First meeting of treaty on genetic resources for agriculture opens today
Diouf: Madrid gathering a "historic event"
Washington and Madrid, 12 June 2006 – Representatives of 100 countries gathered today in the Spanish capital for a ceremony inaugurating the first-ever meeting of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, promoted by FAO.
The event was attended by María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Spain's First Deputy Prime Minister, Elena Espinosa, Spain's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf and other dignitaries.
"This is a historic event, crowning many years of hard work. A treaty of crucial importance to humanity has been brought into being," said Diouf, describing the treaty as "the first major international instrument of the 21st century and the third millennium."
Negotiated under the aegis of FAO, it entered into force as a legally-binding instrument in June 2004 after a long negotiation process that began in the 1970s. Currently the treaty has 104 signatory States.
"The conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture are sine qua non conditions for food security and poverty eradication, particularly in the rural world," Diouf said, noting that currently some 854 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition worldwide, with a resulting annual death toll of 15 million human lives.
In his comments the FAO chief stressed that combating hunger and poverty should be the primary goals of international policies related to plant genetic resources. "This is an ethical imperative -- access to adequate food is a basic human right," he said.
From theory to practice
Diouf called on the governments present at today's inaugural to cooperate in order to ensure that the treaty lives up to its full potential as a tool for increasing food production and improving food quality. He added that the agreement allows for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from crop diversity and also serves as a mechanism for strengthening North-South cooperation.
At this first meeting of the treaty's governing body a number of major decisions regarding its implementation are on the table, including financial strategies, access to plant genetic resources and the rights of farmers to a share of the benefits deriving from their use.
Diouf also appealed to delegates attending the "Ministerial Segment" of the meeting, which starts on Tuesday 13 June, to marshal "the political will to make it possible to build up a productive and innovative future for the treaty," urging them to ensure that their national plans, programs and legislation reflect its objectives and provisions as well as development assistance priorities.
For more information about FAO go to: www.fao.org
Genetic resources in agriculture: the key to food security
First meeting of the Governing Body of the International Treaty in Madrid
Washington and Rome, 8 June 2006 – The signature of the Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture marks a major step towards guaranteeing food security in the world. It is also a historic landmark in North-South cooperation, according to FAO on the eve of the first meeting of its signatory states.
The Treaty is a legally binding instrument negotiated by FAO’s member states, and came into force in June 2004 as the culmination of a long process that began in the 1970s. Its purpose is to safeguard the genetic diversity of crops, a heritage of crucial importance to future generations, three quarters of which, however, are estimated to have been lost during the last century.
Throughout history, human beings have used some 10 000 plant species for food; today, our diet is based on just over 100 species, due to the introduction of a small number of modern and enormously uniform commercial varieties.
The Governing Body of the Treaty will hold its first meeting in Madrid on 12-16 June, attended by all the countries that have ratified the Treaty, now numbering one hundred with the recent accession of Iran. It will be a key event for the future of the Treaty because it will lay down the procedures for implementation and other key aspects, such as a financial strategy, access to plant genetic resources and the sharing of benefits deriving from their use.
Parallel to this meeting, which is being organized with Spain's support, a Ministerial Meeting will be convened on 13 June. This should be well attended and is expected to send out a strong political message: adequate financial and human resources must be guaranteed to make the Treaty operational, particularly in the developing countries. One of the salient aspects of this agreement is its universality and the impetus it gives to closer North-South cooperation.
The importance of the Treaty
“This international agreement not only guarantees the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources, but also the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their use, including any monetary benefits of commercialization. For the first time, farmers’ rights are formally acknowledged, on the understanding that it is the traditional small-holders in every part in the world who have made the greatest contribution to developing agricultural biological diversity over the millennia, and are still its main custodians,” said José Esquinas Alcázar, who, since 1983, has been the Secretary of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the intergovernmental forum where the Treaty was negotiated.
Genetic resources are the raw materials farmers and scientists need to develop new varieties so that humanity can address such potential challenges as plant pests and climate change, and so that people can improve their diets. FAO considers this Treaty an essential means of attaining the Millennium Development Goals, especially Goal 1, to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty, and Goal 7, to ensure environmental sustainability.
Interdependence
The Treaty creates a multilateral system of access and benefit-sharing, to facilitate access by the Contracting Parties to plant genetic resources while ensuring the multilateral sharing of benefits. This system applies to a list of 64 plant species, selected on the basis of food security and interdependence criteria, including wheat, rice, potatoes and maize, which are staple components in the diet of a large proportion of the world’s population. Benefit-sharing is intended to equip the developing countries in particular with the means and resources they need to conserve and use their genetic resources, whether in situ or ex situ (outside their natural environment).
“No country is self-sufficient in genetic resources in agriculture. FAO has calculated that countries are about 70% interdependent. Every country depends on the genetic diversity of plants in other countries and regions to guarantee food security for their own people,” says Esquinas.
The greatest agricultural biological diversity is found in tropical and subtropical zones, i.e., in the developing world. Many countries considered as poor are therefore “rich” in biodiversity, but all of them depend on the availability and constant exchange of plant genetic resources, especially the most developed countries. International cooperation in this matter is therefore not only of benefit to a few countries, but to the whole of humanity.
“Agricultural biodiversity is a vital legacy bequeathed to us by previous generations. Once genetic material is lost, it is irretrievable. We have a moral obligation to pass it down, intact, to our children: the Treaty transforms the moral obligation to conserve it for future generations into a legal obligation,” Esquinas concludes.
For more information contact Michael Hage, FAO media relations officer for North America. Tel (202) 653-0011.
Wild birds’ role in HPAI crisis confirmed
But scientific conference fingers poultry business
1 June 2006, Washington and Rome - Migrating wild birds have played and will likely continue to play a role in transporting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, or bird flu, over long distances. This was among the main conclusions of a two-day international scientific conference called by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
But the conference, attended by over 300 scientists from more than 100 countries also recognized that the virus was mainly spread through poultry trade, both legal and illegal.
“Several presentations at the Conference, some supported by recent publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, implicated wild birds in the introduction of HPAI H5N1 virus at considerable geographical distance from known H5N1 outbreaks in poultry,” the meeting said in a concluding document.
Reservoir puzzle
But the participants admitted they could not resolve another of the key issues at the conference, which was the role of wild birds in the spread of HPAI to more than 50 countries on three continents, and whether wild birds should now be considered a permanent reservoir of the virus.
If they are such a reservoir, there is a strong likelihood they will carry the virus with them in subsequent migrations. Alternately H5N1 may subside naturally as infected animals die off, or it may mutate to a less aggressive form.
“This was one of the main gaps identified in our present scientific knowledge,” said Joseph Domenech, FAO’s chief veterinary officer. “We must therefore intensify our investigations.”
The conference noted that the current outbreaks of H5N1 virus in eight African countries appeared to be poultry-related and chiefly based on trade in poultry for human consumption, including illegal trade. However, it called for further analysis for a more complete understanding of how the virus was introduced.
More investment
"There is a need to mobilize the international donor community to invest in the improvement of veterinary services in developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia,” Dr Gideon K. Brückner, Head of OIE's Scientific and Technical Department, said.
Wise investments here will promote early detection in wild birds and rapid response to disease outbreaks, Dr Brückner added.
H5N1 disease management would need to be based on improved biosecurity and hygiene at the production level, and in all poultry sectors, including minimizing the possibility of contact between domestic and wild birds, the conference advocated.
It called for the establishment of a global tracking and monitoring facility involving all relevant institutions across the world, including scientific centers and farmers’organizations, hunters, bird watchers, and wetland and wildlife conservation societies.
The participants rejected any suggestion of trying to stop the spread of HPAI by killing wild birds. “Destruction of wild bird habitats or indiscriminate hunting of wildlife is scientifically and ethically unjustified as a response,” one of the conference recommendations said.
It urged continuing research to adopt an inter-disciplinary approach, and called for investment to incorporate telemetry/satellite technology to improve understanding of wild bird migration patterns (see related article “Free as a bird – or under surveillance”).
For more information about FAO: http://www.fao.org
Free as a bird – or under surveillance?
Plan for global wild birds tracking system
Washington and Rome, 1 June 2006 - Flying backpackers, communications satellites and a network of computers would monitor the movements of wild birds on their annual migrations under a plan proposed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The 6.8-million-dollar plan could also provide the world with crucial advance warning of the occurrence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, which causes bird flu. Deploying teams of national and international veterinary and wild bird experts on the ground, it would fill a huge gap in scientific knowledge about where, when and how wild birds associated with HPAI – principally aquatic and shore birds – migrate.
“All we have now is a snapshot. We need to see the whole film,” says Joseph Domenech, Chief veterinary Officer of FAO.
The plan involves capturing thousands of wild birds before they migrate, testing sample birds for disease, and fitting some of them out with tiny backpacks weighing less than 50 grams each. After the birds are released, the sophisticated telemetry equipment inside the packs would track their every movement.
A system of radio beacons and satellites would then feed data into the computers of ornithologists, ecologists, virologists and epidemiologists round the world.
The project is in line with recommendations made at a two-day international scientific conference on avian influenza and wild birds which ended yesterday. The conference, attended by some 300 scientists from over 100 countries, was organized by FAO and the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Wild birds’ role
The conference concluded that wild birds do play a role in transporting HPAI over long distances but that human activities such as poultry production and trade are principally responsible for spreading the disease.
It noted, however, that there was a basic need for better understanding of wild bird migration and the associated risks of virus introduction. And it also called for temetry and satellite technology to be used in such studies.
Under FAO’s plan, the backpacks would show the migrating birds’ exact whereabouts when they stop over for rest and recreation on their long journeys. Mobile, ground-based teams would then re-test the sample birds for disease and, in the case of a positive return, have a good idea of where the infection originated and where it might head next.
Early warning would give governments and producers more time to respond to potential threats – with great benefits for the poultry industry and society at large.
FAO together with the World Health Organization and the World Organisation for Animal Health has initiated a global early warning and response system (GLEWS) which monitors livestock and emerging transboundary diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, swine fever, ebola, and Rift valley fever.
“But so far wildlife and wild birds have fallen into the cracks,” Domenech said. The proposed new system, in which several Organizations – such as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Wetlands International, CIRAD, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development and others could participate – would feed into the GLEWS system.
A small part of the money to fund the project is already on hand, but FAO would need the help of donors and governments to get it up and flying.
Free as a bird? Yes, but under close surveillance.
FAO/OIE Conference to tackle bird flu controversy
Role of wild birds a key issue
Washington and Rome, 25 May 2006 - How far wild birds are to blame for spreading highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, will be the key issue at a scientific conference organized in Rome on May 30-31 by FAO and OIE, the World Organisation for Animal Health.
Some 300 scientists from over 100 nations will attend the two-day meeting to try and shed light on one of the most controversial aspects of the H5N1 crisis: just what is the role played by wild birds, as against domestic poultry, in propagating bird flu.
The FAO and OIE International Scientific Conference on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds will also discuss such issues as the ecology and virology of HPAI, surveillance, risk analysis and disease management.
But almost three years after HPAI first broke out in Southeast Asia, scientists are still searching for a vital piece of the puzzle as they strive to check the disease. “There is a fundamental piece of information missing,” says Joseph Domenech, FAO’s Chief Veterinary Officer.
The main problem, according to Domenech, is that no one knows for sure whether wild birds can act as long-term reservoirs of HPAI viruses such as H5N1.
“Where they are not reservoirs but only victims of contamination from poultry, then prevention has to remain at the domestic bird level,” he says. “But where they are, we have to find out which birds are involved and where they migrate to in order to prevent other wild birds and poultry being infected.”
While it has been demonstrated that migrating birds can carry the virus over long distances – in Siberia, Eastern and Western Europe for example – it is not clear where the infection originated. However, most scientists point the finger at domestic fowl.
In the early spring, it was feared that there would be large-scale outbreaks of HPAI in Africa. And though bird flu did hit six African countries, this was less than expected and there was no evidence to link the outbreaks with wild birds.
Similarly, widespread new cases were feared in Europe but largely failed to materialize. “Lots of questions remain without answers,” says Domenech, “We therefore need to increase research and surveillance to better understand the epidemiology of the disease.”
FAO and OIE lead role
The conference is expected to confirm FAO and OIE's lead role with respect to HPAI-related migrating bird research and monitoring. “It is clear, however, that we cannot do this alone and will continue to work in close partnership with other UN agencies and specialized NGOs such as Wetlands International,” said Jan Slingenbergh, Senior Animal Health Officer.
Surveillance and monitoring of H5N1 in wild birds is a major technical and scientific undertaking involving satellite tracking and assembling information from ornithologists, ecologists, virologists and epidemiologists, he added.
Slingenbergh said he believed there would be no clear conclusion as to whether wild birds or domestic poultry were responsible for HPAI introduction into new areas. “The answer is it’s a mix,” he said.
“In Europe, we know that in most countries where the virus has appeared, it’s been with the wild birds,” he said. In East and Southeast Asia the disease was arguably spread by a combination of domestic and wild birds, while in Africa it appeared that poultry trade and traffic was essentially responsible, he added.
Since the first outbreaks of HPAI in Southeast Asia at the end of 2003, H5N1 has killed 124 humans, nearly all of them infected by domestic fowl. Over 200 million poultry have died of the disease or have had to be culled so far.
For more information contact Michael Hage, FAO media relations officer for North America. Tel (202) 653-0011.
