste.A donors’ agricultural task force,...

Despite the unprecedented high global cereal harvest in 2008 which is projected to boost world wheat and rice stocks by up to 10 percent in 2009, Asia and the Pacific region faces mixed prospects with average cereal outputs almost stagnant.RiceAsia’s 2008 rice output is estimated to increase by 2 percent to 612 million tonnes, mainly due to higher harvests in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and Viet Nam which intensified cultivation...

Bangkok (FAO) - Rising incomes, urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a major shift in food preferences in Asia and the Pacific region. Traditionally carbohydrate-heavy Asian diets are becoming richer in fat and protein with rice consumption declining in Southeast and East Asia since 1995.Over the past 20 years, meat consumption in the region has more than doubled while milk consumption grew 50 percent in India, potato consumption ten-fold...

Despite more than 10 years of robust economic growth in Lao PDR, the situation remains unchanged for the 40 percent of children under five years that continue to be affected by chronic malnutrition, denying them the right to reach their full mental and physical potential. Many also suffer from high levels of micronutrient deficiencies.In rural areas, every second child is stunted - too short for their age or chronically malnourished....

Apia, Samoa (FAO) - A new study by FAO, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the University of the South Pacific highlights the urgent need for agricultural and environmental institutions and stakeholders in the Pacific Island Countries to team upto address the serious threat to regional food security from climate change-linked natural disasters.Assessments in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuata find the threat to be especially...

Manila (FAO/OIE/WHO) – Following the detection of the Ebola Reston virus in pigs in the Philippines, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that the government of the Philippines has requested the three agencies send an expert mission to work with human and animal health experts in the Philippines to further investigate the situation.An increase...

Chengdu – Farmers, experts and development partners agree that training and capacity building are urgently needed to support efforts for improved rural production and raising livelihoods of families affected by the May 2008 earthquake in China’s Sichuan province, FAO said today.Damage caused by the earthquake to rural production is estimated at close to USD 50 billion, and the immediate and medium-term needs of the affected population are considerable: hundreds of...

Jakarta - Established talents and rising stars from Indonesia’s media celebrated the opening of an exhibition of their work at the national launch of the FAO and Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture 'Media Partnership Project: Human Faces of Avian Influenza'.Well-known novelist/singer Dewi Lestari hosted the event at a packed Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara (Antara Gallery) in Jakarta. She was joined by the 13 successful media partners and an enthusiastic crowd of...

Kabul - The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) with collaboration of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is hosting the 26th session of the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in Southwest Asia (SWAC) which will be held in Kabul on 15-17 December 2008. The SWAC was established on 15 December 1964 and has four member countries - Afghanistan, India, Iran and Pakistan.Representatives from...