News

Rome - On the first day of the Future of Food Symposium, following a discussion on the role of academia as a key partner in achieving Zero Hunger, FAO and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) signed a partnership agreement to work on issues at the intersection of food security, law and policy.  Founded in 1919, UCLA is the fourth-oldest university of the 10-campus University of California system. The university hosts the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy, which stimulates discussion on important decisions about food issues through scholarship and policy analysis. The Resnick Center serves communities at...

Rome – FAO and the Future Food Institute (FFI) have joined forces to foster technological advances and encourage multi-stakeholder collaboration within the food production, food research and food policy sectors, signing a formal partnership agreement on the first day of the Future of Food Symposium.  FFI, an Italian non-profit, works to create a more sustainable future of food through education, innovation and community building. The institute aims to boost entrepreneurial potential and improve agri-food expertise and tradition, and educates stakeholders along food value chains about food innovation, nutrition sensitive food systems, and the SDGs. The partnership will enhance FFI’s education, innovation...

From 4 to 6 June, FAO organized a workshop in Harare, Zimbabwe, on the pressing issue of the control of high-impact transboundary animal diseases (TADs) in Southern Africa. Invitees and participants came from affected countries in Southern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), as well as from international organizations, such as the African Union (AU) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and some BRICS countries, such as Brazil and China. TADs pose a serious threat to intra-regional and inter-regional trade, as well as to food and nutrition security within communities. Southern Africa, like other regions of the...

A pig disease originating from Africa hit the news in 2007 when it made its appearance in Europe after being detected in Georgia. Since then, African swine fever has progressively spread throughout Eastern Europe, entering the European Union in 2014. Despite large efforts and investments, in the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment, no territory has been able to control it effectively and prevent its spread. Recently, the disease has been spotted at the doorsteps of the Balkan region in Bulgaria, Hungary...

As producers of the majority of the world’s food, family farmers not only contribute to food security and nutrition, but also fulfil economic, environmental, social and cultural functions in the areas in which they live. Despite this, family farmers are paradoxically among the world’s most vulnerable and food-insecure populations. The UN Decade of Family Farming, led by FAO and IFAD, is an opportunity to work together to create an enabling environment for family farmers. During the global launch of the Decade, a wide range of stakeholders came together for a three-day period to work on concrete actions to support...