Church group gives $150 000 to FAO to assist tsunami-affected fishing communities in Somalia
Washington, DC, 3 August 2005 – The Church of God in Christ, an African-American religious organization with an estimated 8 million members worldwide, today presented a check for $150 000 to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in support of its ongoing efforts to help fishing communities in Puntland, Somalia, rebuild their livelihoods following last December’s devastating Indian Ocean tsunami.
The funds will be used for the purchase and installation of three ice-making machines, each producing two tonnes of ice per day, to help local fishers preserve their catch. Training and construction of cold storage rooms in several districts are also part of the initiative.
The activities will directly benefit around 2 000 fishers in 28 villages along the Indian Ocean coast. Indirect beneficiaries include an estimated 20 000 shore workers, traders and family members in these fishing communities.
Robert Patterson, Senior Liaison Officer at FAO’s Liaison Office for North America, accepted the check from Bishop Charles E. Blake on behalf of the Organization and thanked the church group for its contribution to helping the affected communities get back on their feet.
The new initiative complements the activities of an ongoing FAO project that is providing fishing gear and other inputs to the same communities and is helping them form fishers’ associations to manage and distribute these inputs.
Farm Bureaus Donate $60K for FAO Tsunami Rehabilitation Program
Washington, 18 May 2005 - State and county Farm Bureau organizations across the United States gathered donations totaling $60,000, and today a check for that amount was presented to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help affected farmers, in tsunami devastated regions, regain their livelihoods.
"Thanks to the generosity of our members we are able to contribute to FAO to fund projects in the tsunami-affected area," said Mr. Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation. The money will be used as part of the FAO/TeleFood: Tsunami Reconstruction Program.
The small-community-size projects, which cost between $5,000 and $10,000 each, help poor families produce more food. None of the money will be used for administrative costs by the U.N. organization.
Charles H. Riemenschneider, FAO Director for North America, accepted the check on behalf of his Organization and thanked the American Farm Bureau Federation, the largest US farmer organization, for stepping up to help fellow farmers on the other side of the globe.
The generous donation FAO received today reflects the heightened sense of solidarity shared by members of the American Farm Bureau Federation with surviving farmers in South East Asia, said Riemenschneider.
Donations fund small, self-contained agriculture and livestock projects, seeds (such as rice and other cereal crops), tools (shovels, hoes, water cans) and other agricultural inputs for the rapid rehabilitation of food crop production for the next season. Since the launch of TeleFood campaign in 1997, the TeleFood Special Fund has financed more than 1850 projects in 125 countries.
For more information on TeleFood campaign and projects, visit www.telefood.com
Training HIV/AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa
Field schools fight hunger and poverty with farming know-how and life skills
Washington and Rome, 9 May 2005 - AIDS orphans in Africa are being helped to improve their often desperate living conditions by learning agricultural techniques in specially designed schools, FAO said today.
To date, FAO has set up 34 Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools for orphaned children in Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia, targeting a total of around 1 000 young people. Many of these children are not able to farm because their parents could not pass on the necessary agricultural knowledge before dying of AIDS.
The AIDS crisis
Of the estimated 34 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, more than 11 million lost their parents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that up to 20 million children could lose one or both parents to the disease. Children orphaned by AIDS and living in rural areas are particularly at risk from malnutrition, disease, abuse and sexual exploitation.
The threat of sexual exploitation is particularly high for those left alone to cope with poverty and forced to earn money to support their families. After the death of their parents, the children often become heads of household and have to search for ways to make an income, a difficult task in rural areas with few job opportunities, services and little infrastructure.
Learning by doing
FAO is working with the World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and local institutions, to found the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools for children and young people in response to the growing numbers of AIDS orphans.
The schools aim to share agricultural knowledge, business skills, and life skills with orphans and vulnerable children between 12 and 18 years of age. The knowledge and skills acquired by the young girls and boys should help them to develop positive values regarding gender equality and human rights.
The schools cover both traditional and modern agriculture. Children learn about field preparation, sowing and transplanting, weeding, irrigation, pest control, utilisation and conservation of available resources, utilisation and processing of food crops, harvesting, storage and marketing skills.
The field schools also help to recover or sustain traditional knowledge about indigenous crops, medicinal plants, and biodiversity.
In addition, the schools address such issues as HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, gender sensitivity, child protection and sexual health, while offering psychological and social support, nutritional education, and business skills. The schools provide a safe social space for the students to develop their self-esteem and confidence.
"The objective of the schools is to empower the orphans through knowledge and self-esteem and to give them essential elements for their long-term food security. These training courses are an important starting point to get AIDS orphans out of hunger and poverty. They offer survival strategies in often very difficult environments," said Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO's Gender and Population Division.
