Significant rainfall deficits and high temperatures during the 2020/21 cropping season have negatively impacted cereal crop and pasture conditions in key producing southwestern and central provinces. Food insecurity in 2021 is expected to deteriorate in the affected areas, particularly in southwestern provinces that experienced poor agricultural seasons in previous years.

The cotton sector contributes significantly to the economies of a number of developing countries, as well as to the livelihoods of millions of rural smallholders worldwide. The cotton industry employs an estimated 150 million people across 75 countries, making the cotton sector an important contributor to the achievements of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Understanding the drivers of the cotton market and identifying the challenges and opportunities that lie...

International prices of wheat, maize, barley and rice declined in March, following sustained increases for several months, mostly reflecting generally good export availabilities as well as favourable production prospects for this year. In East Africa, prices of coarse grains generally followed mixed trends in March. In several countries, prices were around or below their year-earlier levels, except in the Sudan and South Sudan, where they were at near-record to record...

Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and smart contracts provide a unique opportunity to bring greater efficiency, transparency and traceability to the exchange of value and information in the agriculture sector. By utilising digital records, cryptography and the disintermediation of transaction processing and data storage, DLTs can improve both agricultural supply chains and rural development interventions in a number of ways. The technology has the potential to simplify and integrate agricultural supply...

With the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and USAID, between 17 December 2020 and 3 January 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MoANR) carried out its annual assessment Mission to determine crop production and food supply situation throughout the 18 states of the country....

Dairy Market Review: Overview of global dairy market developments in 2020, April 2021 The Dairy Market Review, April 2021 issue presents an overview of global dairy market developments in 2020, including trends in international milk product prices, world milk production and international trade in milk products. International dairy prices declined in 2020, mainly reflecting reduced import demand due to widespread economic downturns in importing countries. High export availabilities in exporting countries,...

In response to the request by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan on 15 May 2020, FAO and WFP carried out an abridged approach to the Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) for the country. After thorough planning and preparation, considering movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mission estimated the 2020 production of the major food crops and the import requirements for the 2020/21 marketing year...

The Meat Market Review, March 2021 issue presents an overview of global meat market developments in 2020, including trends in international meat prices, global meat production and trade in meat and meat products. International meat prices fell in 2020, reflecting price declines across all meat types, underpinned by widespread import curtailments by many meat importing countries due to pandemic-related economic downturns, transport bottlenecks and foreign reserve limitations. Increased export availabilities...