News archive 2017

The international pledge to eradicate a devastating livestock disease affecting mostly sheep and goats has taken on new urgency after a mass die-off of rare saiga antelope in Mongolia’s western Khovd province. Samples taken from carcasses indicated the animals were positive for Peste des petits ruminants (PPR).

Latin America and the Caribbean could be the first developing region to completely eradicate hunger if its governments further strengthen their implementation of a food security plan developed by the CELAC bloc, FAO’s Director-General José Graziano da Silva said.

FAO today hosted a high-level delegation from Japan in a bid to bolster both sides of a strong relationship between the UN agency responsible for fighting hunger and its second-largest donor.

Canada announced it will contribute an extra $1 million to support the work of the Codex Alimentarius, the International Plant Protection Convention, and the World Organisation for Animal Health, for their efforts to promote a safe, fair and science-based trading environment.

In an era in which challenges like climate change and natural resource scarcity are making agriculture ever more knowledge-intensive, family farmers in the developing world need information and technology tools that can help them not just get by, but thrive and feed a growing world population, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva has told G20 Agricultural Ministers.

Growing water scarcity is now one of the leading challenges for sustainable development, and that challenge is poised to intensify as the world's population continues to swell and climate change intensifies, according to FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.

The Panorama of Food and Nutrition Security in Latin America and the Caribbean report, noted that close to 360 million people - around 58 percent of the inhabitants of the region - are overweight with the highest rates observed in the Bahamas (69 percent), Mexico (64percent) and Chile (63 percent).

With food demand and water scarcity on the uptick, it's time to stop treating wastewater like garbage and instead manage it as a resource that can be used to grow crops and help address water scarcity in agriculture.

Belgium, a long-time supporter of FAO’s work in emergencies, has deepened its commitment to protecting agriculture in countries struck by disaster with a €14-million contribution. This boost FAO and its member countries’ capacity to respond immediately to disasters and crises and build long-term resilience.

New drought across swathes of southern Ethiopia will jeopardize the nation’s restoration of food security unless urgent efforts are made to shore up vulnerable households, FAO warned today. Food security in 120 woredas has worsened since July.