News archive 2020

FAO today marked International Tea Day by stressing the crucial need to ensure the sustainability of tea production - a basis for the livelihoods of millions of farmers - especially at a time when the world economy enters a recession and incomes decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By cherishing bees and other pollinators, not only do we safeguard the environment and create a sustainable ecosystem, but also support the livelihoods of rural and indigenous peoples which is particularly critical in extraordinary times like the current COVID -19 pandemic.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is seeking $350 million to scale up hunger-fighting and livelihoods-boosting activities in food crisis contexts where COVID-19’s impact could be devastating.

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, QU Dongyu, said today significant gains had been made in the fight against the Desert Locust upsurge in East Africa and Yemen.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks prices in the international prices of the most commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 165.5 points in April, some 3.4 percent lower than the previous month and almost 10 percent lower than January.

The key findings of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 (FRA 2020) have been released today together with an interactive publication called “A Fresh Perspective: Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.”

Beyond the COVID-19 health emergency, a recession looms, and countries ought to take measures now to soften the longer-term impacts on hunger and food insecurity, a new FAO policy brief says.

In this interview, we speak with Mike Robson, FAO Representative in Syria about the COVID-19 pandemic and what it could mean for a country such as Syria, which is on a long road to recovery after nine years of crisis.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has thanked the Russian Federation for boosting the fight against the Desert Locust outbreak in East Africa by making a $10 million contribution to support FAO operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda.

The forestry industry must take steps to improve its safety record and promote decent rural employment in support of the Sustainable Development Agenda, according to a new FAO paper published today on World Day for Safety and Health at Work.