News

03/07/2024

The First Session of the Ad Hoc Expert Team on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture opened on 2 July 2024. The Expert Team was established by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2023 to review issues related to biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA) and...

01/07/2024

The revised – unedited – draft of the Second Report on Forest Genetic Resources is now out for review (click here to download). 

A first draft ...

17/06/2024

Regional consultations on the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture will be held from 9 to 11 July 2024 in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The meeting will be co-organized with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and hos...

27/05/2024
The inaugural celebration of the International Day of Potato on May 30 will be held at FAO Headquarters and online. The day will bring together ministers, experts, and communities from around the world to spotlight the potato's vital role in enhancing nutrition, ensuring food security, and suppor...
22/05/2024

Rome, 22 May 2024. On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, the Chair of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Mr Benoît Girard (Canada) stressed the important role of biodiversity and genetic resources for food security and nutrition. ...

22/05/2024
Walk through farmlands in the rugged, hilly terrain of parts of Mexico and you’ll see maize plants grown widely spaced apart with pole beans climbing up them and the large leaves of squash covering the soil alongside edible herbs. 
20/05/2024
The Government of Slovenia and FAO organize this International forum for action on sustainable beekeeping and pollination. 
15/04/2024

The Commission, at its 19th Regular Session, reviewed and simplified a voluntary questionnaire on genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA) and climate change. It requested the Secretariat to finalize and s...

15/04/2024
Aquaculture is the world's fastest growing food sector and over half of aquatic food is farmed. However, producing and accessing adequate quantities of good quality seed remains a challenge constraining the growth of sustainable aquaculture in many developing countries.
09/04/2024
Follow-up to the 19th Regular Session:
14/03/2024

On the occasion of the Commission’s last session, FAO launched the draft Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. 

In response to the findings of the report, the Commission and its Working Group will review and update the

14/03/2024

29 April 2024 | 11:00 to 13:00 CEST

Background
Farmers’ varieties/landraces are those crop varieties which are the product of breeding and/or selection carried out by farmers over many generations and tend to be characterized by high levels of phenotypic and genotypi...

01/03/2024
Transforming our agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable is key to addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Such a transformation requires greater cooperation between the public and private sectors, emp...
27/02/2024

The regional workshop ‘Taking action on biodiversity for food and agriculture in Asia and the Pacific’ held for National Focal Points in Asia and the Pacific from 27 to 29 February 2024, was the last in the series of regional workshops on biodiversity for food and agriculture (BFA). 
<...

13/02/2024

The Briefing was organized by the Secretariats of the Commission Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Commission) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Internation...

31/01/2024
Beyond their use for food production, livestock are linked to a variety of positive and negative externalities resulting from the complex interactions within their production environments. Based on information reported by 41 countries on 3 361 national breed populations to the Domestic Anima...
29/01/2024
On 30 January, biodiversity experts from more than 20 African countries will meet in Harare to discuss the state of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the region and consider action to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. National Focal Points will share experien...