FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

News and Press Releases

Indian institutions award FAO Director-General for efforts to promote food security
India well positioned to take global role in post-2015 push to eradicate hunger, improve nutrition worldwide
08.09.2014 New Delhi, India
Indian institutions award FAO Director-General for efforts to promote food security
Today FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva was named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and made a Fellow of India's National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) during his first official mission to the country. “This is truly a great honor,” said Graziano da Silva. “The NAAS and IARI have a rich history of contributing to agricultural development, responding to the challenges of yesterday and today, and...
Director-General reinforces FAO commitments with the islands
Food security, small-scale fisheries and nutrition were the main topics of talks FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva has reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to address food and nutritional insecurity and sustainable livelihood programs in the Small Islands Developing States, in a series of high-level bilateral meetings with the islands’ leaders in the margins of the SIDS Conference, held in Apia, Samoa.   The Director-General has also stressed high level of food imports...
Interest high at FAO side-events at SIDS 2014
FAO in partnership with multi-stakeholders hosted two side-events at the SIDS Conference 2014, which was recently held in Apia, Samoa. The side events respectively focussed on fostering ocean economies and food security in small island developing states. The Blue Growth/ Blue Economy initiative aims to promote the sustainable use and conservation of aquatic renewable resources, in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible way. Oceans provide a substantial portion of the global...
Sustainable development of Small Island Developing States a global litmus test "We want more than just survival. We strive for sustainable development." – FAO Director General at SIDS Summit in Samoa
Coping with climate change should be seen as more than just a question of survival for small island countries – the international community should view it as a challenge to take unified action and notch up efforts to shift to a sustainable model of development, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today. "Climate change is happening before our eyes. Rising sea levels, higher air and sea surface temperatures, and changing...
Thailand establishes National Save Food Network
The terms of reference for a new multi-stakeholder network, which aims to reduce food loss and waste in Thailand, has received the endorsement of public sector, private sector, CSOs, research institutes and other stakeholders, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today. “This is the first formal meeting of the Save Food Network Thailand (SFNET) with FAO and Thailand’s Office of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives as...
Indigenous peoples “key partners’ in fight against poverty, hunger and malnutrition,” FAO said.
A two-day regional multi-stakeholder consultation to support Indigenous Peoples for their livelihood and food security ended today with fruitful results. The meeting was jointly organized by AIPP and FAO in collaboration with other partners, and was attended by senior representatives of the Governments from 12 countries in the region, representatives from CSOs and international organizations such as EU, RECOFTC, CIFOR, ICRAF, etc. The meeting facilitated a better understanding of the sifting cultivation...
Shifting cultivation can be sustainable if managed properly and environmentally sound
Asia’s indigenous peoples’ consultation meeting opened in Chiang Mai today to discuss shifting cultivation practices
28.08.2014 Chiang Mai, Thailand
In order to support indigenous communities that are depending on shifting cultivation, it is first and foremost necessary to recognize that it is more than just farming practices or farming systems, it is a form of historically sustained livelihood systems and landscape management that is closely connected to the traditional culture and way of life of the communities, a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sponsored forum heard today. This...
ASEAN nations have moved a step closer in their efforts to formulate a framework of a new vision and priorities for the years 2016-2025 in food production , agriculture and forestry sectors, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today. The acknowledgment was made by FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative, Hiroyuki Konuma, during the Special Senior Officials Meeting of the Thirty Fifth Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on...
Asia-Pacific countries reach consensus for greater support for millions of small-holder family farms
Zero Hunger Challenge gains momentum in countries of Asia and the Pacific
10.08.2014 Chennai, India
Asia-Pacific countries reach consensus for greater support for millions of small-holder family farms
A high level meeting on family farming and small holder farmers in Asia and the Pacific has concluded with a consensus for greater support for millions of family and small-holder farmers across the region, who constitute more than 80 percent of total farmers, and renewed efforts to eradicate hunger and under-nutrition, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced.   Family and small holder farms are the backbone of agricultural outputs in Asia and the Pacific, producing the vast majority of...
Ministerial Conference for the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) for Asia and the Pacific launched today in Chennai, India
Family farms and small holder farmers, the backbone of agriculture production in Asia and the Pacific, need help urgently in order to meet the demand for increased food production in the region of the world where the most hungry and under nourished people live, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)announced today Nearly two-thirds of the world’s 842 million undernourished people live in Asia and the Pacific. While the region has made gains in reducing hunger, an increasing...