July 14

Africa Is The Hungriest Continent From FAOSTAT

Food, food supply and food security Statistical information Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)

Undernourished population map  from FAOSTAT

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced free access to its online database of food, hunger and agricultural information - FAOSTAT that contains over one million data points covering 210 countries and territories. UN Pulse:

Permanent Link: FAO - free access to food and hunger statistics database
July 10

Climate Change, Energy And Food...FAO Conference, June 2008

Climate Change Energy Food, food supply and food security Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)

Climate change, energy and food : high-level conference on world food security: the challenges of climate change and bioenergy

This conference opened at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy on 3 June 2008. 'Throughout the three days of events, forty-two Heads of State and Government, one hundred high-level Ministers and sixty non-governmental and civil society organizations from one hundred eighty-one member countries discussed the challenges that climate change, bioenergy and soaring food prices posed to world food security.' The web site gives links to, the declaration on world food security, a report of the conference, information on soaring food prices. facts, perspectives, impacts and actions required; and the challenges of climate change and bioenergy. Links are given to other key sites. From Intute.ac.uk

http://www.fao.org/foodclimate/hlc-home/en/

June 10

Bioenergy, Food Security And Sustainability...FAO

Food, food supply and food security Food and Agricultural Organisation Bio-energy Trackbacks (0)
Bioenergy, food security and sustainability - towards an international framework One of the documents from FAO's 2008 High-level Conference on World Food Security, outlining the potential risks attached to the growth in bioenergy, where the production of biofuel crops may come at the expense of food crops, resulting in a rise in commodity prices and resultant problems with food security. The background paper outlines elements for discussion on the development of a consensus for action on sustainable biofuel production. From Intute.ac.uk
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/013/k2498e.pdf
February 16

2009 Crop Prospects And Food Situation.FAO

Food, food supply and food security Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)
According to the February 2009 Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is predicting a reduced global cereal output in 2009 from the 2008 record. The FAO news release indicates that the report also contains information on sustained high food prices and specific information on countries in crisis. UN Pulse permalink
December 19

Crop Prospects And Food Situation. FAO.

Food, food supply and food security Agriculture Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)

 

 Highlights
Countries in crisis requiring external assistance (total: 33 countries)
Food Emergencies Update
Global cereal supply and demand brief
National food price review
FAO global cereal supply and demand indicators
Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries’ food situation overview
Policy measures taken by governments to reduce the impact of soaring prices
Regional reviews

      Africa
     Asia
     Latin America and the Caribbean
     North America, Europe and Oceania
Special features
     Crop and Food Situation in Southern Sudan
     Nigeria Crop and Food Supply Mission summary
     Policy measures related to export restrictions are being relaxed

Statistical appendix
Note

http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/ai476e/ai476e00.htm
December 18

Water For Agriculture And Energy In Africa

Africa Energy Food and Agricultural Organisation Water Trackbacks (0)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released a final declaration (full-text, pdf) of the pan-African Ministerial Conference on Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa: The Challenges of Climate Change (conference website). According to an FAO press release, "the Conference agreed to foster research and development of renewable energy and agriculture in Africa in order to increase resilience and adaptation to climate change."

UN Pulse permalink

December 12

State Of Food Insecurity In The World 2008

Food, food supply and food security Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its latest report on the food crisis, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008. According to the press release accompanying the report, "another 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year primarily due to higher food prices."

UN Pulse permalink

December 04

CarboAfrica Preliminary Results

Africa Climate Change Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has issued a press release on the preliminary findings of CarboAfrica, "an international research project of 15 institutions from Africa and Europe that includes FAO." According to Riccardo Valentini, project coordinator, "evidence so far indicates that Africa seems a 'carbon sink', meaning that it takes more carbon out of the atmosphere than it releases." The preliminary findings are the subject of "Africa and Carbon Cycle: the CarboAfrica project," a conference currently being held in Accra, Ghana.

UN Pulse permalink

November 12

The State Of Food And Agriculture. FAO

Food, food supply and food security Agriculture Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)
State of food and agriculture
The State of Food and Agriculture is an annual publication from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Each publication is themed to look at a different topic of interest in the debate around the politics and economics of food production and agricultural policies. Subjects covered include: the role of biofuels, farming and the environment, food security, agricultural trade policies, plant pests / animal diseases and rural incomes. A key theme that runs through many of the reports is the relationship between food / agriculture policies in developed countries and their effects on the developing world. The material includes the full report, an executive summary, press releases, presentations and accompanying documents, although the precise make-up of the package of documents varies from year to year. The site is available in a range of languages. Intute.ac.uk
http://www.fao.org/sof/sofa/
October 17

State Of Food And Agriculture 2008. FAO

Food, food supply and food security Food and Agricultural Organisation Bio-energy Trackbacks (0)
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released the State of Food and Agriculture 2008 explores the implications of the recent rapid growth in production of biofuels based on agricultural commodities. Download the publication in full (full-text, pdf 1.328Kb) or order the publication in print online.

UN Pulse Permanent Link: State of Food and Agriculture 2008

July 07

FAO Report On Land Degradation

Land Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a new report, Global Assessment of Land Degradation and Improvement (full text, pdf, 7.17 MB). The study, which used data taken over a 20-year period, finds that land degradation is intensifying in many parts of the world. Defined as a long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, land degradation is increasing in severity and extent in many parts of the world, with more than 20 percent of all cultivated areas, 30 percent of forests and 10 percent of grasslands undergoing degradation. Learn more from the FAO press release.

UN Pulse Permanent Link: FAO report on land degradation

June 02

OECD And FAO On Agricultural Commodity Prices

Food, food supply and food security Food and Agricultural Organisation OECD Trackbacks (0)

OECD and FAO see agricultural commodity prices remaining high and growing more volatile
Source: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Agricultural commodity prices should ease from their recent record peaks but over the next 10 years they are expected to average well above the mean of the past decade, according to the latest Agricultural Outlook from OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The current high prices will hit poor and hungry people hardest, particularly those who are net food buyers in urban areas in low income countries. Humanitarian aid is the best short term solution for this situation while in the longer term the emphasis in these countries needs to be on improving farm productivity as well as growth and broader economic development.

+ Report summary (PDF: 1.7 MB)
+ Essential material
+ Press conference

February 02

Rural Poverty In Near East And North Africa. FAO

Poverty Africa Middle East Food and Agricultural Organisation Trackbacks (0)

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have issued two new publications related to rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa: Status of rural poverty in the Near East and North Africa (pdf, 677 KB) and Guiding Framework for rural finance in the Near East and North Africa (pdf, 627 KB).

Permanent Link: Rural Poverty in Near East and North Africa UN Pulse