Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

The need for concerted action to prevent the COVID-19 international health emergency from triggering a catastrophic world food crisis received a welcome new tool today as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations formally launched the Food Coalition.

A "network of networks", the Food Coalition is a voluntary multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral alliance set up to support innovative initiatives to ensure global food access, increase the resilience of agri-food systems and put them on a more sustainable course.

First suggested by the Government of Italy and with more than 30 countries having already expressed interest in joining, it will support existing and future efforts to overcome the pandemic's disruptive impacts and help countries get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, particularly those of ending hunger and poverty.

FAO and partners have co-organized a series of Innovation Zoominars addressing the role of innovation and digital technologies in increasing resilience of smallholders to emerging disruptive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural livelihoods.

This Zoominar session will be part of ITU-UNESCO Regional Digital Inclusion Week for the Arab States, focusing on challenges facing the innovation processes in the agriculture sector with regards to governance and public policy aspects. The session will involve all partners and government representatives from the NENA Region and will emphasize on accelerating the development of innovation and digital agriculture in agri-food systems in the countries.

The discussion will examine the role that FAO and partners could play in facilitating the implementation and scalability of such innovations in the NENA region and guiding governments towards a robust policy plan of action to avoid the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agriculture sector and food security.

Join the Zoominar on Thursday, 12 November 2020 at 13:00 – 15:00 (UTC+2).

You can access the full agenda and further details of the Zoominar here.

Please find the registration link here.

The border restrictions and lockdown measures, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, have affected seasonal and circular migration, as well as food security. Seasonal migration is the process when people migrate for employment, based on seasonality, and for only part of the year, following the agricultural seasonal calendar. Circular migration happens when an individual moves repeatedly between countries or areas, be it temporary or long-term.



As the pandemic’s consequences slowed down the harvest in some parts of the world, many seasonal workers remained without livelihoods, and there were constraints on transporting food to markets.



To this end, FAO is organizing a webinar dedicated to the issues of seasonal and circular migration. The virtual event, part of a series of regional COVID-19 webinars, will focus on practical solutions that aim to mitigate COVID-19 impacts and associated challenges, and provide a platform for sharing information on seasonal and circular migration.

Join the discussion on Wednesday, 30 September 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. CEST

Please register to follow the virtual event through the Zoom conferencing platform, simultaneous interpretation in Russian is provided.

The webcast will be streamed live on YouTube in English.



For more information click here.

FAO/GIEWS has released the latest issue of the Crop Prospects and Food Situation quarterly report, which highlights that food assistance needs grow as the COVID-19 pandemic hits incomes. Globally, 45 countries, including 34 in Africa, are in need of external assistance for food. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through the loss of income and jobs related to containment measures, have severely aggravated global food security conditions, as well as increasing the number of people in need of assistance. Conflicts and weather shocks remained critical factors affecting the current high levels of severe food insecurity.

HIGHLIGHTS

Africa

Larger harvests are estimated in Southern Africa and East Africa, despite floods and outbreaks of desert locusts; although pest damages have been largely contained, serious concerns remain in some countries. Adverse weather reduced wheat outputs in North African countries, while cereal production in West Africa is foreseen at a slightly above-average level. Protracted conflicts continue to limit growth in agricultural production in Central Africa.

Asia

Widespread floods caused damage in several countries in Far East Asia, but rains across the subregion were also beneficial for paddy production and the output in 2020 is forecast at a record high. In the Near East, reflecting improved security conditions and favourable weather, production upturns were estimated in the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq in 2020. Rainfall shortages generally kept wheat outputs in CIS countries at below-average levels, but barley production increased driven by larger plantings.

Latin America and the Caribbean

In South America, cereal production is forecast to reach a new record high in 2020 underpinned by large maize plantings in Brazil and Argentina, as weak currencies boosted export demand and incentivized farmers. In Central America and the Caribbean, overall favourable weather conditions supported good yields, and cereal production in 2020 is expected at a slightly above-average level.

Please download the full report here: http://www.fao.org/3/cb1101en/CB1101EN.pdf