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Asia-Pacific is home to well over half of all people worldwide who do not obtain sufficient dietary energy to maintain normal, active, healthy lives. To achieve SDG 2 in the region, more than 3 million people must escape hunger each month from now until December 2030. In most countries in the region, the diets of more than half of all very young children (aged 6–23 months) fail to meet minimum standards of diversity, leading to micronutrient deficiencies that affect child development and therefore the potential of future generations. The high prevalence of stunting and wasting among children under five years of [...]

Fall Armyworm (FAW) continues to spread into new territory, moving further east and north in Asia, as well as north from sub-Saharan Africa. As it spreads, more governments are faced with decisions about how to react quickly and sustainably to the arrival of this new crop pest. Fortunately, they can benefit from over two years’ worth of experience gleaned from across sub-Saharan Africa as well as decades of experience from the Americas. The lessons learned there by governments, resources partners and farmers can help guide decision-makers now being affected by FAW. This policy guide reviews the experiences and lessons learned [...]

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 is an important measure of global progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger. It gives an updated estimate of the number of hungry people in the world, including regional and national breakdowns, and the latest data on child stunting and wasting as well as on adult and child obesity. The report also offers analysis of the drivers of hunger and malnutrition, and this year includes a special focus on the impact of economic slowdowns and downturns. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 [...]

The way food systems have evolved over past decades means that they now face major risks, which in turn threaten the future of food systems themselves. Food systems have seriously contributed to climate change, environmental destruction, overexploitation of natural resources and pollution of air, water and soils. Despite the global average improvement in calorie production and major development of the food and agricultural product markets, huge inequalities in food access and repartition of the added value have emerged, leading to new serious nutritional and social problems. Based on a review of the most recent scientific knowledge, this report emphasizes Low-Income [...]

The publication provides a review on global meat price and policy developments. It aims to provide a snapshot view of global meat price movements and their underlying factors along with a review of global policies that contribute to world meat production and trade dynamics. The publication supports the division’s objective in providing market information relevant for policy makers, helping them in the process to take evidence-based policy decisions. The bulletin reaches over 500 email subscribers and anyone seeking impartial information on world meat market developments.   

This new edition of the report focuses on food losses and waste, providing new estimates of the world’s food post-harvest up to, but excluding, the retail level. Addressing policy makers, the report also offers a comprehensive analysis of the critical loss points in specific supply chains, thus providing examples on appropriate measures for an effective reduction.

The operation of agricultural and food systems is key to the transition from subsistence to commercially-oriented food production, which will underpin rural poverty reduction and eradication of hunger. Sustainable food systems can also address the burgeoning challenges of malnutrition and obesity, working to deliver diets that promote and sustain optimal health for the world’s growing population.

This policy brief analyses Ecuador’s trade, productive and price policies for maize and their effect on farmers’ level of protection. The minimum support price enacted until 2017, turned out to be a non-operative policy due to a higher market price, which created incentives for speculative investments by traders. To counteract speculative investments the Ministry enacted a price range for maize, the price ceiling is expected to counteract future speculations. Productive and trade policies aiming to protect small farmers seem to achieve their objective. The effective rate of protection increased for all farm production systems from 2016 to 2017 with the [...]

Pulses are a sub group of legumes with extraordinary nutritional and environmental benefits. Pulses are rich in proteins, in comparison with other plant-based protein sources and hence, act as major protein sources for vegetarians and in regions where meat and dairy are not physically or economically accessible. Pulses have a greater genetic diversity than the other crops, with many varieties of pulses resistant to floods, drought and other extreme and marginal environmental conditions.   Considering the benefits of pulses, the Government of Sri Lanka has initiated several programmes to promote pulses to address micronutrient deficiencies, which are widespread, particularly among nutritionally vulnerable [...]

This bulletin is prepared by the Food Price Monitoring and Analysis (FPMA) Team of the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) in the Trade and Markets Division of FAO. It contains latest information and analysis on domestic prices of basic foods mainly in developing countries, complementing FAO analysis on international markets. It provides early warning on high food prices at country level  that may negatively affect food security. The July 2019 edition is also available in: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.