Rome – The FAO Food Price Index, the benchmark for world food commodity prices, declined in January, averaging 124.9 points during the month, down 1.6 percent from its December level. The drop was driven by significant decreases in the international quotations for vegetable oils and sugar, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported Friday.  

Rome–Many of the new satellites currently in Earth’s orbit are equipped to provide revolutionary tools and data to improve global food security and strengthen agrifood systems. A new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) aims to inform and guide an array of experts and policy makers on the various intersections of space technology and farming, forestry and land-use management as well as climate and environmental trends.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

Yogyakarta, 6 November 2024 – In response to global and national challenges posed by emerging threats, including zoonotic diseases, the Indonesian government, under the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) a...

FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa (RAF), Abebe Haile-Gabriel, and Director of the FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, have concluded a seven-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), aiming to raise awareness of the severe food security situation on the ground and mobilize support to reverse the alarming trend.

The rapid expansion of pig production in Vietnam calls for the urgent need to tackle animal disease risks that could adversely affect pig health, productivity, and the livelihoods of pig farmers. Recognizing this need, from 20 to 22 November 2024, FAO supported Viet Nam's Department of Livestock Production (DLP) to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the pig value chain structure and identification of risks along the value chain to inform designing of practical, progressive and sustainable risk mitigation strategies. 

As key partners for FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) initiative, officials from across the United States government met with a delegation of ECTAD leadership on 18–21 November 2024. In meetings organized by FAO’s Liaison Office for North America, which included officials from the U.S. Department of State, Department of the Interior, USDA, and Department of Homeland Security Office of Health Security, as well as USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and the Resilience, Environment and Food Security divisions,  and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, FAO and U.S. government representatives explored new avenues for collaboration in addressing animal disease threats to human health, food security and national security. 

FAO has intensified its efforts to combat mpox, an emerging zoonotic disease of global concern. In promoting global health security, FAO collaborates with governments, international organizations, and research institutes to mitigate risks associated with diseases that affect humans, animals, and ecosystems. Mpox exemplifies these interconnected threats, as it spreads at the human-animal-environment interface.

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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) has ramped up efforts to improve veterinary and public health services by equipping the Frontline In-Service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology (ISAVET) graduates and trainees with skills in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Scientific Report Writing. This initiative, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Global Health Security Program (GHSP), is designed to strengthen disease surveillance and reduce the burden of animal diseases across the country.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) celebrated World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2024 by emphasizing the need for a collaborative global health security approach to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The week-long activities highlighted the critical role of the agrifood sector in AMR prevention and control, including the responsible use of antimicrobials, strengthened surveillance, and sustainable farming practices.