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The booming world fish trade is generating more wealth than ever before, but countries must help small-scale fishers and fish farmers benefit too, FAO said today.Global fishery production from wild capture fisheries and aquaculture is expected to set a new record in 2013 at 160 million tonnes, up from 157 million tonnes the previous year, while exports will reach $136 billion, according to preliminary data published ahead of the FAO...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today announced it will convene a Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 10 – 14 March, 2014. Hosted by the Government of Mongolia, the conference will attract government ministers and high-level delegates from some 46 member countries in Asia and the Pacific. The Thirty-Second FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC), will cover a number...

An international effort has been launched to develop quality standards for key products of the multi-billion dollar spice and herb trade. The sector has been enjoying rapid growth for several decades on the back of burgeoning demand from the booming economies of Asia and elsewhere, and increased recognition of the health and culinary benefits of herbs and spices. In response to the sector's growth and the extraordinary diversity of the trade and...

Senior Officials from the Agriculture sector of the ASEAN member countries have gathered in Pattaya to discuss the critical role agriculture plays in improving nutrition and elaborate on strategies for mainstreaming nutrition in the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework. The main aim of the meeting is to integrate nutrition considerations into the 2nd phase of the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security in ASEAN (2015‑2019). Greater progress can be expected if...

The spread of the H7N9 virus among poultry in live bird markets (LBM) in China's Guangxi Province has significantly increased the risk that it will progressively spread to other neighbouring countries of China, posing an increased human health risk, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today. The virus, which produces no detectable symptoms among infected birds, has seriously disrupted poultry production and markets in 14 provinces...

Today a team of eight UN agencies (FAO, IOM, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNIDO and WHO), coordinated by FAO, handed over a UN joint programme to the Mae Hong Son provincial government for full government ownership for continuation. The UN Joint programme is aimed at promoting livelihoods of poor villagers in Mae Hong Son province, including members of hill tribes and Myanmar migrant workers, through skills training and capacity development, natural...

The government of South Korea and FAO have agreed to work closely together to promote responsible fishing and aquaculture in the developing world.South Korea's Vice-Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, Jae Hak Son, and FAO Assistant Director-General Maria Helena Semedo signed a Memorandum of Understanding today agreeing to work together to build the capacity of developing countries to address key issues related to fisheries and aquaculture and promote compliance with the...

Senior government officials and development partners from Asia met today to finalize a regional rice strategy. Convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the “Consultative Meeting on Rice Strategy for Asia and the Pacific,” has attracted more than 40 participants from some 17 countries of the region and representatives from development partners. The participants are considering the contents of a draft “Rice strategy for sustainable food security...

Coconut farmers in the Philippines are in urgent need of assistance to recover their livelihoods nearly three months after Typhoon Haiyan tore through the country, FAO warned today. The typhoon flattened millions of trees when it made landfall in November and the country’s second largest coconut-producing region, Eastern Visayas, was one of the areas most affected. In this region alone some 33 million coconut trees were damaged or destroyed and more than...

New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Reuben Levermore, has lauded FAO’s support to displaced farming communities in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in the Southern Philippines. With funding from the Government of New Zealand, FAO has been restoring agricultural livelihoods in conflict- and flood-affected areas of ARMM by providing vital agricultural inputs and training to improve crop, livestock and fisheries production. The Ambassador visited the project on 24 January...