Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the foundation of resilient agrifood systems. It underpins food security, nutrition and rural livelihoods at a time when climate change, biodiversity loss and growing food demand are converging into unprecedented challenges. Against this backdrop, the S...

Representatives from more than 50 FAO Member Countries, international organizations and technical partners gathered at FAO headquarters from 8 to 10 July 2026 for the Thirteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

This month's highlights include: the 2026 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture; an 18-year analysis of the implementation of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-Sharing under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture; and new guidanc...

The Second Session of the Ad Hoc Expert Team on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, convened from 30 June to 2 July 2026, made significant progress in advancing technical work to support the Commission in its efforts to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity for food and agriculture, and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from its use.

Roughly three-quarters of the world’s leading food crops depend, at least in part, on animal pollination. Without pollinators, the foods at the center of a healthy diet, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, would become less abundant, less reliable and more expensive.

Participants at the Workshop on Climate Change and Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, convened at FAO headquarters, 25–26 May 2026, underscored the critical role that genetic resources play in strengthening the resilience of agrifood systems in the face of climate change.

FAO has conducted a new analysis of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), assessing how agrifood systems contribute to global biodiversity targets. A Policy Brief presents highlights from the forthcoming global analysis.

The proposed Global Pollinator Platform could serve as a global mechanism to: coordinate action across countries and initiatives; facilitate data, knowledge, and genetic resource sharing; support capacity development and research; and provide technical guidance, policy support, and resource mobilization.

Rome, 22 May 2026 – On the International Day for Biological Diversity 2026, attention turns to the people whose daily actions sustain biodiversity and, in turn, the world’s agrifood systems, food security, nutrition, climate action and sustainable livelihoods.

Biodivers...

On 20 May, people around the world — from communities and schools to farmers, researchers and policymakers — will come together to celebrate bees and other pollinators on World Bee Day.

The role of Biocultural Community Protocols in the governance of genetic resources for food and agriculture was underscored during the 2026 session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, including in relation to the work of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

FAO and APIMONDIA invite stakeholders worldwide to join three online consultations on the establishment of the Global Pollinator Platform ahead of the Global Pollinator Conference.

A thematic session on “Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), genetic resources and collective rights” was jointly organized by the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit during a meeting of the “FPIC Donor Task Force”,...

The FAO Biodiversity Knowledge Hub centralizes FAO’s key resources and information on biodiversity across agrifood systems. The platform supports countries in strengthening their knowledge and capabilities to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), advance the achiev...

Rome -  350 000 species of pollinators are the invisible workforce underpinning global food security, biodiversity and rural livelihoods. Approximately 90 percent of flowering plants and 75 percent of major food crops depend, at least in part, on pollination by inse...

Developed by the Biodiversity Mainstreaming Unit in the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, with financial support from the Governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland, the course supports countries and stakeholders in their efforts to mainstream biodiversity across agrifoo...

The FAO Biodiversity Knowledge Hub centralizes FAO’s key resources and information on biodiversity across agrifood systems. The platform supports countries in strengthening their knowledge and capabilities to implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (...

Agrifood systems are playing an increasingly central role in countries’ biodiversity strategies and actions, according to preliminary findings presented during a High-Level Roundtable hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at its head...

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) concluded its twelfth session yesterday in Manchester, UK. During the meeting, delegates approved the Summary for Policymakers of the Business and Biodiversity Assessment Report and reached agr...

Africa is losing the plant diversity that underpins food security and nutrition, climate resilience and livelihoods across the continent. This is according to the Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which was launche...