FAO Regional Conference for Asia-Pacific discusses responses and recovery work on COVID-19 and hunger

As COVID-19 continues to threaten lives and livelihoods across many countries of the Asia-Pacific region, it has led to setbacks in the fight to end hunger and malnutrition. In this context, the 35th Session of the FAO Asia and Pacific Regional Conference (#APRC35), hosted virtually by the Royal Government of Bhutan, started today with representatives from 46 countries examining the present situation of the region’s food security, with a particular emphasis on implications linked to the spread of the coronavirus and its impact on food systems region-wide.
/by

Green Climate Fund approves new projects

The Board of the Green Climate Fund today approved several new projects, including one for Côte d’Ivoire that marks the first time FAO has helped an African country obtain a grant from the international entity. FAO-led projects in Armenia and Colombia also received approval.
/by

More than 3 million people facing acute food insecurity as Burkina Faso grapples with COVID-19 and conflict

The latest analysis by the Cadre Harmonisé indicates an increase in acute food insecurity of more than 50 percent since the situation in Burkina Faso was last assessed in March. Experts say the crisis has been exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 on people's ability to earn money to cover their daily needs in a country already reeling from conflict and climate change.
/by

Global food prices rise in July

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index averaged 94.2 points in July, a 1.2 percent increase from June and nearly 1.0 percent higher than July 2019.
/by

FAO-led global COVID-19 Food Coalition gains momentum

The initiative, launched by the Government of Italy and led by FAO, is gaining momentum, as more countries are joining the initiative in an effort to tackle medium and long-term adverse impacts of the current pandemic on food systems and agriculture.
/by

IKEA Foundation contributes $3.5 million to support FAO’s work with refugees and host communities in eastern Africa

Many of the refugees have been present in the countries for long periods of time; some have fled past conflicts in neighboring countries such as Somalia, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Eritrea, but others have been forced from their homes by famine or environmental events such as droughts and floods.
/by

FAO unveils platform to help accelerate action on reducing food loss and waste

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today unveiled a comprehensive platform to help the global community step up action to reduce food loss and waste as the UN agency and partners call for increased efforts and gear up for the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste – to be marked for the first time on 29 September 2020.
/by

Kenya beats back desert locust upsurge for now, but East Africa remains at risk

Q&A with Cyril Ferrand, FAO’s Resilience Team Leader for East Africa
/by

FAO and Russian Federation sign Contribution Agreement to ramp up fight against desert locusts, help affected communities

The $10 million agreement was signed today by FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Rome-based UN Agencies Victor Vasiliev during a virtual ceremony.
/by

United Kingdom supports FAO’s desert locust-fighting efforts with £ 17 million contribution

The funds come via the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) and are in addition to a previous contribution of £ 8 million donated earlier this year for the desert locust appeal. The contribution from the United Kingdom will scale up ongoing efforts in East Africa, Yemen and Southwest Asia.
/by

FAO and Islamic Development Bank strengthen partnership with new cooperation agreement

The Memorandum of Understanding - the first to be signed virtually by the IsDB - will also focus on project design/implementation, policy advice and knowledge-sharing to increase the joint impact of both FAO and the Bank's work in the agricultural sectors.
/by

Yemen sees return to alarming levels of food insecurity

Economic shocks, conflict, floods, desert locusts and now COVID-19 are creating a perfect storm that could reverse hard-earned food security gains in Yemen, warns the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and partners.
/by