News archive 2012

The fight against hunger can only be won in partnership between governments, civil society and farmer organizations and the private sector, EBRD and the FAO said at a conference with decision-makers in agribusiness on ways to improve food security by investing in agriculture from Central Asia to North Africa.

A new FAO publication says carefully tailored policy and institutional changes can help to unlock the livestock sector's poverty reduction potential. Although an estimated 750 million poor have a major stake in the livestock sector, only a small minority of them have so far been able to take advantage of the opportunities provided by livestock sector growth.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 213 points in August, unchanged from July. Speaking at a press conference in Rome, Director-General José Graziano da Silva said “This is reassuring. Although we should remain vigilant, current prices do not justify talk of a world food crisis. But the international community can and should move to calm markets further.”

In a joint statement, FAO, IFAD and WFP call for swift, coordinated international action on high food prices. They say action is urgently needed not only on the immediate issue of price increases but also on the long-term question of how the world produces, trades and consumes its food in an age of increased population, growing demand and climate change.

Africa’s urban population is growing faster than that of any other region, but many of its cities are not keeping pace with the increasing demand for food that comes with that growth. A new FAO publication says policymakers need to act now to make sure that African cities will be “green” enough to meet their nutrition and income needs in a sustainable way.

An FAO staff member has been killed in an attack by an armed group in Merka, Southern Somalia

Drought in some parts of the world has hurt global grain production and contributed to food price spikes virtually every other year since 2007, highlighting the need to transform the way water is used – and wasted – throughout the entire food chain.

Agricultural expansion and other factors are bringing livestock, people and bats closer together on a daily basis, increasing the risk of disease borne by bats. A manual published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization aims to help countries minimize the risk of disease, while protecting the vital role that bats play in agriculture and the environment.

Following the first-ever detection of African swine fever in Ukraine, FAO is warning that while control measures appear to have temporarily halted the disease's spread, it has established a firm foothold in the Caucasus and poses an ongoing risk to neighbouring areas. National and local authorities in the entire region should scale up their prevention measures and be ready to respond in case of further outbreaks.

FAO assistance in Africa’s Sahel region, struck by droughts in four of the past five years, is aimed at helping vulnerable people get through the current lean season and give them the resilience to face any future emergencies.