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Yangon/Bangkok – The distribution in late-July of 600 buffaloes to farming households in Myanmar’s cyclone-affected delta has greatly assisted small-scale rice farmers to prepare their paddy fields in time for the planting season and will serve as an important asset for upcoming cultivations, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said today. On 20 July, 300 households in Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions each received one pair of...

"The Role of COPs and Networks in e-Agriculture" a panel discussion at eIndia.Over a two hour session a group of distinguished panelists discussed with the eIndia audience the role of communities of practice (COPs) and networks in e-Agriculture. The discussion was moderated by Shalini Kala, IDRC. Rikin Gandhi of Microsoft Research, Digital Green; Alexander Flor of the University of Philippines Open University; Gopi Ghosh of Solution Exchange & FAO; and...

"Making e-Agriculture Work through Public Private Partnership in Asia" a panel discussion.At eIndia today, partners in the global e-Agriculture initiative came together to continue the discussion about the role of public private partnerships (PPP) in supporting e-agriculture. (Building on the March 2008 online forum on www.e-agriculture.org.)The lively audience-focused discussion was anchored by four experienced panelists: Amit Dasgupta, General Manager, IBM Global Services India; Manish Pandey, Deputy General Manager, Katalyst; Naimur...

Please note that the FAO Food Price Index and Food Commodity Price Indices have now been updated and are available at:World Food Situation-High Food Prices http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/wfs-home/en/ or directly atWorld Food Situation-High Food Prices-Food Price Indices http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/FoodPricesIndex/en/

FAO seeks US$33.5 million to help small farmers and fishers restore livelihoodsRome – With the clock ticking on Myanmar’s main planting season, agricultural support is urgently needed to restore food production in the country’s cyclone-hit rice bowl, FAO said today. Currently, 75 percent of farmers in the country’s main food-producing region lack sufficient seed, with little time left before the end of the planting season in August. FAO is appealing...

The link below provides great coverage of Pacific islanders' participation at Asia-Pacific Forestry Week – held in Hanoi from 21 to 26 April 2008 – and some useful feedback of their impressions. This portal was created by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), and FAO has been granted permission by SPC to link to their home page. Click here to read all about it: http://www.spc.int/lrd/index.htm - the full interviews...

Bangkok - This week a new e-newsletter was launched by FAO aimed at providing facts and information on soaring food prices in Asia and the Pacific.Food markets in the region have been volatile for close to a year now, and stakeholders are closely monitoring the dynamic changes, in particular policy actions and price movements. Timely and sound information on food markets and trade trends are needed for policy making and...

New FAO website offers access to Digital Agricultural AtlasBangkok – FAO has launched a new website offering a wide range of data and information tools on agriculture in Myanmar. The site contains downloadable digital and printed atlases, maps from the FAO-maintained GeoNetwork digital library, agroclimatic charts and crop calendars, and related agriculture, forestry and fisheries publications. The site also includes the recently released 120-page Digital Agricultural Atlas of the Union...

Bangkok - The already severe food security situation in cyclone-hit Myanmar is further worsening due to food shortages and high food prices, FAO said today.Out of 2.4 million affected people, hundreds of thousands in the remote areas of the Ayeyarwaddy Delta still do not have sufficient food to eat.With regular access to food disrupted after cyclone Nargis hit the delta, sharply rising food prices in the other parts of the...

Destruction of mangroves has exposed coastal communities to cycloneRome - Mangrove forests could have reduced damage resulting from the waves caused by cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.Parts of Myanmar's coast have been largely cleared of mangrove forests in recent decades and coastal communities are now more exposed to cyclone damage. "Mangroves have been converted to agricultural land and fish ponds. Settlements have...