News archive 2020

Early and ongoing rains have led to a new cycle of breeding and fresh swarms are forming in Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. Immature hopper bands have also been identified in Eritrea, The Sudan and Saudi Arabia and are likely to form new swarms.

Around 900 delegates including 95 ministers and other government officials from 48 countries have met in the context of rising food insecurity and malnutrition exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple overlapping crisis - climate change, transboundary pests and diseases, conflict and economic downturns.

FAO and African Union launch Regional Outlook on Gender and Agrifood Systems

Efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide must be scaled up to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, said FAO in a new publication released today.

"We meet in trying times, but the opportunities ahead of us give me hope," the FAO Director-General. "Africa is the continent of untapped potential and remains a key priority for me. I am convinced that agricultural and rural development are the keys to winning the battle against poverty and hunger in Africa."

Agriculture ministers from across Africa, representatives from the African Union, the civil society and the private sector, and other partners, recognized the role FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative can play in ending poverty and hunger.

As African swine fever (ASF) marches swiftly across countries affecting food security and livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations, FAO and OIE are calling on all nations and partners to join forces to keep this deadly pig disease at bay under a new initiative.

Many of the global challenges FAO was set up to tackle are back in force today, high-level participants at FAO’s Informal North American regional conference said today. “Our mission is not yet accomplished,” Director-General QU Dongyu said at a virtual event celebrating FAO’s 75h anniversary.

During the three-day virtual meeting (19 - 21 October) hosted by the Government of Nicaragua, all 33 Members, as well as representatives from civil society and the private sector, highlighted the importance of developing and applying innovative approaches to overcome the challenges facing food and agriculture in the region, particularly in relation to scaling up the use of digital tools.

Italy’s agri-food system offers lessons on the transformations the world needs, and the nation is playing a critical role by promoting a multilateral food coalition that is closely aligned to FAO’s own framework, Director-General QU Dongyu said today in an address to members of Italy’s parliament.