News archive 2020

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today welcomed an €11 million contribution from the European Union as the UN agency steps up efforts to fight the Desert Locust upsurge which has now spread from East Africa to the Persian Gulf.

The locust upsurge affecting East Africa is a graphic and shocking reminder of this region's vulnerability. This is a scourge of biblical proportions. Yet as ancient as this scourge is, its scale today is unprecedented in modern times.

Everything we eat is produced in ways that imply some transformation of the environment, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said at the beginning of the second meeting of the Open-ended Working Group established by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today welcomed a $10 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the fight against the Desert Locust upsurge in East Africa as the UN agency expanded its appeal.

Some 6.5 million people in South Sudan – more than half of the population - could be in acute food insecurity at the height of this hunger season (May-July), three United Nations agencies warned today.

The Mediterranean diet is not only healthy for humans, but also for the environment and for biodiversity. This was the main message at an event held today at FAO headquarters with the aim of raising awareness on how the Mediterranean diet can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

The path to reducing unacceptable hunger levels “lies in our ability to transform the agricultural sector”, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today at at “Targeting Hunger: South-South and Triangular cooperation for Transforming Agriculture”, an interactive dialogue held at the United Nations headquarters.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today greater and faster action was needed to prevent a humanitarian crisis in East Africa as the Desert Locust upsurge was now affecting seven countries and threatened to spread even further.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a “team effort”, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today as he welcomed the 43rd Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today highlighted pulses’ crucial role in addressing food insecurity and achieving healthy and balanced diets for all. He made the remarks at a special ceremony at FAO Headquarters in Rome, in which FAO observed World Pulses Day.