Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

FAO/GIEWS has released a Special Alert on the drought in East Africa.

The highlights:

• Prevailing severe dry weather conditions, virtually since October 2016, have affected rangelands and crops in large parts of East Africa, causing a serious deterioration of food security conditions in the subregion.
• Major areas of concern are central and southern Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, northern and eastern Kenya, northern United Republic of Tanzania, and northeastern and southwestern Uganda.
• Localized Fall armyworm infestations are likely to further affect yields in the affected areas.
• Soaring prices of cereals are limiting food access for large numbers of poor households.
• The purchasing power of pastoral households in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is severely constrained by plunging prices of livestock and rising prices of cereals.
• Recurrent climatic shocks have undermined household resilience. Urgent support to agricultural livelihoods is critically needed.

The Special Alert can be accessed through the following link: 

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7537e.pdf.

The latest issue of the FPMA Bulletin FAO/GIEWS monthly report on food price trends at world, regional and country level, with a focus on countries where prices of one or more basic food commodity are at abnormal high levels in main markets, has been released.

Main highlights of this issue are higher international prices of wheat and rice, while at sub-regional level, a general increase in prices of rice in Asia and the new harvests in East Africa are putting downward pressure on cereal prices, which, however, remain at near-record levels.

KEY MESSAGES

• International wheat prices generally increased in June on quality concerns amid unfavourable growing conditions for the 2017 crops in some key producing countries. Export prices of maize remained generally unchanged, while rice quotations continued to increase mainly on account of strong demand.
• In East Africa, cereal prices either remain stable or declined in June with the new 2017 harvests, but remained at near-record levels in several countries. Prices increased sharply in the past several months, due to tight supplies because of drought-reduced 2016 second season crops and concerns about the overall performance of this year’s harvests following poor rains and crop pests.
• In Asia, sustained demand further underpinned domestic prices of rice in exporting countries in June. Elsewhere in the subregion, rice prices rose further and reached record highs in Bangladesh, reflecting losses incurred in the 2017 main season crop, coupled with reduced production and imports in 2016. In Sri Lanka, an anticipated reduction in the 2017 output continued to support prices of rice.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7536e.pdf.

FAO has released the quarterly Global Early Warning Early Action Report for July - September 2017.

The report is a summary of major risks to agriculture and food security including their likelihood and the extent of their probable impact. It provides recommendations on early action in relation to food security and agriculture to mitigate or prevent the potential impact of the anticipated disasters. Early actions can include activities such as protecting livelihood assets to mitigate or prevent the impact of the disaster on preparedness activities. As such, a critical link is established between early warning information and concrete operational programming, thereby supporting more effective prioritization, advocacy and operational decision making. 

The report can be accessed through the following link: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7453e.pdf.

FAO and the Technical Network on Water are inviting interested individuals to participate in the online discussion “Water Accounting & Water for Food”. This exchange is organized in the context of a World Water Council Member initiative on water accounting for agriculture led by FAO with UNESCO-IHE, UNESCO-WWAP, IWMI, ICID and DWFI to raise the profile of water accounting for decision making and to demonstrate the value added it can bring in smart planning processes in water management and water governance. The main objective of this initiative is to promote the use of water accounting through a process consisting of expert consultations, policy level interactions, and the development of a White Paper on Water Accounting for decision making in the agricultural sector. The White Paper will be presented at the 8th World Water Forum in March 2018. This initiative contributes to the work plan of the Global Framework on Water Scarcity launched at the Marrakech Climate Change Conference.

The online discussion aims to consult a broad group of stakeholders (experts in the topic and people interested to learn more), and to build a common understanding on what water accounting is and how it can be done and used. In addition, its objective is to gather evidence on why and how water accounting can help decision making and planning, in particular with regard to managing water scarcity. The discussion willl make use of email exchanges and webinar presentations, and all exchanges and documentation will be stored on an online platform.

The discussion will be open until 21 July, please register here to participate: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WaterAccounting-Poll.

The latest issue of the Crop Prospect and Food Situation quarterly report, which focuses on developments affecting the food situation of developing countries and low-income food-deficit countries, has been released. The report also includes an overview of global cereal production prospects and a table highlighting countries that require external assistance for food, identifying the primary causes of the local food crises.