Mozambique
Mozambique is the focus of the project with a total of 28 Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools now up and running in the central provinces. So far, around 120 orphans have successfully completed their training, and 840 more students are currently learning how to work the land with hands-on lessons in farming techniques, nutrition and medicinal plants.
Lessons in dancing and singing help the children grow in confidence and develop social skills. Theatre and discussion groups are used to tackle potentially life-saving issues including the prevention of HIV/AIDS and malaria, gender equality and children's rights.
The programme is funded by Finland, Norway, FAO and WFP.
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B-roll of the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools in Mozambique is available to broadcast journalists upon request.
Biotechnology: Several developing countries now have well-developed programmes
Research is being conducted on GM crops and traits more relevant for food security
Washington and Rome, 6 May 2005 - Several developing countries now have well-developed biotechnology programmes; they are approaching the leading edge of biotechnology applications and have significant research capacity, according to a new FAO assessment on the status of research and application of crop biotechnologies in developing countries.
Based on a review of the information in the FAO database on Biotechnology in Developing Countries FAO-BioDeC), which covers both genetically modified (GM) crops and non-GM biotechnologies, the assessment suggests that developing countries will soon have new GM crops available such as virus-resistant papaya, sweet potato and cassava as well as rice tolerant to abiotic stresses (salinity and drought).
Focus on food security
Most of the GMOs commercialized so far in developing countries have been acquired from developed countries and focus on a limited number of traits (mainly herbicide tolerance and insect pest resistance) and crops (commodities such as cotton, soybean and maize).
However, the FAO assessment reveals that several developing countries have been conducting research on a wider range of crops, such as banana, cassava, cowpea, plantain, rice and sorghum, and on traits relevant for food security, such as abiotic stress tolerance and quality.
Argentina, Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Mexico and South Africa have taken the lead. A second group of countries has medium-scale agricultural biotechnology programmes, usually in a few key areas. Other developing nations have relatively limited research capacity, according to the FAO report.
"We hope that research activities in developing countries will increasingly focus on issues important for food security," said Andrea Sonnino, from FAO's Research and Technology Development Service.
Noticeable gaps
There are, however, some noticeable gaps in research. For example, no research is reported in the field of nematode resistance despite the considerable losses caused by these plant parasites. Another fundamental but neglected research problem concerns post-harvest losses.
The study also notes that biosafety capacity building is needed to enable many countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Near East to fully benefit from GMO technology.
Regarding non-GM biotechnologies, many are being used on a commercial scale but only a few studies have been carried out to assess their socio-economic impacts. The report highlights that this is an area needing urgent attention as it is likely to help guide research and technology policies and investments towards wider and efficient utilization of all biotechnologies.
FAO-BioDeC
Launched in 2003 as an on-line searchable database, FAO-BioDeC currently has about 2 000 entries from 71 developing countries, including countries with economies in transition.
It is regularly updated and has recently been expanded to include extensive data from the forestry sector and some initial data on livestock.
The assessment presents a first analysis of the information contained in the database as of 31 August 2004.
Gene Revolution: Great Potential For The Poor, But No Panacea
Only a Few Countries Are Benefiting So Far. Food Crops of the Poor Need More Attention
Washington and Rome, 17 May 2004 -- Biotechnology holds great promise for agriculture in developing countries, but so far only farmers in a few developing countries are reaping these benefits, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in its annual report The State of Food and Agriculture 2003-04, released today.
Basic food crops of the poor such as cassava, potato, rice and wheat receive little attention by scientists, FAO said.
“Neither the private nor the public sector has invested significantly in new genetic technologies for the so-called ‘orphan crops’ such as cowpea, millet, sorghum and tef that are critical for the food supply and livelihoods of the world’s poorest people,” said FAO Director-General Dr Jacques Diouf.
“Other barriers that prevent the poor from accessing and fully benefiting from modern biotechnology include inadequate regulatory procedures, complex intellectual property issues, poorly functioning markets and seed delivery systems, and weak domestic plant breeding capacity,” he added.
Biotechnology, one of the tools of the gene revolution, is much more than genetically modified organisms (GMOs), sometimes also called transgenic organisms. While the potential benefits and risks of GMOs need to be carefully assessed case by case, the controversy surrounding transgenics should not distract from the potential offered by other applications of biotechnology such as genomics, marker-assisted breeding and animal vaccines, FAO said.
Food and income needed for an additional 2 billion people
Agriculture will have to sustain an additional 2 billion people over the next 30 years from an increasingly fragile natural resource base. The challenge is to develop technologies that combine several objectives – increase yields and reduce costs, protect the environment, address consumer concerns for food safety and quality, enhance rural livelihoods and food security, FAO said.
Agricultural research can lift people out of poverty, by boosting agricultural incomes and reducing food prices. More than 70 percent of the world’s poor still live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their survival. Agricultural research – including biotechnology – holds an important key to meeting their needs.
Biotechnology should complement – not replace – conventional agricultural technologies, FAO said. Biotechnology can speed up conventional breeding programmes and may offer solutions where conventional methods fail.
It can provide farmers with disease-free planting materials and develop crops that resist pests and diseases, reducing use of chemicals that harm the environment and human health. It can provide diagnostic tools and vaccines that help control devastating animal diseases. It can improve the nutritional quality of staple foods such as rice and cassava and create new products for health and industrial uses.
But poor farmers can only benefit from biotechnology products if they “have access to them on profitable terms,” the report said. “Thus far, these conditions are only being met in a handful of developing countries.”
Neglected crops
Research and commercialization data on transgenic crops show that many crops and traits of interest to the poor are being neglected. “There are no major public- or private-sector programmes to tackle the critical problems of the poor or targeting crops and animals that they rely on,” the report said. A large part of the private-sector investment is concentrated on just four crops: cotton, maize, canola and soybean.
Six countries (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, South Africa and the US), four crops (maize, soybean, canola/rapeseed and cotton) and two traits (insect resistance and herbicide tolerance) accounted for 99 percent of the global area planted in transgenic crops in 2003, the report said.
Where the research money goes
One of the key constraints many developing countries are facing in adopting and adapting biotechnology innovations is their lack of agricultural research capacity particularly in plant and animal breeding, FAO said.
The private-sector research dominates global biotechnology. The world’s top ten transnational bioscience corporations spend nearly $3 billion per year on agricultural biotechnology research and development. Private biotech research in most developing countries is negligible.
Brazil, China and India, which have the largest public agricultural research programmes in developing countries, spend less than half a billion dollars each annually. The largest international public supplier of agricultural technologies, the CGIAR, has a total annual budget of only about $300 million for crop improvement.
Transgenic crops – an economic success
In the few developing countries where transgenic crops have been introduced, small farmers have gained economically and the use of toxic agro-chemicals has been reduced, FAO said.
“Transgenic crops have delivered large economic benefits to farmers in some areas of the world over the past seven years,” the report said. In several cases, per hectare gains have been large when compared with almost any other technological innovation introduced over the past few decades.
In China, for example, more than four million small farmers are growing insect-resistant cotton on about 30 percent of the country’s total cotton area. Yields for insect-resistant cotton were about 20 percent higher than for conventional varieties and pesticide costs were around 70 percent lower. Pesticide use was reduced by an estimated 78 000 tonnes in 2001, an amount equal to about one-quarter of the total quantity of chemical pesticides used in China. As a result, cotton farmers experienced fewer pesticide poisonings than those growing conventional varieties.
Even though transgenic crops have been delivered through the private sector in most cases, the benefits have been widely distributed among industry, farmers and consumers. “This suggests that the monopoly position engendered by intellectual property protection does not automatically lead to excessive industry profits,” the report said.
Effects on human health and the environment
The scientific evidence concerning the environmental and health impacts of genetic engineering is still emerging, the report said.
“Scientists generally agree that the transgenic crops currently being grown and the foods derived from them are safe to eat, although little is known about their long-term effects,” said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
“There is less scientific agreement on the environmental impacts of transgenic crops. The legitimate concerns for the safety of each transgenic product must be addressed prior to its release. Careful monitoring of the post-release effects of these products is essential,” Diouf said.
FAO recommends a case-by-case evaluation that considers the potential benefits and risks of individual transgenic crops. The report says that, while some benefits have been observed, adverse environmental effects have not been detected in commercial production. Continued monitoring is needed, FAO stressed.
The report stresses the need for science-based biosafety assessments. “Where crops have not been cleared through biosafety risk assessments, a greater risk of harmful environmental consequences exists. Unauthorized varieties may not provide farmers with the expected level of pest control, leading to continued need for chemical pesticides and a greater risk of the development of pest resistance.” Furthermore, neither private companies nor public research institutes can be expected to develop transgenic crops for poor producers in countries that lack reliable, transparent regulatory procedures.
The FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission has agreed on principles and guidelines for assessing health risks related to foods derived from modern biotechnology. Members of the International Plant Protection Convention are developing guidelines for pest-risk analysis for living modified organisms. These agreements can help harmonize regulatory procedures globally.
For more information contact Michael Hage, FAO media relations officer for North America. Tel (202) 653-0011.
Tick fight targets Antigua
Eradication key to developing local meat industry
21 April 2004, St John's, Antigua - With 365 beaches, one for every day of the year, Antigua, touted as the "land of sea and sun", is a popular stop-off point for cruise ships and a leading vacation destination.
Long before the tourists discovered Antigua, however, the tropical bont tick (Amblyomma variegatum) arrived here, carrying a disease that can kill cattle, sheep and goats. To solve the problem, the Caribbean Amblyomma Programme (CAP), a Caribbean-wide approach to getting rid of the tick, has recently intensified its work on the island.
[read full press release from FAO website...]
Africa is Suffering Hunger Amidst a World Abundant in Food
Diouf to Congressional Black Caucus: Investment in Agriculture Holds Much Promise for the majority of Africans
Washington, 24 September - One in three sub-Saharan Africans is suffering from chronic hunger in a world of plenty, Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, told the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) here today.
Undernourishment was more prevalent in Africa than in Asia and the Pacific, Latin America or the Caribbean, Diouf said. And the solution was not technical, but political.
Addressing the Annual Legislative Conference of the CBC, Diouf said Africa was the only region where average food production per person has been declining during the past 40 years, putting large segments of the population at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition, according to FAO.
“Only about 7% of Africa’s total arable land, and barely 3.7% in sub-Saharan Africa, is irrigated.” Investment in agriculture holds much promise for the majority of people in Africa, Diouf said.
“The potential for real growth and development in Africa is dependent upon successfully addressing key challenges, hunger and poverty; agriculture production and HIV/AIDS”. This will require the support of the international community, including the United States, and the private sector contributing and investing in Africa, added Diouf.
Diouf lauded the Congressional Black Caucus as “a champion in fighting for the humanitarian rights of people world-wide and especially in Africa”. “FAO commends the CBC and welcomes its cooperation and solidarity in the fight against hunger”.
Diouf told CBC members, the United States of America is the largest single contributor to FAO’s regular budget. The U.S. is very active in the Organization’s governing bodies and technical committees, and it is a key player for advancing FAO’s mission: helping to build a world without hunger, he said.
The HIV/AIDS/Hunger Cycle
The fight against HIV/AIDS, both domestically and internationally, has clearly demonstrated your political will and determination within Congress, Diouf said.
The commitment of $15 billion in additional resources is greatly appreciated and very much needed by millions of people in Africa and the Caribbean, said Diouf. “FAO is especially appreciative for the thoughtfulness of your members who included nutrition activities as part of treatment.”
Hunger and poverty, aggravated by HIV/AIDS, create a vicious cycle. Where farmers and their families fall sick, they cultivate less and shift to less labor-intensive crops; agriculture productivity decreases and food insecurity and malnutrition rise. About 12 million African children have lost one or more parents to HIV/AIDS, according to the FAO Director-General.
Hopefully, the HIV/AIDS resources would allow for teaching and training those orphans how to farm and prepare food. The future would be considerably brighter for them if we invest in such activities, Diouf said.
FAO’s Commitment
Diouf told the CBC Legislative Conference, since its foundation in 1945, FAO has remained focused on its essential mission, and will not be diverted from it until there is no more hunger in the world. “We will continue to put our experts in agronomy, forestry, livestock, fisheries, nutrition, economics and law at the service of our member nations. FAO will continue to facilitate dialogue and understanding among experts and policy-makers as they forge agreements on major food and agriculture issues”.
Through FAO’s initiatives and partnerships, we are working aggressively in Africa, but we need to do more, we want to do more in partnership with a number of donors, including financial institutions and individual donor countries, Diouf affirmed.
International Alliance Against Hunger
At the World Food Summit; five years later (Rome 2002), world leaders agreed to work together to establish an International Alliance Against Hunger to generate the political will to fight hunger.
On World food Day (October 16th), more than 150 countries observe the importance of food and fighting hunger. The theme this year is “Working Together for an International Alliance against Hunger”, Diouf declared.
The FAO Director-General welcomed the establishment of “The United States Alliances to End Hunger”. He also invited the CBC to actively participate in FAO activities and to help create the political will to end hunger and poverty in the world. END
For more information contact Michael Hage, FAO media relations officer for North America. Tel (202) 653-0011.
FAO: Agriculture Essential to Grow Global Economy
Saint Louis, 20 May - "The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has worked over the past year on a proposal for a twin-track approach, the Anti-Hunger Program, one to create livelihood opportunities through improved agricultural productivity, the other to equip the hungry to take advantage of these opportunities through direct nutrition assistance, said Charles Riemenschneider, the FAO Director for North America.
