News archive 2015

Healthy soils are crucial for ensuring the continued growth of natural and managed vegetation, providing feed, fibre, fuel, medicinal products and other ecosystem services such as climate regulation and oxygen production. Soils and vegetation have a reciprocal relationship.

The R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen, a research vessel oeprated by Norway's Institute of Marine Research with advice from FAO, is in the middle of the southern Indian Ocean, assessing the incidence of microplastics and the Gyre.

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 164.6 points in July, down 1.0 per cent from June, and 19.4 percent from a year earlier. The trade-weighted index tracks prices on international markets of five major food commodity groups: cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar.

Some 12 countries have now completed ratification of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The agreement comes into force when 25 countries have deposited their instrument of ratification, known as acceptance of accession

Contract farming – an expanding practice in which farmers produce agricultural goods for specific buyers in set quantities at prearranged prices – is getting a new tool to guide growers and buyers in establishing sound contracts and conflict resolution procedures.

A new series of educational materials is teaching children the importance of healthy soils for our food, environment, livelihoods and well-being.

The 2015 wheat crop is expected to be better than the 2014 drought stricken harvest, but will not lead to significant improvements in the overall household food security situation, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said in their report.

In her first formal appearance as FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition, Queen Letizia of Spain today visited the 2015 World Expo in Milan.

Fears are growing that without timely intervention to stem outbreaks of the highly virulent avian flu virus H5N1 across West Africa, further spread across the region and beyond is inevitable, FAO said today.

The European Union and FAO have launched a new partnership agreement to boost food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture and resilience in at least 35 countries