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This year could be the first year in five years that global rice production has declined after years of record harvests, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in its October issue of the Rice Market Monitor. Crop prospects have deteriorated in the past few months, reflecting erratic weather conditions across many regions. These, together with an El Niño weather anomaly possibly arising soon, have marred the...

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand will preside over the 34th Regional World Food Day (WFD) celebration at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok on Wednesday 15th October beginning at 9am. The ceremony will be attended by H.E. Petipong Pungbun Na Ayudhya, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and other officials of the Royal Thai...

Linking rural employment with greater social protection schemes is vital to ensuring fairer, sustainable and equitable food production systems for small-holder farmers and other vulnerable rural populations across Asia and the Pacific, a high-level regional consultation heard today.   The ‘Regional Consultation on Social Protection, Rural Employment and Food Security’ has attracted government ministers and senior officials from 17 countries across the region. It is the first Asia-Pacific consultation of its kind,...

Six countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the world’s largest consumer of fish products, have come together to draft a work plan on the sustainable intensification of aquaculture for ‘blue growth,’ the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), announced today. Representatives from the Governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam are working with FAO global and regional fishery and aquaculture experts in the development of...

The Zero Hunger Challenge in Asia and the Pacific has taken another important step toward implementation, FAO announced today. Government representatives from five countries are taking part in an inception workshop on FAO’s “Regional initiative to support the Zero Hunger Challenge in Asia and the Pacific,” at FAO’s Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand. The participants heard that with nearly two-thirds of the world’s 805 million chronically undernourished people living in the Asia-Pacific...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has today presented a revised draft Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry, 2016 – 2025, as well as the Zero Hunger Challenge in Asia and the Pacific to Agriculture and Forestry Ministers from the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for their consideration. The strategic document was introduced during the 36th Meeting...

A recently-emerged strain of avian influenza virus in poultry in Southeast Asia known as A(H5N6) represents a new threat to animal health and livelihoods and must be closely monitored, FAO said today.  Chinese authorities first reported the influenza A(H5N6) virus in poultry in April 2014. Since then, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam have also detected the H5N6 virus in poultry."Influenza viruses are constantly mixing and recombining to form new...

The most comprehensive survey on the state of food insecurity in the world confirms large gains have been made in combating hunger in many parts of Asia and the Pacific, the head of FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific announced today. “Achieving the MDG hunger target is now close to hand,” said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative, noting that the remaining gap to meet the Millennium...