The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) 11th Bioenergy Week officially kicked off today at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters, bringing together over 120 stakeholders from 27 nations, including country representatives, experts, industry leaders and researchers

The new publication takes a fresh look at the complex interactions between different land uses, their dynamics and potential contributions to climate action. This more holistic view of land use also considers how agriculture interacts with other land uses in the context of the Sharm el-Sheikh decision and other relevant processes under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In the town of Corralillo, in the province of Villa Clara in central Cuba, Mariano Quintero Almeida works eight hours a day in the hot sun on the farm he calls El despertar (or “the awakening”). He’s not complaining. In fact, he is pleased.

As the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food and water security become increasingly visible, initiatives, coalitions, networks, and partnerships to address these challenges are growing rapidly.

Our agrifood systems are the backbone of global food production and are essential for achieving a more sustainable future. These systems have the potential to provide solutions for critical challenges like food insecurity, poverty, and climate change. However, they face a significant barrier: a lack of adequate funding, particularly when it comes to climate action.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Université Laval (UL) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The five-year MoU outlines actions to ensure food security by combatting climate change and promoting the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for resilient agrifood systems.

As the world prepares to celebrate the first-ever International Day of Potato next month, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is shining a spotlight on the enormous importance of this crop that feeds billions of us and on the further potential to be tapped. 

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.