October was an exceptionally busy month for FAO and for the North America liaison office, which means that this edition of our newsletter is chock full of news not only from our headquarters in Rome but also North America. Highlights from this year’s World Food Day, the FAO World Food Forum and the World Food Prize Foundation’s Borlaug Dialogue can be found by scrolling down to the articles below.

Methane emission reduction mapping, sustainable livestock transformation, food loss and waste awareness, sustainable agricultural mechanization, integrated water resource management, and expansion of an innovative global water monitoring system have been the focus of recent high-level dialogues at FAO headquarters.

Here in North America, autumn is around the corner, which means that harvest season is rapidly approaching for farmers. We hope for abundant yields around the world that will help improve global food and nutrition security.

This month at the 43rd session of the FAO Conference, Dr. QU Dongyu was elected for a second term as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). By a strong margin, Members affirmed their support for the DG’s vision of achieving...

Faced with an unrelenting global food crisis, which has the tailwinds to grow more severe in certain hotspots, the global humanitarian and development community must be unrelenting in our response.

More than a quarter of a billion people suffered from acute food insecurity in 2022. That is a staggering number.

New research from FAO shows that around 1.23 billion people were directly employed in the world’s agrifood systems in 2019. In addition, more than three times that figure, or almost half the world’s population, live in households linked to agrifood activities.

The culprits of the global food crisis are known: the climate crisis, conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. As we enter year two of the war in Ukraine and the sixth consecutive failed rainfall season in the Horn of Africa

Amidst the daily reminders of urgent threats to global food security, like livelihood-destroying severe weather events and conflict-related acute food insecurity, we may tend to lose sight of the longer-term issues at stake.

If the past few years have taught us nothing else, it is that trying to imagine what the year ahead holds would be pure folly. What we can do, though, is to approach the coming 365 days with ambition, energy and determination to achieve our long-term goal of ending hunger and malnutrition.

Dear Readers,The tables and chairs have been folded in Sharm El Sheikh, but that should not signify that COP27 is behind us. Rather, much work remains ahead to combat climate change and...

Global food, nutrition, agriculture and climate crises require our attention. But it may seem hard to know where to focus.

The food crises that we are facing are manifold. And, they are colliding. Far from being isolated events coming from individual shocks or stresses, they are interlinked. So are the solutions.Despite...

Let’s look at the state of global hunger and malnutrition with clear eyes. During the past couple of years, we have been moving away from, rather than toward, the goal of food and nutrition security for all. To face current and future challenges, we will need efficient, sustainable, resilient and inclusive agrifood systems.

Overall, the news is neither new nor particularly good. Conflict, severe climate conditions, economic shocks and the rising cost of food and fertilizer continue to drive food insecurity around the world. These...

The escalating conflict in Ukraine has placed vulnerable rural households at considerable risk of food insecurity while displacing millions and putting spring planting and harvests in question.

The year has begun for us with renewed energy to address the issues surrounding hunger and malnutrition. Agriculture must play a central role in sustainable, resilient, efficient and inclusive food systems.

I hope this New Year brings with it reinvigorated hope to you, your colleagues and loved ones! I also hope that the holiday season allowed time for reflection, especially on how we can help vulnerable and marginalized populations worldwide address the scourge of food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition.

During this last month of 2021, as we gather with family and friends to celebrate the many holidays from religions around the world, I am deeply grateful to farmers, producers and ranchers who provide us with the food we have on our tables. They have demonstrated the capacity of our agrifood systems to respond to shocks. I also wish to honor the people we have lost worldwide to the COVID-19 virus. Our thoughts go out to any of our readers who have experienced loss over this year.

As we embark on the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26), we must take advantage of this critical opportunity to commit to even bolder climate actions as our future depends on it! Food systems contribute to a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and by building more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive agri-food systems, we can have a significant impact. Join FAO at the COP 26 to learn more.

It has been quite a whirlwind of a fall, with the global momentum for agri-food system transformation in full force. The UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS 2021) last month saw numerous countries announce national pathways and hundreds of commitments, and form more than 20 coalitions to accelerate progress towards the Summit’s vision of more inclusive, resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems by 2030.

I hope you had a great summer and are doing well as we head into the busy fall season. First and foremost, the moment we have been waiting for with the United Nations (UN) Food Systems Summit is here! We are at a key juncture of determining the path of the future of our food, as global leaders and citizens will convene at this virtual Summit on 23 September 2021 during the UN General Assembly.

“We only have nine harvests left before 2030,” was the urgent call for action from the FAO Director-General QU Dongyu during the Pre-Summit of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. The proceeding was a strong indication of the scope of the Summit, which will take place next month during the UN General Assembly in New York.

I am excited to be back in Washington, DC in my new role as the Director of the FAO Liaison Office for North America, after serving as the Deputy Regional Representative for the FAO Regional Office for Africa and the FAO Representative in Ghana for the past two years. It has been great to connect with new and former colleagues.

Change is the only constant. After four and half years at FAO North America, it is time for me to move on. I will soon be joining as the FAO Representative in Sri Lanka. As I move continents and workstreams, part of me clings to the comfort of the known but part of me wants to move on, seeking new challenges and creating new approaches to our common commitment to solving world hunger.

As the world continues to confront the hardships triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical for us to look back at the year gone by and bridge the weaknesses that exist in our agri-food systems in order for us to recover and build back better.

As the flowers bloom this spring, so does hope for a new normal. At FAO, we work tirelessly to build back better, leaving no one behind. Yet, as the latest FAO and World Food Programme early warning Hunger Hotspots report shows, 20 countries are at the brink of acute food insecurity in the months ahead and urgent action is needed to avert a humanitarian crisis.

With nearly 700 million people suffering from chronic hunger, 2 billion lacking access to regular food, and 3 billion not being able to afford healthy diets, compounded with the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need all hands and tools on deck to tackle global hunger.

One month into 2021 and the world is yet to emerge fully from the shadows of the pandemic. The economic slowdown through 2020 has left a definite imprint on the food and agriculture sector. While we strive to build back better, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is becoming increasingly complex with every passing day.

Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful, rejuvenating, and safe holiday season despite the ongoing pandemic, which has changed the world as we know it.