The benchmark for world food commodity prices saw its fastest increase in 18 months in September, with quotations up for all covered commodity groups, led by sugar, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday.

FAO announces its strong support for the Pandemic Fund’s recent decision to fast-track USD 128.89 million in funding to combat infectious disease threats, including mpox, across 10 countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. This critical financing will strengthen pandemic preparedness and response efforts, specifically targeting vulnerable communities affected and at high risk of infection by mpox and other emerging zoonotic diseases.

The international market for cocoa is growing rapidly due to the rising demand for premium chocolate products. FAO training in best practices for cocoa production and processing is helping cocoa farmers on the island of Saint Lucia position themselves to take advantage of this opportunity. 

The latest assessment using satellite data produced by FAO and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) shows escalating damage to farmland and agricultural infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, further exacerbating the humanitarian and hunger crisis resulting from the ongoing conflict.

Through USAID's "Strengthening Rural Livelihoods and Food Security Programme" in Afghanistan, implemented by FAO, 1 500 women-headed households received beekeeping packages across eight provinces in 2024 and another 1 500 women-headed household will receive the same package in 2025. Amina, one of the recipients, was provided with essential equipment, including four improved beehives, protective gear, and training. Previously, she worked as an agricultural laborer, supporting her family on 1.5 jeribs (0.3 hectares) of land, with one cow and five goats. Read Amina's story.

The 29th Session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) opened today at the Rome headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), seeking to address the urgent need to transform agrifood systems amid persistently high global hunger figures and mounting challenges.

In Egypt, with the support of USAID Global Health, FAO provided training to improve stakeholder coordination to address zoonotic diseases and AMR threats through the establishment of technical working groups. In doing so, FAO built the capacities of people in the veterinary and livestock industries to detect, diagnose and respond to animal diseases, enhancing national animal health response capacities through the development of national One Health and rabies strategies.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) underlined the need for more investment in a Blue Transformation enabling aquatic foods to play a greater role in ending global hunger and poverty. The call came as FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero presented the findings of a key FAO report on fisheries and aquaculture to agriculture ministers from the G7 countries.

The annual International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Regional workshops held from 5 August to 8 September, concluded with plant health communities in seven regions—Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, the Near East and North Africa (NENA), Latin America, and the Southwest Pacific, emphasizing their commitment to regional and international cooperation in protecting plants from pests.

The transportation process, a critical point in fresh fruit and vegetable supply chains, contributes significantly to the 13 percent of the world’s food losses that occur between harvesting and retail. To address this challenge, we need to approach the whole system of transportation and come up with tailored solutions.

During a G7 panel session with agriculture ministers in Syracuse, Italy, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reaffirmed FAO's commitment to supporting Africa beyond 2025.

Global leaders have approved a political declaration at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), committing to a clear set of targets and actions, including reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) annually by 10 percent by 2030.

Correcting the gender gap in agrifood systems would dramatically reduce the worldwide hunger rate, raise the incomes of hundreds of millions of people and add $1 trillion to global gross domestic product, offering one of the most effective pathways towards the common objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Government of Canada through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation Activities – Anticipatory Action Window contributed USD 1 222 000 to strengthen the capacity of communities and local governance structures in Somalia, and mitigate the impact of El Niño-related floods on the most vulnerable communities, reaching over 45 000 people (7 816 households), of whom 49% women.

The Director-General of the FAO, QU Dongyu, has welcomed the adoption of the Pact for the Future, an agreement among UN member states designed to turbo-charge the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. In his address to the summit’s plenary, the FAO Director-General underscored the pact's provisions for more equitable agrifood systems, recalling that hunger has risen since 2015, with more than 730 million people facing hunger in 2023.

As a collaborative initiative of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VETLAB) Network brings together experts to use nuclear-derived and other methods for monitoring, early detection, diagnosis and control of transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases. It is a platform for the sustainable transfer of technologies to strengthen national and regional laboratory capacities and staff proficiency for rapid and early diagnosis and response.

Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today opened its first-ever Global Conference on Animal Health Innovation, Reference Centres and Vaccines, aimed at tackling animal diseases costing the world hundreds of billions of dollars annually and posing a threat to human health, global food security and livelihoods.

On the sidelines of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Ms Michele J. Sison. The Assistant Secretary was joined by Ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, Jeffrey Prescott.

Director-General announces FAO will host the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers.