This guide draws on the lessons learned in the framework of the project “Increasing incomes and food security of small farmers in West and Central Africa through exports of organic and fair-trade tropical products, implemented by FAO in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone from September 2005 to September 2009, with funds provided by the German Government. For more information on this project, consult its website at ....

The drastic increase of food prices in the period 2006-2008 spurred fears of global food insecurity. Apart from actual changes in supply and demand of some commodities, the upward swing might also have been amplified by speculation in organized futures markets. However, limiting or banning speculative trading might do more harm than good.

An FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission visited Yemen from 3 to 17 October 2009 to estimate the 2009 main season cereal production and assess the overall food security situation for the 2010 marketing year (January/December). The Mission included two experts from the FAO Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division of the Technical Cooperation Department (TCES) that drafted emergency agricultural rehabilitation projects as inputs in the 2010 Yemen Humanitarian Response...

Recent developments in world agricultural markets for basic food commodities have raised concern about a possible return to another round of high prices. In general, however, the difficulties facing markets today are different from those experienced during the 2007/08 food price surge. The FAO Food Price Index, a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar, has risen...

An FAO Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), was conducted in Tajikistan from 7-24 July 2009, following a request from the Government to assess the food situation in the country. The Mission was to estimate the 2009 main season (winter and spring) cereal production and forecast the secondary (summer) season cereal crops; assess the overall food supply situation; and estimate cereal...

The FAO/GIEWS Country Cereal Balance System (CCBS) is a database of annual supply and utilization balances for main cereals, covering all countries of the world. It has been maintained by FAO/GIEWS since 1980 and is updated on a continual basis. This statistical report, which is a subset of CCBS data, presents the current-year cereal supply and demand balances for all sub-Saharan African countries, highlighting cereal import and food aid requirements...

FAO’s latest forecast confirms a good 2009 world cereal production, slightly below last year’s record level, which coupled with large carryover stocks from the previous season have resulted in ample market supplies. In the group of 77 Low-Income Food-Deficit countries the 2009 aggregate cereal production is forecast marginally below last year’s record level. A sharp reduction in India’s rice crop is anticipated but generally good crops are estimated elsewhere. International...

C’est dans ce contexte qu’une évaluation conjointe de la situation alimentaire du pays a été organisée par le PAM et la FAO. L’évaluation qui a mis l’accent sur la situation alimentaire et les perspectives au sud de l’Ile s’est déroulée en deux phases importantes. Premièrement, une équipe conjointe FAO/PAM a visité le pays du 22 mai au 7 juin 2009. Cette mission a eu des réunions dans la capitale Antanarivo,...