News archive 2012

FAO and the Government of Haiti are seeking $74 million over the next 12 months to help rehabilitate the country's agricultural sector in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The "Superstorm" caused colossal damage to Haiti's crops, land, livestock, fisheries and rural infrastructures in late October, leaving more than 600 000 Haitians at risk of food and nutrition insecurity.

Women livestock keepers worldwide must be recognized as the major actors in efforts to arrest the decline of indigenous breeds, crucial for rural food security and animal genetics, a new FAO study argues. Yet women’s contribution to indigenous livestock breeding and conservation is poorly documented and undervalued, the study Invisible Guardians: Women manage livestock diversity says.

One of the only chances small-scale food producers have to gain competitive access to local and global markets is by banding together in cooperatives, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told a meeting of the World Cooperatives Congress in Manchester today.

FAO Special Ambassador for Cooperatives Roberto Rodrigues received the Rochdale Pioneers Award on Wednesday in recognition for his efforts to promote this business model over the past decades.

FAO's commitment to fight emerging disease threats in "hotspot" regions worldwide is getting a boost with new funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The funding amounts to more than $20 million.

FAO handed over a workstation for Civil Society organizations (CSOs) today to renew its commitment in enhancing collaboration with social movements.

FAO Director-General calls on international food communities and all players in the global food system to join together in eradicating hunger from the earth "within our lifetimes". Opening the bi-annual Terra Madre conference he said achieving zero hunger will, among other measures, require moving to eliminate food losses and waste.

While many countries are taking action to halt the erosion of livestock genetic resources, crucial for food and agriculture, a substantial gap remains that needs to be urgently addressed. Reports from 80 countries on the progress made in implementing the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources were presented today at an international conference.

FAO has alerted Algeria, Libya, Mauritania and Morocco to prepare for the likely arrival of Desert Locust swarms from the Sahel in West Africa in the coming weeks. The four countries are being urged to stand by to mobilize their field teams to detect the arrival of the swarms and control them.

A two-year consultation process to develop principles for responsible investment in agriculture that respect rights, livelihoods and resources was approved by the 39th Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which ended on Saturday at FAO headquarters in Rome.