News archive 2010

Urgent investments, major agricultural research efforts and robust governance are required to ensure that the world's livestock sector responds to a growing demand for animal products and at the same time contributes to poverty reduction, food security, environmental sustainability and human health.

A Gender and Land Rights Database launched by FAO puts the spotlight on one of the major stumbling blocks to rural development - widespread inequalities between men and women in their access to land. It offers up-to-date information on how men and women in 78 countries differ in their legal rights and access to land.

In the face of extreme food price volatility and food shortages in Haiti following the January 12 earthquake, FAO has developed an interactive tool to guide international agencies and NGOs involved in food security across the country.

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf has expressed alarm at the lack of support for Haiti's immediate agricultural needs. His comments came during a high level meeting convened in Rome by the Haitian Agriculture Minister Joanas Gue, on the one month anniversary of the devastating earthquake.

FAO has started an emergency support scheme for 600 people to quickly clear irrigation canals in and around the epicentre of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti to save bean and maize crops.

Finland and FAO have agreed to help countries develop land administration systems to improve tenure security and land governance in rural and urban areas. The $2.4 million project will help FAO member countries to test and adopt low-cost open source technology. The project will help countries test and adopt low-cost open source technology for the benefit of land records maintenance.

Extreme winter weather in Mongolia, with temperatures plunging to -50°C, has killed 1.7 million head of livestock and risks making 21 000 herder families food insecure. FAO is appealing for some $6 million dollars in order to provide relief.

Illegal fishing damages fisheries and undermines the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them. Fraudulent product substitution and false documentation are often used to get illegally caught fish to market. An unknown percentage of seafood on the shelves simply isn't what's it's purported to be. FAO recently held a workshop to look at how forensic science can be used in fisheries enforcement.

The Haitian government has issued a blueprint for international aid in the agricultural sector for the next eighteen months. It is one of the cornerstones of the government’s strategy to rebuild the country following the January 12 earthquake.

Consumers have begun to demand more information about the health, safety and environmental characteristics of the food they eat. In turn, food producers are putting a greater focus on consumers' wants and needs, and labels are becoming increasingly important. A new book on food labelling aims to help producers mark goods more accurately and assist shoppers in making the healthiest choices.