FAO has called upon countries to carefully examine the implications of high food prices and not to take any policy actions that might appear useful in the short term but could have harmful, longer-term effects or even aggravate the situation.

This year has been declared World Veterinary Year, marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of the veterinary profession and of veterinary science. It was in 1761 that King Louis XV of France, troubled by the ongoing scourge of cattle disease, proposed that a veterinary school should be founded in Lyon.

A new UN report on the gender dimension of agricultural work says women still benefit less than men from rural employment and face new challenges due to the current economic and food crises.

The landlocked West African nation had a good harvest last year according to a joint FAO-WFP assessment, but more assistance is still needed to increase the country's food security. Acute malnutrition still at 15 percent or more in some areas. The two agencies are urging the international community to continue to provide assistance to Niger so that these gains in food production and food security are not reversed.

The first global guidelines for bycatch management and reduction of fishing discards were released today by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. They now go to the Committee on Fisheries for endorsement when it meets in Rome at the end of the month. The guidelines were agreed by fisheries experts from 35 countries who met at FAO last month.

The number of people in need of food assistance in southern Sudan has decreased markedly - though prospects for food security largely depend on the post-referendum period and the number of people returning to the South, according to an assessment by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Programme.

The reverberations of Haiti's devastating earthquake continue to be felt in rural areas, further compounded by the ongoing cholera outbreak and the flooding and landslides triggered by Hurricane Tomas, which has hit the agriculture sector particularly hard. Greater support to agriculture is crucial to meet the country's development objectives and help it prepare for future emergencies.