News and Press Releases
Mass distribution of buffaloes begins in Nargis ravaged areas
30.10.2008 Myanmar
Yangon - Funded through a generous donation from PriceWaterhouseCoopers Charitable Foundation, 353 farm families received buffalos to restock animals lost when cyclone Nargis struck the delta last June. This donation will help hard hit families recover their livelihoods and resume household food production, an FAO statement said today.Each of the 353 families received a pair of buffalos. The project beneficiaries will use the draught animals to prepare their lands for...
Five mobile veterinary units to fight bird flu in Thailand
29.10.2008 Thailand
Five pick-up cars, equipped for bird flu investigations, were handed over today by FAO to the department of livestock development (DLD). The mobile veterinary units were provided through a generous contribution from the government of Japan. The cost of the five mobile veterinary units amounts to Baht 6.6 million.Dr Sackchai Sriboonsue, DLD director-general, symbolically accepted the car keys during a small ceremony at the National Institute for Animal Health in...
FAO honours model farmer from China
16.10.2008
Today, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presented FAO awards to four Asian farmers from Afghanistan, China, Viet Nam and Thailand.Rong Wenxi from China was honoured as a model farmer for rural biogas development.Despite the rapidly increasing energy consumption of China, if one travels to the countryside one will find rural areas where power is still in short supply. But if one travels to the right areas, one will...
FAO honours model farmer from Thailand
16.10.2008
Today, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presented FAO awards to four Asian farmers from Afghanistan, China, Viet Nam and Thailand.Somjit Praisimuang from Thailand was honoured as model farmer for organic horticulture.Somjit Praisimuang is a woman who was ahead of her time. Growing rice and a few vegetables on her five-hectare farm in the central Thai province of Nakhon Pathom, Somjit had always resisted using chemical fertilizers and pesticides....
FAO honours model farmer from Viet Nam
16.10.2008 Viet Nam
Today, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presented FAO awards to four Asian farmers from Afghanistan, China, Viet Nam and Thailand.Mrs Nguyen Thi Thu from Viet Nam was honoured as model farmer in the field of integrated agriculture.People often look to government for answers. But sometimes, government finds answers among the people. An excellent example of precisely that can be found in Viet Nam where Mrs Nguyen Thi Thu...
Today, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presented FAO awards to four Asian farmers from Afghanistan, China, Viet Nam and Thailand.Haji Aminullah from Afghanistan was honoured as a model cooperative farmer.From the time he was about eight years old, Haji Aminullah and his farming family in Afghanistan experienced hardship. First, the communists invaded. Then came the Taliban. Both would descend upon his village of Nahrin in northeastern Baghlan province....
The Asian Conference on Food and Nutrition Safety (ACFNS), held once every four years since 1991, is recognized as a regional scientific forum to review, discuss and address the science that ensures safety of food and water supply. The 5th in the series, under the them "Science-based Solutions - Sustainable Actions", will be held from 5 to 7 November 2008 in Cebu, Philippines. The Conference will focus on the latest...
Nadi, Fiji – The deepening global financial turmoil and soaring energy and commodity prices have serious adverse effects on poorer households, women and children. Rapid action is needed to avert increased child malnutrition and increase the availability of affordable food on local markets, said the Chairperson of FAO’s South West Pacific Ministers for Agriculture today.Speaking at the opening session of a worskshop in Nadi, minister Pokotoa Sipeli from Niue expressed...
Soaring food prices in the Pacific - FAO providing US$2.5 million emergency assistance
09.09.2008 Samoa
Apia - Pacific island countries will benefit from US$2.5 million emergency assistance from FAO for increased agricultural and livestock production, targeting small farmers and poor consumers in 14 Pacific islands.Under this short-term assistance – part of the Initiative on Soaring Food Prices (ISFP) launched by FAO late last year - vulnerable households are empowered with necessary basic resources to improve farm production and increase the supply of food on local...
Sri Lanka – FAO support to enhance rice production in conflict and flood affected districts
04.09.2008 Sri Lanka
Colombo - In response to the Sri Lankan government’s request for assistance in the context of soaring food prices, FAO has approved the project "Input supply to vulnerable populations under Initiative on Soaring Food Prices" and allocated US$ 500 000 to finance it.The project will provide immediate support to enhance rice production in conflict and flood affected districts through the provision of agricultural inputs and small implements.Six hundred metric tons...