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FAO is investing over US$350,000 into a two year technical assistance project to improve agriculture sector information and statistics for Samoa. Working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF) and the Samoa Bureau of Statistics (SBS), the project will assist in the development of sustainable capacity for the analysis of agriculture sector trends. "By building the capacity of MAF and SBS in this area, it can inform and improve evidence-based...

A newly established food processing facility in Niue will benefit farmers and support the livelihoods of many on the small island. Niue has a large trade deficit and food imports make-up a significant part of the import bill. The Government of Niue has long recognized the need to add value to agricultural produce as a way to reduce the trade deficit and encourage private sector-led agribusiness development that will create...

A representative from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations spoke to students at Samoa College earlier this week about climate change and what it means for Small Island Developing States.  The geography students from Year 13 are studying climate change and its implications as part of their curriculum. Apia Program Associate for the FAO Sub-Regional Office, Mr. Richard Crichton spoke on the work of FAO  and addressed...

Food security, small-scale fisheries and nutrition were the main topics of talks FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva has reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to address food and nutritional insecurity and sustainable livelihood programs in the Small Islands Developing States, in a series of high-level bilateral meetings with the islands’ leaders in the margins of the SIDS Conference, held in Apia, Samoa.   The Director-General has also stressed high level of food imports...

FAO in partnership with multi-stakeholders hosted two side-events at the SIDS Conference 2014, which was recently held in Apia, Samoa. The side events respectively focussed on fostering ocean economies and food security in small island developing states. The Blue Growth/ Blue Economy initiative aims to promote the sustainable use and conservation of aquatic renewable resources, in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible way. Oceans provide a substantial portion of the global...

Monday 15 October 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Noumea – ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is the main message emerging from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/SPC Regional Workshop on Aquatic Biosecurity and Aquaculture Data and Statistics in the Pacific Region held in Nadi, Fiji, last week. Representatives from the fisheries and the quarantine departments of 21 Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) met with experts from FAO and...

The theme of this year’s World Food Day is Agricultural cooperatives: key to feeding the world .This theme was chosen to highlight the many, concrete ways in which agricultural cooperatives and producer organizations help to provide food security, generate employment, and lift people out of poverty. For FAO and its partners, agricultural cooperatives are natural allies in the fight against hunger and extreme poverty. Their importance has also been acknowledged...

FAO helping officials and stakeholders acquire tools to manage aquaculture industry that holds both economic promise and threats to the environment Nuku'alofa, Tonga, 10 October 2012 – With the Kingdom of Tonga’s  aquaculture industry presenting new challenges to its environment, government officials and other stakeholders are gathering in Nuku'alofa this week to acquire the latest tools to conduct aquatic biosecurity risk assessments at a workshop organized by the Food and Agriculture...

With aquaculture emerging as an important component of global food security, ensuring that the rapid growth of the fish-farming industry does not damage the biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean will be the goal of representatives from 21 countries and territories meeting in Fiji this coming week at a workshop organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Aquaculture has...

Samoa has become the first country to put the new software Solutions for Open Land Administration (SOLA) into operation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) developed the open source software to make computerised cadastre mapping and registration systems more affordable and sustainable for developing countries. A cadastral map is a comprehensive register of a country's real property. It commonly includes details like land ownership, tenure, precise location, dimensions and area...