Policy makers, researchers and the public have a new resource to gauge the scale and importance of agrifood systems in providing employment around the world. FAO has launched five new indicators and overhauled the data available on its FAOSTAT portal, the global go-to resource for those interested in agrifood facts and rural livelihoods.

In Des Moines, Iowa at the 2024 Borlaug Dialogue World Food Prize, FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero opened "The Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils: Advancing the Global Movement" session at World Food Prize 2024 side event. He addressed the urgent need to invest in creating demand for opportunity crops to help solve the global nutritional challenges we face today.

Acute food insecurity is set to increase in both magnitude and severity across 22 countries and territories, according to a new United Nations report. The report warns that the spread of conflict, particularly in the Middle East – coupled with climate and economic stressors - is pushing millions of people to the brink.

At World Food Prize 2024, FAO Director-General champions ways science and innovation can contribute to transforming agrifood systems and bring people and cultures closer together.

About a quarter of the population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to face acute hunger, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today. The new data shows that between July and December 2024, approximately 25.6 million people in the DRC, or 22 percent of the population analysed, are experiencing high acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above). 

The 48th session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) has commenced in Quebec City, Canada, with first-time Chairperson Dr Parthi Muthukumarasamy presiding.

In Gaza, ongoing hostilities have caused the collapse of local food production and contributed to the rapid deterioration of food security. Here, FAO’s distribution of livestock fodder and veterinary kits provides a lifeline amid catastrophic losses.

The 4th annual World Food Forum (WFF), held from October 14 to 18, brought together thousands of young leaders from around the world to address challenges in agrifood systems under the theme “Good Food for All, for Today and Tomorrow.” This year, American and Canadian youth were well represented among the delegations.

At this year’s COP16 Biodiversity Conference, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is focused on helping Members move from pledges to plans. While biodiversity goals are often associated with exotic animals, pristine wilderness and nature preservation zones, the key to global success is to ensure peace with nature by not only protecting but ensuring the sustainable management of biodiversity in agriculture and food systems.

FAO, in Sierra Leone through its Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) conducted various refresher trainings for Field Animal Health personnel and Community Animal Health Workers across the 15 agricultural districts in Sierra Leone. These trainings aimed to enhance the skills of animal health workers in disease surveillance, reporting, and overall disease management, using a One Health approach.

FAO successfully concluded the Training of Trainers on Nutrition and Fuel-Saving Techniques for women in the conflict-affected BAY states of Nigeria —Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. As a key component of the project "Emergency Agriculture-Based Livelihoods Sustenance for Improved Food Security and Nutrition in Northeast Nigeria," funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the programme aims to tackle the pressing issues of food insecurity, impacts of climate change, rising fuel costs, and limited access to essential resources in these conflict-affected regions.

QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), called today for an increased focus on Africa amid rising hunger there. Addressing the Meeting of Development Ministers from G7 countries, Qu underlined FAO’s commitment to a key initiative put forward under Italy’s G7 presidency to boost food security on the continent and beyond.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will co-lead the implementation of 21 new projects as part of the second round of funding from The Pandemic Fund. Aimed at enhancing global and local health security, these projects totalling $109 million, will benefit 32  countries across the world.

In a landmark decision, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved funding for two transformative projects valued at $134 million, to support adaptation and enhance the climate resilience of vulnerable agricultural communities in Somalia and Iraq. These initiatives, spearheaded by FAO, will empower millions of farmers and pastoralists to adapt to the escalating impacts of climate change, including droughts, floods, and water scarcity.

The situation in the Middle East is catastrophic, FAO-Director General QU Dongyu said today in his address to the G7 Development Ministers’ Meeting taking place in Pescara from 22-24 October. “If we want to save lives and prevent famine, we urgently need a humanitarian ceasefire and unlimited, safe access to people who are in need and in danger,” he stressed.

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.

FAO’s decisive participation in major international governmental fora is increasingly producing agreements and alignments between the Organization’s priorities and those of the world’s major countries to accelerate the progress towards the achievement of SDG2.

In 2016, Colombia reached a peace agreement with its largest guerrilla group. As part of the deal, the Government committed to enhancing rural development and partnered with FAO to help implement this goal. Farmers tell FAO their stories of hardship, allowing them to heal from the past and embrace a future filled with a newly found hope.

For FAO, COP16 serves as a platform for dialogue, knowledge sharing and decision-making on the role of food and agriculture in reversing biodiversity loss, building resilience to climate change and improving food security and nutrition for all. FAO works with countries to build policy coherence, develop technical solutions, and engage stakeholders, while supporting key negotiations that position agrifood systems at the heart of strategies and solutions.

The fourth annual World Food Forum (WFF) 2024 concluded today in Rome, marking the end of an impactful week at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) dedicated to transforming global agrifood systems.