UN Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO Newsroom

FAO today launched a new programme to urgently assist 90 000 vulnerable households in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone whose food supplies and livelihoods are threatened by the disruptive effect the Ebola epidemic is having on rural economies, agricultural activities and markets.

Governments ought to review the way international agricultural commodity markets are governed, making sure that smallholder farmers have more of a voice in a sector that employs one billion people and accounts for a fifth of the world’s economic activity, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told more than 30 ministers from around the world gathered for a meeting on the subject Monday.

A locust plague that spread across Madagascar threatening the main staple food crops and pasture in the country has been successfully contained, however, progress is under threat due to a gap in funding, FAO said.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told agricultural ministers from the European Union at a meeting in Milan that governments must help combat hunger and malnutrition on a global level, noting that a failure to do so will only boost migration flows and stoke conflicts.

Director-General José Graziano da Silva addressed the Committee on Agriculture, one of FAO's governing bodies, on Monday, urging them to support a wide menu of options favoring sustainable agriculture, including agroecology and the use of genetically-modified organisms.

FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva today stressed the need for controls on animal health to help curb the spread of Ebola and other infectious diseases dangerous to humans, during discussions hosted by US President Barack Obama.

The FAO Director-General urged countries to take the "extra step" and take up the UN Secretary-General's Zero Hunger Challenge which seeks to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide.This "should not remain a dream. It is a vision that is within our reach," the FAO chief said.

Better management of the world's ocean resources is crucial to ensuring food global security, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said during a roundtable discussion with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Overcoming climate change is central to achieving a sustainable future for the planet's growing population, and food security must lie at the heart of that effort

Despite current short-term improvements, 1.5 million people are projected to remain severely food insecure until the end of 2014, which is a fifty percent increase from December 2013.

A recently-emerged strain of avian influenza virus in poultry in Southeast Asia known as A(H5N6) represents a new threat to animal health and livelihoods and must be closely monitored.

The State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI 2014) confirmed a positive trend which has seen the number of hungry people decline globally by more than 100 million over the last decade and by more than 200 million since 1990-92. The report is published annually by FAO, IFAD and WFP.

Norway has donated approximately $10 million to help FAO provide conflict-affected farmers, fishers and herders in South Sudan with critical livelihood support.

FAO's monthly food price index registered another drop in August, continuing a 5-month downward run and reaching its lowest level since September 2010.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, have agreed on how to strengthen efforts to promote India’s food security and sustainable agricultural development during talks held in New Delhi.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva was named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and made a Fellow of India's National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) during his first official mission to the country.

FAO is scaling-up critical food and agriculture assistance to highly vulnerable rural households in Iraq thanks to a generous $14.7 million grant from Saudi Arabia. The donation is part of a $500 million grant that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided to support Iraqis affected by the recent crisis.

European Union assistance to flood-affected Serbian farm households got under way with a first delivery of animal feed here today. Financed by the EU and delivered in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the assistance forms part of the EU's overall flood recovery package to Serbia valued at €30m.

Coping with climate change should be seen as more than just a question of survival for small island countries - the international community should view it as a challenge to take unified action and notch up efforts to shift to a sustainable model of development.