Geographical indications (GIs) refer to products with specific characteristics, qualities or reputations resulting from their geographical origin. This differentiates products based on unique local features, history or distinctive characteristics linked to natural and human factors, such as soil, climate, local know-how, and traditions. GIs are recognized as intellectual property rights...

Families living in the world’s largest refugee camp this week received the first 2,500 stoves and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders that are part of a United Nations project to protect the environment and build resilience for people living in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The “SAFE Plus” (Safe Approaches to Fuel and...

The agreement came ahead of today’s International Mountain Day – a day celebrated each year on December 11 to highlight the importance of mountains to people’s lives and livelihoods. The two organizations committed to creating stronger synergies between mountain food products and sustainable tourism services. This includes promoting high-quality, indigenous, mountain...

The National Committees for Family Farming in Indonesia and Colombia have promoted processes of political dialogue between key players in Family Farming, leading to the approval of new regulations for the development of Family Farming in their respective countries. In Indonesia, the Law on the Protection and Empowerment of Farmers in...

Growing populations and consumption patterns are squeezing forests – especially through industrial agriculture. But many of the 1.5 billion people who live within the world’s remaining forest landscapes are farmers too, albeit smallholders. Many grow and protect trees. Most also hunt and gather from the forest. Forests provide them with...

Global study elaborated by the WCC (World Coordinating Committee) of the IYFF+10 and coordinated by the WRF that analyzes and highlights the common and global challenges faced by rural youth from all 5 continents.

Based on 25 case studies from the global comparative study ‘GENNOVATE: Enabling gender equality in agricultural and environmental innovation’, this paper explores rural young women’s and men’s occupational aspirations and trajectories in India, Mali, Malawi, Morocco, Mexico, Nigeria, and the Philippines. We draw upon qualitative data from 50 sex-segregated focus...

The outbreak of African swine fever in China, first detected last month by authorities there, is accelerating and will almost certainly emerge in other countries in Asia, a regional emergency meeting convened by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) heard today. African Swine Fever (ASF) was first detected in Asia...

In order to address the issue of hunger and malnutrition through nutrient rich and climate resilient underutilized crops, the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), a unique  voluntary, membership-based, self-mandated, apolitical and multi-stakeholder (70 members) organization  in the Asia-Pacific region planned a multi-stakeholder “Regional Expert Consultation on Underutilized  Crops...

Future Smart Food: Rediscovering Hidden Treasures of Neglected and Underutilized Species for Zero Hunger in Asia has as its purposes: i) to demonstrate the multidimensional benefits of Neglected and Underutilized species (NUS) and their potential contribution to achieving Zero Hunger; ii) to identify promising NUS that are nutrition-dense, climate-resilient, economically-viable...

Fall Armyworm could threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers in Asia as the invasive crop-eating pest is highly likely to spread further from India, with South East Asia and South China most at risk, FAO warned today. Recently detected in India - the first time it...

National Workshop on Small-scale Fisheries, Cyclone Ockhi and Disaster Risk Management was held on 28 to 29 May, 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram. The workshop was organised by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The...

A growing number of countries are signing up to a global agreement that helps stop illegal fishing, as the international community today marks the first International Day for the Fight Against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. IUU fishing is estimated to affect one in every five fish caught, with an...

Between 29 November and 3 December, 2017, Cyclone Ockhi devastated hundreds of lives and livelihoods of coastal fishing communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. This study assesses the impacts of the cyclone on fishing communities and the mechanisms in place at the local, national and international levels to address...

In small and remote villages in South Asia, our rich agricultural crop/breed diversity and associated knowledge is slowly getting wiped out and is being replaced by a handful of `high yielding’ and `improved’ crops/breeds. Rampant use of chemicals has led to the death of soil and is poisoning our food...

There will be a full schedule of presentations, discussions and activities. Some of the highlights of the Conference include a Ministerial Roundtable on Zero Hunger, a Roundtable on "Imagining future healthy and inclusive food systems in Asia and the Pacific,” an Exhibition honoring the achievements and progress of the 10 Regional...

The opening editorial Comment in the current issue argues that as the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) gets under way, it is imperative to lobby for policies and processes that will empower small-scale fishing...

The Mekong region has undergone rapid socio-economic growth over the past two decades alongside pronounced transformations in a number of key sectors and relations between the rural majority and increasingly-affluent urban centres. Land—as both a foundation for national development and the livelihood basis for millions of rural and agricultural households—continues...

In the wake of tropical cyclone Ockhi, the focus now should be on improving at-sea cyclone preparedness and search-and-rescue co-ordination to save precious lives.

As the implementation of the SSF Guidelines gets under way, it is imperative to lobby for policies and processes that will empower small-scale fishing communities