20 February 2014, Rome - Water scarcity is one of the most urgent food security issues facing countries of the Near East and North Africa (NENA), with fresh water availability in the region expected to...

Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on 8 November, affecting nine Regions across central parts of the country and causing widespread devastation, massive loss of life and severe damage to the agriculture and fisheries sector. Official partial estimates indicate that some 153 495 hectares of rice paddy, maize and other high...

31 October 2013, Dakar - Sound water management holds the key to building resilience in Africa's Sahel and can free rural communities from the vicious cycle of weather-related food security crises that have plagued the region over recent years, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said today at a high...

Population growth and dietary changes seem to be the main cause of the worldwide increased food demand, projected as being 60% higher by 2050. Global agriculture faces the challenges for a “sustainable intensification” in production to address food security and increasingly scarce natural resources, further aggravated by climate change.  While the importance...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) participated in the High Level International Conference on Water Cooperation, which was held from 21-22 August 2013 in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. During the Conference, Mr Tony Alonzi, Acting Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, welcomed water experts...

8 March 2013, Geneva/Rome – Droughts cause the deaths and displacement of more people than cyclones, floods and earthquakes combined, making them the world’s most destructive natural hazard. Yet while droughts are expected to increase in frequency, area and intensity due to climate change, effective drought management policies are missing...

27 August 2012, Stockholm/Rome - Drought in some parts of the world has hurt global grain production and contributed to food price spikes virtually every other year since 2007, highlighting the need to transform the way water is used - and wasted - throughout the entire food chain. This is one...

Regional water experts will gather in Nairobi 29-31 May. Some 2.5 billion people worldwide depend solely on groundwater resources to satisfy their daily needs for water and hundreds of millions of farmers rely on groundwater to sustain their livelihoods. Yet most if not all aquifers are not being sustainably managed to conserve...

Lack of water limits the ability of farmers to produce enough food to eat or earn a living. 22 March 2012, Rome - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that producing enough food to feed the world's rapidly growing population will require the international community to ensure the sustainable use of...

FAO is helping to rehabilitate Afghanistan’s traditional irrigation systems. 14 February 2012, Rome - The UN Food and Agriculture Organization is boosting its technical support for rehabilitation of Afghanistan's dilapidated traditional irrigation systems, in a bid to help farmers increase crop production. The initiative also aims to improve the knowledge and...