The Global Food Security Cluster (gFSC), which coordinates life-saving food and livelihoods assistance to people hit by crises, turns 10 this year and marked the anniversary at its bi-annual meeting of global partners held virtually today, with the participation of the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, the WFP Deputy-Executive Director Amir Abdulla and gFSC partners from NGOs and academia.
The world has been put on a heightened famine alert with a new report by two United Nations agencies that contains a stark warning; four countries contain areas that could soon slip into famine if conditions there undergo "any further deterioration over the coming months". These are Burkina Faso in West Africa's Sahel region, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.
FAO launched the Food Coalition to prevent the COVID-19 international health emergency from triggering a catastrophic world food crisis.
The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks international prices of the most traded food commodities, averaged 100.9 points in October 2020, up 3.1 percent from September and 6.0 percent above its value in October 2019.
During the three days of the virtual Conference hosted by Uzbekistan, 31 ministers and vice-ministers from 51 countries actively participated in the discussions, in addition to other 270 delegates and 50 observers from governments, International Organizations, other UN agencies and various partners. More than 1500 people were daily watching the webcast of the Conference.
The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Houlin Zhao, as well as representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society, young farmers and the private sector from Europe and Central Asia today made a strong case for harnessing agricultural innovation and digital technologies.
The 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe started today as FAO Members from Europe and Central Asia will discuss several challenges facing the region on food and agriculture, particularly how to promote sustainable agri-food systems and healthy diets as well as solutions for youth, employment and developing rural areas.
Early and ongoing rains have led to a new cycle of breeding and fresh swarms are forming in Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. Immature hopper bands have also been identified in Eritrea, The Sudan and Saudi Arabia and are likely to form new swarms.
Around 900 delegates including 95 ministers and other government officials from 48 countries have met in the context of rising food insecurity and malnutrition exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple overlapping crisis - climate change, transboundary pests and diseases, conflict and economic downturns.
FAO and African Union launch Regional Outlook on Gender and Agrifood Systems
Efforts to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide must be scaled up to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, said FAO in a new publication released today.
Agriculture ministers from across Africa, representatives from the African Union, the civil society and the private sector, and other partners, recognized the role FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative can play in ending poverty and hunger.
