News archive 2012

José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD and Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of WFP have issued a joint statement welcoming the the creation of the New Alliance to Increase Food Security and Nutrition.

Libya and FAO have commited themselves to work together to develop the country’s agricultural sector and improve food security, signing a cooperation agreement at FAO headquarters.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to allocate $66.7 million to implement FAO's technical assistance projects in the country, according to an agreement signed today at FAO Headquarters during the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East.

Addressing the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East today, the Director-General José Graziano da Silva proposed the creation of a Near Eastern Trust Fund to advance food security in the region.

FAO is helping scientists and policymakers in Tanzania to evaluate how much carbon is stored in forests and forests soils, which will enable them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A new FAO soil survey project was presented today at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Bonn, Germany.

Measures to improve regional food security by cutting food losses and waste and by mitigating and adapting to climate change will be considered by FAO’s Regional Conference for the Near East. Land and water constraints severely limit the potential for increased food production to feed a Near Eastern population set to grow from 380 million to 520 million in 2030.

In a landmark decision the Committee on World Food Security today endorsed a set of far-reaching global guidelines aimed at helping governments safeguard the rights of people to own or access land, forests and fisheries. The new Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security outline principles and practices that governments can refer to when making laws and administering land, fisheries and forests rights.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today warned of a major funding gap for activities planned by FAO in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.

Global food prices measured by the FAO Food Price Index fell three points or 1.4 percent from March to April 2012 but seem to have stabilized at a relatively high level of 214 points. The fall was the first after three consecutive months of increases.

The detection in the Gaza Strip of a new case of a novel strain of foot-and-mouth disease underscores the importance of maintaining - and intensifying - international efforts to stop the virus from spreading further in the Middle East and North Africa.With vaccines against the SAT2 virus still in short supply, the priority at the moment is to limit animal movements to prevent its further spread. Heightened surveillance of animal populations to quickly detect and respond to new outbreaks is also critical.