New York – In the face of intensifying El Niño and La Niña weather events, effective anticipatory action is crucial to shield and better equip communities ahead of shocks as it helps to save lives and protect livelihoods by preventing damage and losses to crops, livestock, productive lands, water and infrastructure, said Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

LOGin is a feature interview series regularly organized by the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva (LOG). Through LOGin, we meet with FAO’s leadership and discuss how FAO is supporting its members in transforming agrifood systems. In this edition, we met with Corinna Hawkes, Director of the FAO Division of Agrifood Systems and Food Safety, to discuss  FAO’s work on urban agrifood systems.

Geneva – In the context of the biweekly Geneva Press Briefings organized by the United Nations Information System (UNIS) in Geneva, the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva (LOG) regularly collaborates with UNIS to ensure agrifood system issues are on the agenda and FAO’s activities and messages are delivered to the UN-accredited journalists. In March and April 2024, five press engagement activities were rolled out to communicate about the latest updates on FAO’s works, including the new Global Report on Food Crises 2024, food crises in the Gaza Strip and Sudan and the FAO Food Price Index.

Rome - According to the latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), nearly 282 million people in 59 countries and territories experienced high levels of acute hunger in 2023 - a worldwide increase of 24 million from the previous year. This rise was due to the report’s increased coverage of food crisis contexts as well as a sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and the Sudan.

Geneva and Rome -  The FAO Liaison Office in Geneva, UN Environment Programme, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN in Geneva and Caritas in Veritate Foundation co-organized a hybrid dialogue on 23 April at the Palais des Nations on the key messages of the Laudate Deum, an apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis, and the outcomes of COP28 related to agrifood systems. Centered around the Laudate Deum, published in 2023 as a follow-up to the 2015 encyclical Laudato si’ on “care for our common home”, the event addressed the role that religious communities can play in driving action to address climate change.

Rabat - Hunger levels in Africa have increased in the past two years, due to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts, the climate crisis and economic shocks, but the continent’s possibilities are vast and optimism about the opportunities that lie ahead is in order, QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said today at the 33rd Session of the FAO Regional Ministerial Conference for Africa (ARC33).

Rome – Cereal production in the Sudan has been severely affected by the conflict, which erupted in April 2023, likely pushing more people into hunger - the situation requires urgent and at-scale agricultural support ahead of the planting season starting in June, Director of the FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, warned.

Brussels, Geneva, New York and Rome – The sixth edition of the FAO SIDS Solutions Dialogue focused on agricultural trade trends, challenges, and opportunities specific to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The hybrid event held online and in Geneva in-person, explored the role of trade in transforming agrifood systems and its contribution to achieving food security and sustainable development.

Rome – Rising international quotations for vegetable oils, dairy products and meat pushed the benchmark index for world food commodity prices up by 1.1 percent in March, its first increase in seven months, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday.

Jerusalem /Cairo - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is delivering 150 tonnes, out of a total of 1500 tonnes, of animal fodder to 2 450 livestock-keeping households in the Gaza Strip to safeguard surviving animals and support local production of fresh nutritious food like milk, dairy, eggs and meat amidst an imminent risk of famine.

Geneva - The 55th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), held from 26 February to 4 April 2024, witnessed a concerted effort to address pressing global challenges through the lens of human rights. FAO actively engaged in various interactive dialogues, panel discussions, and debates, highlighting the crucial intersections between human rights, environmental sustainability, and food security.

Rome - The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, today called for investments to tap into the potential of millets, a highly nutritious and resilient alternative to staple grains that can play a crucial role in ensuring global food security. 

Port-au-Prince/Santiago de Chile - Haiti is in the grip of a worsening humanitarian crisis, with nearly half of the population likely facing acute food insecurity, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Classification (IPC) analysis. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warns of dire consequences unless urgent action is taken to address the root causes of this crisis.

LOGin is a feature interview series regularly organized by the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva (LOG). Through LOGin, we meet with FAO’s core leadership and discuss how FAO is supporting its members in transforming agrifood systems. In this edition, we met with Maurizio Martina, FAO Deputy Director-General, to discuss the upcoming FAO Regional Conferences.

The FAO Corporate Initiative Spotlight is a feature article series of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva that delves into the heart of FAO's corporate initiatives. This series explores FAO's sustainability, innovation, and global food security commitment. For this edition, we met with JongJin Kim, FAO Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, to talk about the Digital Village Initiative, focusing on the Asia and the Pacific.

Geneva – FAO participated in the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) that took place in Geneva from 13 to 15 December 2023. FAO actively contributed to the deliberations and jointly organized a parallel high-level event involving a wide range of stakeholders to highlight how agrifood systems and agriculture are central to building self-reliance of refugees in communities, moving away from aid dependency.

Geneva press engagements on Food Security in November and December 2023 The FAO Liaison Office in Geneva regularly collaborates with the United Nations Information System (UNIS) to ensure FAO’s activities and messages are delivered to the media community in Geneva. From November to December 2023, six press engagement activities were rolled out to communicate about the latest updates of the FAO’s works, including the World Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness Week, humanitarian responses and global food commodity prices.

Rome/Dubai- 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.

Bangkok – The convergence of higher food, feed and fuel prices, and a slow recovery from the global pandemic, has done serious harm to the health and livelihoods of millions of already vulnerable people in the Asia-Pacific region, a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has revealed.

Rome - In 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking a total of $1.8 billion within the Humanitarian Response Plans to assist 43 million people to produce their own food, as acute hunger continues to escalate worldwide.