Highlights of the report:

• Countries in need of external assistance: FAO estimates that 37 countries are in need of external assistance for food. Civil conflict continues to be a main driver of severe food insecurity, triggering famine in South Sudan and putting populations at high risk of localized famine in Yemen and northern Nigeria. Weather shocks have also impinged on food availability and access, and have in particular compounded the fragile situation in Somalia where famine conditions continue to be a threat.
• Africa: Severe food insecurity persists in northern Nigeria and Somalia, while South Sudan remains in the grip of famine. Dry conditions lowered 2017 production prospects in parts of East Africa, while outputs in Southern Africa are forecast to rebound strongly.
• Asia: Drought in Sri Lanka resulted in a sharp drop in the 2017 paddy output, while recent floods caused extensive damage. Conflicts continue to intensely impact agriculture and food security in Iraq and in the Syrian Arab Republic, while in Yemen localized famine remains a critical risk.
• Latin America and the Caribbean: Record cereal outputs forecast in Argentina and Brazil in 2017, with production prospects generally favourable in Central American countries, although the possibility of an El Niño developing raises some concern.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7402e.pdf.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Global Data on Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN); Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR); the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the World Bank are inviting interested individuals to participate in the online discussion on ICTs and Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition currenlty held on the e-agriculture platform.

The proposed online debate on the e-Agriculture platform seeks to explore the interaction between use of ICTs in agriculture and issues around open data in agriculture and nutrition and its effective use, with a focus on establishing what benefits and possible losses, can accrue to farmers, especially small holder family farmers in developing countries, if technology and open data are used conjunctively. 

The FAO/INFOODS Global Database for Pulses on Dry Mater Basis (PulsesDM1.0) has been published on the INFOODS website http://www.fao.org/infoods/infoods/tables-and-databases/faoinfoods-databases/en/

The FAO/INFOODS Global Database for Pulses on Dry Mater Basis (PulsesDM1.0) provides nutrient values for pulses on a DRY MATTER BASIS – it is intended mainly for standard setting purposes. Pulses are a subgroup of legumes that includes dry edible seeds with low fat content. The data were recalculated to dry matter basis from the average nutrient values for 16 species published in the FAO/INFOODS Global Food Composition Database for Pulses (uPulses). In uPulses, data derived mainly from chemical analysis, were complemented by data from other published sources and compiled following standards and guidelines outlined by FAO/INFOODS. PulsesDM cover proximates, minerals, vitamins, phytate, amino acids and fatty acids fractions for foods in raw and processed forms on.

The latest issue of the FPMA Bulletin FAO/GIEWS monthly report on food price trends at world, regional and country level with a focus on countries where prices of one or more basic food commodity are at abnormal high levels in main markets.

Main highlights of this issue are the general decline of wheat and maize prices in the international market; while at sub-regional level, the further increase in cereal prices in East Africa and in the Southern Hemisphere countries the downward pressure on maize prices exerted by overall favourable production prospects in 2017

Key Messages

• Wheat prices generally declined in April, on account of ample supplies and generally favourable outlook for the 2017 harvest. Export prices of maize remained under downward pressure, mainly reflecting expectations of bumper crops in Southern Hemisphere countries. By contrast, international rice prices increased, supported by a rebound in trade activity, especially due to accelerated sales to countries of the Near East.
• In East Africa, cereal prices rose further in April and reached record or near‑record levels in most countries. Prices were underpinned by tight supplies, following drought-reduced 2016 second season outputs, and uncertain prospects for the upcoming 2017 harvests due to drier‑than‑average conditions and armyworm infestation affecting key‑growing areas.
• In Southern Hemisphere countries, favourable maize production prospects kept domestic prices under downward pressure in April and below their year-earlier levels. In Brazil, where a bumper first season crop is being harvested, maize prices declined sharply in April and averaged some 40 percent lower than a year earlier. In South Africa, expectations of a near‑record output pushed down white maize prices for the fourth consecutive month to less than half their year-earlier levels.

The report can be accessed through the following link:

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7230e.pdf.