News archive 2013

Photo: ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano
The three Rome-based UN agencies - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) - have been made honorary citizens of Rome.
21-04-2013
Photo: ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano
New international standards to help genebanks worldwide conserve plant diversity in a more efficient and cost-effective manner have been adopted by FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Brad Fraleigh, Chairman of of the meeting, welcomed the Standards as "a major accomplishment"
19-04-2013
Photo: ©NASA
For the third time, FAO will be supporting the annual Earth Day Concert in Italy, to be held on 22 April. FAO Goodwill Ambassador Khaled, an Algerian musician of world renown, will be performing on stage with Italian singer Fiorella Mannoia at the "Concert for the Earth" in Milan.
18-04-2013
Photo: ©FAO/Jon Spaull
Conserving and making the most of the planet's wealth of genetic resources will be crucial for survival, as people will need to produce sufficient and nutritious food for a growing population, FAO Deputy Director-General Dan Gustafson said today addressing the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
15-04-2013
©AFP/ImageForum/Photononstop/Camille Lusardi
Efforts to end hunger and fight the effects of climate change in the Pacific Islands will hinge on the success of sustainable development, including wise use of oceans and fisheries, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told ministers from the region today.
12-04-2013
Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/hot_issues/trade/)
The governing body of the International Plant Protection Treaty today wraps up its annual meeting in Rome, having approved two modified phytosanitary measures aimed at preventing plant pests and diseases from spreading via international trade. Every year global crop yields are reduced by somewhere between 20 and 40 percent due to plant pests and diseases, according to the FAO-based IPPC Secretariat.
12-04-2013
Photo: ©FAO/Asim Hafeez
During the next 40 years the world's population is projected to reach more than nine billion people. Demand for food is expected to increase by 60 percent under business-as-usual assumptions. Competition for land, water, and food could lead to greater poverty and hunger if not properly addressed now, with potentially severe environmental impacts.
12-04-2013
Photo: ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano
The FAO Food Price Index (FPI) crept higher by one percent in March compared with a month before, driven mainly by an 11 percent increase in dairy. Dairy products carry a 17 percent weight among the various commodity prices included in the calculation of the overall FPI.
11-04-2013
Photo: ©Bugwood.org/M. Bohne
A new free online course is helping to ensure safe international trade by highlighting the important role of phytosanitary measures in cross-border trade of forest products. The course was developed by FAO, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat and other partners and launched during the 8th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures.
8-04-2013
Photo: ©AFP ImageForum/Yang Zheng /Imaginechina
Responding to the occurrence of the A(H7N9) influenza virus in China requires strong biosecurity measures. Unlike other influenza strains, including highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, this new virus is hard to detect in poultry because the novel virus causes little to no signs of disease in animals.
5-04-2013