Changing patterns of climate variability and extreme weather events are negatively affecting all dimensions of food security and exacerbating other underlying causes of malnutrition in all its forms in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the 2024 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition. 

Nearly a third of Lebanon’s population is facing acute food insecurity following the escalation of conflict in late 2024 and recovery from the impact of hostilities on agriculture and the economy is likely to be slow, according to a new food security assessment.

The rise in nitrogen fertilizers over the past century has significantly contributed to enhancing agricultural production and bolstering food security and nutrition for an expanding global population. Nevertheless, improper use of nitrogen can severely damage air, water, and soil quality, result in biodiversity loss, and exacerbate climate change.

Urgent action, in particular immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access, is required to address the widening famine in Sudan, where almost 25 million people face acute food insecurity, the Deputy Director-General of FAO, Beth Bechdol, told a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded food commodities, averaged 127.0 points in December, down 0.5 percent from November and up 6.7 percent from December 2023. For 2024 as a whole, the index recorded 122.0 points, 2.1 percent lower than the average value in 2023.

Four months after famine was first confirmed in Zamzam camp in Sudan’s North Darfur state, more areas in North Darfur and the Western Nuba mountains have been identified as experiencing famine conditions, as access to food and nutrition for millions of people across the country continues to deteriorate, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO,) World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF warned today.

Hunger in the Arab region worsened amid deepening crises in 2023, according to a UN report launched today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its comprehensive Recommendations for the surveillance of influenza A(H5N1) in cattle – with broader application to other farmed mammals. This document comes at a critical time as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus, particularly the clade 2.3.4.4b strain, continues its global spread from wild birds to poultry and now to mammals, including cattle.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its first major global assessment of salt-affected soils in 50 years. The report shows that nearly 1.4 billion hectares of land (just over 10 percent of the total global land area) are already impacted by salinity, with an additional one billion hectares at risk due to the climate crisis and human mismanagement.

Located along the Mekong River, Lao People’s Democratic Republic faces ...

Founded 20 years ago by Maria Pacheco, Wakami empowers rural Guatemalan women through sustainable business and education. Building on the women’s weaving abilities, Wakami started an initiative to help them generate income through handcrafted goods like bracelets. Their mission is to create cycles of prosperity for Wakami artisans, enabling them to improve their lives, and the lives of their families, while also protecting the environment.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), in close partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS), concluded a training of livestock and wildlife officers on the new Event Mobile Application (EMA-i+) to strengthen the early warning system through early detection, data collection and real time reporting of zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases in Sierra Leone.

The first International Soil and Water Forum opened today to map out concrete measures to boost global efforts in managing water scarcity and reversing soil degradation – both critical for global food security and environmental health.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), through the International System for Agricultural Science and Technology (AGRIS), celebrates significant growth in agricultural data contributions from Central America in 2024. With over 124,000 records and 29 active data providers, the region showcases remarkable progress in advancing research and knowledge-sharing to bolster sustainable food systems.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today launched a new program, aimed at strengthening efforts to transform global agrifood systems – from farm to table - so that they are sustainable, nature positive, resilient, inclusive and pollution-free.

At global celebrations marking Word Soil Day 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today highlighted the crucial need for accurate soil data and information to understand soil characteristics and support informed decision-making on sustainable soil management to ensure food security.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking $1.9 billion for 2025 to save the lives and livelihoods of some of the world's most food-insecure populations, as acute hunger tightens its grip across the world’s major food crises. With these funds, nearly 49 million people would be able to produce their own food and make their own way out of acute food insecurity.

FAO joined the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and humanitarian partners in calling for unrestricted and safe access to deliver at-scale emergency agricultural aid to prevent the spread of famine and further loss of lives. FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol spoke today at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to enhance humanitarian response in Gaza.

FAO, the United States of America’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (ROK-MAFRA) have recently partnered to address African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Asia Pacific region with a focus on protecting wild pigs. Through this collaboration, FAO's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), has launched initiatives targeting ASF on multiple fronts.

International trade of food and agricultural products has grown robustly in recent decades and makes very significant contributions to food and nutrient diversity, availability and affordability around the world, a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows.