Walk through farmlands in the rugged, hilly terrain of parts of Mexico and you’ll see maize plants grown widely spaced apart with pole beans climbing up them and the large leaves of squash covering the soil alongside edible herbs. 

Rome, 22 May 2024. On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, the Chair of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Mr Benoît Girard (Canada) stressed the important role of biodiversity and genetic resources for food security and nutrition. ...

The Government of Slovenia and FAO organize this International forum for action on sustainable beekeeping and pollination. 

Nairobi, Kenya. On 7 May 2024, regional consultations on the review of the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture c...

Aquaculture is the world's fastest growing food sector and over half of aquatic food is farmed. However, producing and accessing adequate quantities of good quality seed remains a challenge constraining the growth of sustainable aquaculture in many developing countries.

The Commission, at its 19th Regular Session, reviewed and simplified a voluntary questionnaire on genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA) and climate change. It requested the Secretariat to finalize and s...

Follow-up to the 19th Regular Session:

29 April 2024 | 11:00 to 13:00 CEST

Background
Farmers’ varieties/landraces are those crop varieties which are the product of breeding and/or selection carried out by farmers over many generations and tend to be characterized by high levels of phenotypic and genotypi...

The regional workshop ‘Taking action on biodiversity for food and agriculture in Asia and the Pacific’ held for National Focal Points in Asia and the Pacific from 27 to 29 February 2024, was the last in the series of regional workshops on biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA). 
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On the occasion of the Commission’s last session, FAO launched the draft Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. 

In response to the findings of the report, the Commission and its Working Group will review and update the

Ensuring the availability of seeds and seedlings from a range of tree species is crucial if we are to meet global targets on the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes, according to a new forestry working paper from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the...

Beyond their use for food production, livestock are linked to a variety of positive and negative externalities resulting from the complex interactions within their production environments. Based on information reported by 41 countries on 3 361 national breed populations to the Domestic Anima...

Transforming our agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable is key to addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Such a transformation requires greater cooperation between the public and private sectors, emp...

The Briefing was organized by the Secretariats of the Commission Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Commission) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Internation...

On 30 January, biodiversity experts from more than 20 African countries will meet in Harare to discuss the state of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the region and consider action to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. National Focal Points will share experien...

Agrifood systems solutions are climate solutions and increased collaboration and finance are needed if the world is to achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 174th Session of the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) opened Monday with FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasizing that the Organization is well placed to drive much-needed progress on the main challenges facing the world today.

With its Secretariat based at FAO, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture ensures that the genetic resources of the crops most important to human diets are safeguarded and shared equitably around the world.

At global celebrations marking World Soil Day 2023, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) underlined the vital link between soil and water in producing our food and the need for integrated management and conservation of these key resources to enable climate change miti...

13 - 15 December 2023 (9:30 - 17.00 CET)

GIAHS sites are home to unique biodiversity and agrobiodiversity, which have been nurtured by farmers for generations by transmitting their traditional knowledge and agricultural methods. This workshop thus seeks to foster information exchange, ac...