21 May 2024, Rome-Nairobi – 21st May is International Tea Day and there’s a lot to celebrate. Tea in all its types and forms is, aside from water, the world’s most popular beverage. Globally tea is an important cash crop, playing a significant role in rural development, poverty reduction and food security in developing countries.

Biodiversity and agriculture are inseparable. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, or ‘The Biodiversity Plan’, adopted by countries in 2022, fully recognizes this close interdependence. The Biodiversity Plan sets out a pathway to a world living in harmony with nature by 2050, with more than half of its 23 targets relating to agrifood systems. FAO is playing an active role in supporting countries to implement these ambitious targets and its four Goals. In reality, FAO’s projects and initiatives relate to most of the Biodiversity Plan targets, with five topping the list.

The Global Transparency Forum brings together more than 170 government officials, experts and representatives from international organizations with the common goal of driving ambitious climate action through stronger collaboration on transparency.

Earth Map, a pioneering initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that leverages freely available archives of geospatial data for climate and environment monitoring and mapping has been honoured with a Google Geo for Good Impact Award.

At a critical time when climate-related development contributions to agrifood systems continue to spiral on a downward trajectory, the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership gathered in FAO headquarters (and online) from 22-24 April 2024 to discuss the structure and work plan of the Partnership. The three-day meeting was attended by over 80 participants including representatives from 20 Members and six Observers of the FAST Partnership.  

In honor of International Day of Forests, celebrated annually on March 21, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Forestry Service under the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, conducted a tree planting event. Over 200 seedlings of fast-growing trees such as catalpa, maple and sycamore were planted in the foothills on the southern outskirts of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. In the future, this area will become a park zone.

There is an urgent need to transform agrifood systems and leverage their climate solutions, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has said in light of the findings of the latest UN State of the Global Climate Report.

Agrifood systems are a major employer of women globally and constitute a more important source of livelihood for women than for men in many countries, according to FAO’s The Status of Women in Agrifood System Report. The good news is that women’s roles and contribution in the agrifood sector are increasingly reflected in climate plans too – around two-thirds of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs) prioritize gender equality and social inclusion for effective agrifood systems adaptation.

The transition to a just, low-carbon future is possible, but not without women. Today, 1 in every 10 women lives in poverty, without equal access to land, markets and natural resources, which are critical for food security and well-being. FAO and the Green Climate Fund mobilize finance and expertise so countries can mainstream gender equality into the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors...

FAO has unveiled the world's first Global Bioeconomy Dashboard, a comprehensive platform that supports the framing of bioeconomy strategies. The Dashboard displays the latest information on national and regional bioeconomy strategies and shows how they align with environmental objectives. This streamlines the process of understanding global trends in bioeconomy developments and so assists informed decision-making at national and international levels.

Climate change is disproportionately affecting the incomes of rural women, people living in poverty, and older populations, as their capacity to react and adapt to extreme weather events is unequal, a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) finds.

Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti and Senegal are particularly vulnerable given their coastal exposure and reliance on natural resources. Recurring drought, irregular rainfall patterns and rising temperatures threaten agriculture, food security and livelihoods. Agriculture and food systems face serious risk if urgent measures to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss are not taken.

The challenges of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the perils of the climate crisis and the complexities of leveraging finance were among the topics discussed at a gathering today of ministers from many of the Asia-Pacific Region’s countries most vulnerable to global economic and climate shocks. 

For generations, Ariel Benitez's ancestors, the Ava Guaraní people, one of the Indigenous Peoples living in eastern Paraguay, have been harvesting the green leaves of the yerba mate tree to make the bitter, caffeinated brew beloved in South America and beyond.

Climate crisis and conflicts are becoming increasingly intertwined, feeding into one another to perpetuate hunger and poverty. Urgent action and innovative solutions are required to address global food insecurity, said Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Beth Bechdol on Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council High-Level Open Debate.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has greenlighted 48 FAO-led projects worth about $2.9 billion –$294 million in project financing and $2.6 billion in co-financing– that will play a pivotal role in fostering a sustainable agrifood systems transformation to end hunger and conserve the environment.

They are the dried edible seeds of legumes both cultivated for food and feed. They are pulses, and if you didn’t know already, they have the potential to transform our agrifood systems.

Colourful and flavourful, small yet powerful, pulses include the well-known beans, lentils, chickpeas and peas but there are also the lesser-known kinds like tarwi beans and adzuki beans.  

In a bid to emphasize the transformative potential of agrifood systems in responding to climate change and ensuring good food for today and for tomorrow, the FAO Liaison Offices in New York, Brussels, Geneva and Washington D.C. joined forces with the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment to brief and engage Members, stakeholders and partners on COP28 outcomes and the way forward.

The rate of climate change surged during 2011-2020, undermining food security, national development and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a report launched recently. In The Global Climate 2011-2020: A Decade of Accelerating Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reveals there was record warming of land and oceans, unprecedented glacier loss and an accelerated rise in sea levels over the past decade. The WMO report calls for urgent and “synergistic” action to limit global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels and achieve the SDGs in tandem. 

A FAO Expert Panel at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture explored tailored solutions offered by the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership