Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

FAO is developing a programme of work that will provide evidence on the diversity of pathways, the drivers and the impacts of distress or voluntary migration, labor and people’s mobility in a context of accelerated urbanization and increased pressure on natural resources. The programme gives importance to the role of policies, governance and institutions in steering change processes in origins and reducing challenges in destination areas. Evidence from this programme of work will feed into FAO’s normative work and policy support to countries and multistakeholder governance platforms in promoting sustainable development, food security and nutrition. The programme will provide background material and support the Global Migration Group negotiations to develop a Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.

In the context of the programme, FAO invites the submission of papers to be presented on a technical workshop on:

The drivers and impacts of migration and labor mobility in origins and destinations: Building the evidence base for policies that promote safe, orderly and regular people’s and labor mobility for poverty reduction and sustainable development

The workshop will be held the 1st of December 2017, at FAO headquarters in Rome.

FAO/GIEWS has released a special alert on drought affecting crops in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Highlights: 

• Prolonged dry weather conditions from April to late June in the main central and southern cereal-producing provinces raise serious concerns about the final production of the ongoing 2017 main cropping season.

• If rains do not improve soon, the 2017 cereal output may decrease significantly, further deteriorating the local food insecurity.

• Immediate interventions are needed to support the affected farmers and prevent negative coping strategies for the most vulnerable households.

The report can be accessed through the following link: 

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7544e.pdf.

FAO/GIEWS has released a Special Alert on the drought in East Africa.

The highlights:

• Prevailing severe dry weather conditions, virtually since October 2016, have affected rangelands and crops in large parts of East Africa, causing a serious deterioration of food security conditions in the subregion.
• Major areas of concern are central and southern Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Kenya, northern United Republic of Tanzania, and northeastern and southwestern Uganda.
• Localized Fall armyworm infestations are likely to further affect yields in the affected areas.
• Soaring prices of cereals are limiting food access for large numbers of poor households.
• The purchasing power of pastoral households in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is severely constrained by plunging prices of livestock and rising prices of cereals.
• Recurrent climatic shocks have undermined household resilience. Urgent support to agricultural livelihoods is critically needed.

The Special Alert can be accessed through the following link: 

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7537e.pdf.

The latest issue of the FPMA Bulletin FAO/GIEWS monthly report on food price trends at world, regional and country level, with a focus on countries where prices of one or more basic food commodity are at abnormal high levels in main markets, has been released.

Main highlights of this issue are higher international prices of wheat and rice, while at sub-regional level, a general increase in prices of rice in Asia and the new harvests in East Africa are putting downward pressure on cereal prices, which, however, remain at near-record levels.

KEY MESSAGES

• International wheat prices generally increased in June on quality concerns amid unfavourable growing conditions for the 2017 crops in some key producing countries. Export prices of maize remained generally unchanged, while rice quotations continued to increase mainly on account of strong demand.
• In East Africa, cereal prices either remain stable or declined in June with the new 2017 harvests, but remained at near-record levels in several countries. Prices increased sharply in the past several months, due to tight supplies because of drought-reduced 2016 second season crops and concerns about the overall performance of this year’s harvests following poor rains and crop pests.
• In Asia, sustained demand further underpinned domestic prices of rice in exporting countries in June. Elsewhere in the subregion, rice prices rose further and reached record highs in Bangladesh, reflecting losses incurred in the 2017 main season crop, coupled with reduced production and imports in 2016. In Sri Lanka, an anticipated reduction in the 2017 output continued to support prices of rice.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7536e.pdf.

FAO has released the quarterly Global Early Warning Early Action Report for July - September 2017.

The report is a summary of major risks to agriculture and food security including their likelihood and the extent of their probable impact. It provides recommendations on early action in relation to food security and agriculture to mitigate or prevent the potential impact of the anticipated disasters. Early actions can include activities such as protecting livelihood assets to mitigate or prevent the impact of the disaster on preparedness activities. As such, a critical link is established between early warning information and concrete operational programming, thereby supporting more effective prioritization, advocacy and operational decision making. 

The report can be accessed through the following link: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7453e.pdf.

FAO and the Technical Network on Water are inviting interested individuals to participate in the online discussion “Water Accounting & Water for Food”. This exchange is organized in the context of a World Water Council Member initiative on water accounting for agriculture led by FAO with UNESCO-IHE, UNESCO-WWAP, IWMI, ICID and DWFI to raise the profile of water accounting for decision making and to demonstrate the value added it can bring in smart planning processes in water management and water governance. The main objective of this initiative is to promote the use of water accounting through a process consisting of expert consultations, policy level interactions, and the development of a White Paper on Water Accounting for decision making in the agricultural sector. The White Paper will be presented at the 8th World Water Forum in March 2018. This initiative contributes to the work plan of the Global Framework on Water Scarcity launched at the Marrakech Climate Change Conference.

The online discussion aims to consult a broad group of stakeholders (experts in the topic and people interested to learn more), and to build a common understanding on what water accounting is and how it can be done and used. In addition, its objective is to gather evidence on why and how water accounting can help decision making and planning, in particular with regard to managing water scarcity. The discussion willl make use of email exchanges and webinar presentations, and all exchanges and documentation will be stored on an online platform.

The discussion will be open until 21 July, please register here to participate: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WaterAccounting-Poll.

The latest issue of the Crop Prospect and Food Situation quarterly report, which focuses on developments affecting the food situation of developing countries and low-income food-deficit countries, has been released. The report also includes an overview of global cereal production prospects and a table highlighting countries that require external assistance for food, identifying the primary causes of the local food crises.

Highlights of the report:

• Countries in need of external assistance: FAO estimates that 37 countries are in need of external assistance for food. Civil conflict continues to be a main driver of severe food insecurity, triggering famine in South Sudan and putting populations at high risk of localized famine in Yemen and northern Nigeria. Weather shocks have also impinged on food availability and access, and have in particular compounded the fragile situation in Somalia where famine conditions continue to be a threat.
• Africa: Severe food insecurity persists in northern Nigeria and Somalia, while South Sudan remains in the grip of famine. Dry conditions lowered 2017 production prospects in parts of East Africa, while outputs in Southern Africa are forecast to rebound strongly.
• Asia: Drought in Sri Lanka resulted in a sharp drop in the 2017 paddy output, while recent floods caused extensive damage. Conflicts continue to intensely impact agriculture and food security in Iraq and in the Syrian Arab Republic, while in Yemen localized famine remains a critical risk.
• Latin America and the Caribbean: Record cereal outputs forecast in Argentina and Brazil in 2017, with production prospects generally favourable in Central American countries, although the possibility of an El Niño developing raises some concern.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7402e.pdf.