The Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) observed World Pulses Day 2024 with the theme, ‘Pulses: nourishing soils and people’.  More than 500 people attended online and in person the event that celebrated the vital role of pulses and their potential to improve food security and nutrition, soil health and the environment.

Do Thi Thuy is living proof that smart farming is the future of sustainable agrifood systems. The 30-year-old vegetable farmer is helping break new ground for the future of sustainable agriculture in Viet Nam as part of an innovative FAO project “Smart Farming for the Future Generation”.

It is well recognized that FFS hold a great potential to improve women’s and men’s livelihoods, and to reduce vulnerabilities and inequalities through empowerment. At the same time, a deeper understanding of gender aspects is crucial to develop tools for FFS programmes and fulfil the FFS approach’s potential regarding gender equality in future activities, programmes and adaptations.

December 2023 marked the end of a seven-year intervention led by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat to assist Cambodia and Sri Lanka in ensuring that the agricultural produce of its farmers meets the required phytosanitary standards for export and international trade, and that farmers gain market access for their agricultural produce.

FAO will host a global celebration on Thursday, 8 February 2024, at 12.30-14.30 (CET), that is open to everyone. Participants will hear about how pulses contribute to healthy soils, resilient, sustainable agrifood systems and human nutrition.

This international event was hosted and co-organized by the government of Cambodia through the Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC), in close collaboration with FAO, ESCAP, CIRAD, the ASSET project and other partners. The main event brought together over 200 participants from 21 countries (and 95 institutions) throughout 4 days.

In celebration of the International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023, FAO launched a global photo contest open to professional andamateur photographers. The response was overwhelming, with 800+ contributions pouring in from over 50 countries. The photos captured the many benefits of millets including  their diversity, capacity to thrive on arid lands  and to create nutritious dishes  and market opportunities. 

The ACP MEAs 3 Project Coordinator traveled to Saint Lucia to attend the Project Steering Committee and join the Regional and National Coordinators to visit their main partners.