Delivering FAO's key note address today at the opening of the World Agricultural Forum 2003, convened here, Dr. Riemenschneider said: an additional public investment package of some $24 billion per year would bring hunger reduction back on track - with the costs shared by the international donor community and the recipient developing and transition countries, according to Riemenschneider.
"FAO estimates benefits to the world economy of such an investment, quite small compared to the equivalent of over $ 300 billion per year that OECD countries provide annually in agricultural subsidies to their own farmers, to be at least $120 billion per year in terms of overall economic activity," he said.
"At the most basic level agriculture's essential role is to provide adequate output to assure global food security. Without adequate food, people cannot work and earn, they cannot learn, and they are more susceptible to disease. Overall their economic prospects are dim," according to the FAO representative.
"Agricultural trade also provides a further link between agricultural production and the global economy. Freer trade in agriculture has the potential to make a powerful contribution to rural development and hunger reduction, according to the FAO representative," said Riemenschneider.
One of the most pressing challenges facing global leaders today is the alleviation of poverty and hunger. The goal to cut by half the number of the undernourished people was set at the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996, and is reflected in the Millennium Development Goals set by the Millennium Summit in 2000, according to FAO.
"While the moral arguments for fighting hunger are persuasive in their own right, clearly the cost of inaction is also economically prohibitive. Investing in hunger reduction holds potential for enormous economic benefits, for the rich and poor alike and for the global economy," Riemenschneider said.
For more information contact Michael Hage, FAO media relations officer for North America. Tel (202) 653-0011.
Full text of key note address (PDF version)
Former Congresswoman Eva Clayton appointed Assistant Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy
18 March, Washington, DC,- Former Congresswoman Eva Clayton has been appointed as an Assistant Director-General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) by FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, the Rome-based agency announced today. Ms. Clayton will be responsible for World Food Summit follow-up. The 1996 World Food Summit pledged to cut the number of hungry people in the world by at least half by the year 2015. A follow-up Summit was held to track progress in June last year. Ms. Clayton attended as a US delegate.
Dr. Diouf said he is very pleased to have a person with Congresswoman Clayton’s experience and talent. Ms. Clayton begins her new job assignment in Rome in March.
Accepting the assignment, Clayton said, "I am especially honored to join the leadership team at FAO headed by Dr. Diouf. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to continue to be engaged in efforts to increase agricultural productivity worldwide and to help reduce hunger and poverty in the world."
FAO was founded in 1945 to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural production, and to better the condition of rural populations. It strives to alleviate hunger and poverty by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security (defined as the access of all people at all times to the food they need for an active and healthy life).
FAO encourages sustainable agriculture and rural development, a long-term strategy for increasing food production and food security while conserving and managing natural resources. The aim is to meet the needs of both present and future generations by promoting development that does not degrade the environment and is technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable.
Ms. Clayton retired this year after serving 10 years in the U.S. Congress from the First Congressional District in North Carolina. She served on the House Agriculture and Budget Committees, and was Co-Chair of the Congressional Rural Caucus.
Ms. Clayton has been recognized by many national organizations for her work in agriculture, nutrition, fighting for small family farmers and black farmers, rural development and housing. She led House efforts to reauthorize the Food Stamp Program, which provides $6.5 billion for nutrition over 10 years.
In August last year, Ms. Clayton led a Congressional delegation to several southern African countries (South Africa, Zambia and Malawi) to gain a better understanding of the depth of hunger in that part of the world.
For more information contact Michael Hage, Media Relations Officer for North America, Tel (202) 653-0011 Cell (202) 468-8800
Feeding Minds Fighting Hunger
On the occasion of World Food Day 2000, LOWA is proud to announce the launching of an educational initiative on world hunger for school children of all ages. The Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger Project provides classroom materials for teachers to introduce the topics of world hunger, food security and nutrition to their students. The project aims to help children and youth discuss and understand the problem of hunger in the world, with the hope of preparing and stimulating them to participate in activities to create a world free from hunger.
Three lessons have been developed for each of three school levels - primary, intermediate and secondary - all of which cover the topics of What is hunger and malnutrition and who are the hungry? Why are people hungry and malnourished? and What can we do to help end hunger? Each lesson contains background information for the teacher, and outlines the main objectives, concepts and content areas to be covered. A variety of activities and discussion points are provided, from which teachers can select those most appropriate for their students.
The project is a unique collaborative effort by FAO, The American Federation of Teachers, IFPRI , I*EARN, National Peace Corps Association, Newsweek Education Program, UNESCO, the US National Committee for World Food Day and the World Bank, who have all joined forces to help instill in young people a sense of caring and commitment to join in the fight against hunger.
