News archive 2009

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf today signed three cooperation agreements between FAO and international organisations for broadcast media. “Information has always been a key weapon in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. It will become even more important this year,” he declared.

The sharp spike in hunger triggered by the global economic crisis has hit the poorest people in developing countries hardest, revealing a fragile world food system in urgent need of reform.

The humanitarian disaster looming at the shrinking Lake Chad in central Africa needs to be urgently addressed. The lake was once one of the world's largest water bodies. Due to climatic variability, climate change and population pressure, the lake has shrunk by 90 percent.

A 'Blue Carbon' fund able to invest in the maintenance and rehabilitation of key marine ecosystems should be considered by governments keen to combat climate change, according to a report released today by three UN agencies, including FAO.

Agriculture must become more productive if it is to feed a much larger world population while also responding to the daunting environmental challenges ahead, according to FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf

As climate change negotiations enter their final stretch towards the December conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, the World Forestry Congress will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18-23 October 2009.

Net investments of $83 billion a year must be made in agriculture in developing countries if there is to be enough food for 9.1 billion people in 2050

Poorest regions with the highest levels of chronic hunger are likely to be among the worst affected by climate change. Many developing countries, particularly in Africa, could become increasingly dependent on food imports.

The recent positive performance of agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa indicates a break with the past and that the outlook for the sector is improving. However “concerted and purposeful policy action” is required to maintain the momentum, according to a new FAO discussion paper.

Boosting agricultural production to the levels needed to feed an expanded world population will require sharply increased public investment in research and development and widespread adoption of new technologies, farming techniques and crop varieties.