Genetic diversity is key to creating more resilient agrifood systems that withstand challenges such as shifting climate patterns. Since 80 percent of the food we consume is plant-based, preserving a wide range of genetic materials allows farmers to grow crops and varieties suited to their loca...

Forests cover almost one-third of the Earth’s land area, providing crucial benefits for both people and the environment. They protect soil and water, regulate the climate, and safeguard biodiversity.

Trees and other woody plants – shrubs, bamboo, and rattans – supply people with essentia...

As the European Commission calls on countries to improve how they plan and allocate space and water for aquaculture, FAO’s programme on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) is already offering time-tested, community-driven examples. These agricultural systems, shaped over gene...

Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) refers to any genetic material of plant origin of actual or potential value for food and agriculture.

PGRFA encompass not only cultivated plants, such as improved varieties and farmers’ varieties and landraces, but also crop wild r...

From 24 to 28 March 2025, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture will hold its Twentieth Regular Session. The Commission is the only permanent intergovernmental body that specifically addresses all components of biological diversity for food and agr...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Municipality of Rome, kicked off celebrations for the International Day of Forests (IDF) 2025 by...

At 5 100 meters above sea level, the air around Bolivia's Huayna Potosí glacier is thin, and brittle with altitude. The wind moves over the ice in long, deliberate strokes, shaping a landscape caught between endurance and erosion. It is cold but not always freezing along the mountainside.

<...

Water is the lifeblood of our planet. It sustains ecosystems, supports food production, and is vital for both human and natural systems. For World Water Day 2025, we are shining a spotlight on one of the most critical yet often overlooked ecosystems: glaciers.

Glaciers and ice sheets sto...

FAO has developed a publicly accessible near real-time database using satellite data that allows the monitoring of agricultural water productivity at different scales.

This database is the backbone of the WaPOR project that, now in its second phase, works with 13 partner countries to bui...

Forests are one of the planet's greatest resources. But climate change and human impact pose growing threats.
Every year around the world, 10 million hectares of forest are lost to deforestation, and 70 million hectares are burnt by fires. In response, world leaders have committed to halt d...

On the occasion of the International Day of Forests, FAO Brussels’s Youth Team visited Frederik Vaes, Head of the Forest Department at Bruxelles Environnement, and the Guard Foresters, Bart and Sasha, to learn more about the realities of managing the Sonian Forest, which stretches through thre...

21 March marks the International Day of Forests, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.  

With the theme Forests and foods, this year’s cel...

The spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza, bringing losses of hundreds of millions of poultry worldwide with increased spillover into mammals, highlights the urgent need for strengthened biosecurity, monitoring and surveillance, rapid-response mechanisms, and risk communication to s...

The 19th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-19) opened today at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, bringing together global experts, policymakers, and stak...

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an intergovernmental agreement signed by over 180 countries, aiming to protecting the world’s plant resources from the spread and introduction of pests, and promoting safe trade. The Convention introduced International Standards...

After nearly 14 years of conflict, the Syrian Arab Republic faces a severe humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 16.7 million people in need of assistance and 14.5 million food insecure. Agriculture – the primary income source for a significant portion of the population – has been severely im...

World coffee prices reached a multi-year high in 2024 - increasing 38.8 percent on the previous year’s average – mostly driven by inclement weather affecting key producing countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said today.

According to an

The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met today with H. E. Costas Kadis, Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans of the European Union (EU) at FAO headquarters.

The Director-General welcomed Commissioner Kadis to FAO and congratulated him on his recent appointment. He recalled the fruitful ...