FAO.org

As interest in bioenergy production continues to grow, FAO is promoting the use of a new methodology designed to help policymakers weigh the pros and cons of investing in the sector. FAO's "Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) Analytical Framework" was created to help governments evaluate the potential of bioenergy as well as assess its possible food security impacts. The framework was recently finalized following a three year development and field test phase...

Resource management and community development in Cambodian coastal fishing communities will be strengthened following the signing of 15 Community Fishing Area Management Plans in a ceremony held in Preah Sihanouk province today. The plans cover Community Fisheries (CFi) in Cambodia’s coastal provinces of Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kong Kong and Kep and were signed by Community Fisheries chiefs and government representatives. They detail activities and goals that the communities will work towards to...

“Domestic prices of rice and wheat in Asia, remain at high levels in many countries of the region, having declined only slightly in April." Speaking at news briefing here today, Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific and Assistant Director-General (FAO) warned: “Countries urgently need to take precautionary measures to prevent a possible re-emergence of the 2008-9 food price crisis and invest more in sustainable food production...

FAO's April 2011 issue of the Rice Market Monitor is lowering by 2 million tonnes the estimated world paddy production in 2010 mainly on account of a worsened outlook in India. At the new forecasted level of 699 million tonnes (466 million tonnes, in milled rice basis), global rice output would be 2.4 percent larger than in 2009 and a new record, a positive outcome given the many setbacks endured...

Agricultural ministers meeting in Tonga Volatile food prices and market uncertainties are urgent topics high on the minds of agriculture ministers and senior officials from sixteen invited Pacific countries when they will be meeting in Tonga next week. While there is no indication of an impending world food crisis, FAO is warning that food price hikes are a major threat to food security for the poor. Central to the Tonga meeting is how...

A large-scale distribution by FAO of wheat seeds to the victims of last year’s floods in Pakistan is now ripe to yield enough food for half a million poor rural households. With an average family size of eight, this translates into a harvest large enough to feed four million people for the next six months. FAO spent $54 million of international donor funding buying and distributing quality wheat seeds as part of...

Capacity of national veterinary services to manage animal disease must also be strengthened Around a million dollars of equipment and vaccines are urgently required to help stem outbreaks of deadly Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) in North Korea, followed by a more prolonged and concerted effort to modernize veterinary services in the country. A joint FAO and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) mission travelled to North Korea at the government's request between...

Thousands of families in central and southern Laos require both immediate and medium term assistance, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said today. These food-insecure people were affected by the late 2009 typhoon Ketsana, the 2010 drought lasting throughout June and subsequent localized flash floods in Lao PDR.According to a joint Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) by the two UN agencies, the...

In response to the current rise in food prices, FAO will, in partnership with stakeholders, run a series of seminars in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Near East to help governments to make informed decisions on how to respond to high food prices, the Organization announced today. Global food prices increased for the eighth consecutive month in February, with prices of all commodity groups...

Rising food prices in Asia Global food prices increased for the eighth consecutive month in February, with prices of all commodity groups rising again, except for sugar. FAO expects a tightening of the global cereal supply and demand balance in 2010/11. In the face of a growing demand and a decline in world cereal production in 2010, global cereal stocks this year are expected to fall sharply. With 2/3 of the world’s...