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![FAO CIMMYT and USAID discuss ways to tackle Fall Armyworm Desert Locust and other crop-devastating pests and diseases](https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/partnerships/img/small_49453632508_28ca76a75d_c.jpg)
28 Jan 2020
Rome - FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met with Martin Kropff, Director-General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). The two were also joined by Robert Bertram, Chief Scientist of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). During the meeting they highlighted the urgent need to develop new evidence based solutions and toolkits to tackle the most destructive pests in agriculture, specifically Fall Armyworm (FAW).
In this context, QU referred to the launch of the FAO’s Global Action for FAW Control in December 2019 and the establishment of the Steering Committee as a major step forward in this...![FAO and Kyoto University partner to reduce food waste](https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/partnerships/img/small_1_KU_Ayaka_Nomura.png)
28 Jan 2020
A pilot project implemented by Kyoto University (KU) in 2019, aimed at raising awareness on food waste in canteens on the campus, and enhancing the knowledge and engagement of students in reducing food loss and waste, determined that approximately 20 per cent of food is wasted in canteens on campus. Research findings under the pilot highlighted that the most wasted foods on the campus include side vegetables, rice and noodles, and parts of fish. ![New agreements with academic and research institutions allow FAO to provide greater support to family farmers](https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/partnerships/img/small_24785_AMM077.jpg)
04 Jan 2020
Rome - Over the past months, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations continued to support the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF), signing three new letters of agreement (LoA) with the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Development in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). These new agreements will support knowledge exchange and capacity development activities, including two studies on family farming.
More than 90 percent of the world’s 600 million farms are run by an individual or a family and rely primarily...![Empowering farmers through innovation is key for sustainable development](https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/partnerships/img/small_AgInnovation.jpg)
06 Nov 2019
FAO stresses the need to explore new ways to make technologies and innovation affordable and accessible to all
Rome - It is fundamental to support smallholder and family farmers by enhancing their access to innovation for sustainable food systems and to foster sustainable development, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said today. He made the remarks during a discussion on Enhancing access to innovation in agriculture to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at FAO headquarters in Rome.
"Innovation in agriculture is a way to enhance...![Raising awareness on food systems governance](https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/partnerships/img/small_48037602067_7701a51ec8_k.jpg)
14 Jun 2019
FAO and Johns Hopkins University to work together to improve nutrition for the most vulnerable
Rome – On the opening day of the Future of Food Symposium, FAO and the Johns Hopkins University have formalized their agreement to work together to support evidence-based policy for improving nutrition, health, and well-being, particularly for the world’s most vulnerable and under-served populations.
FAO will work closely with Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Berman Institute of Bioethics to promote interdisciplinary and policy-focused research on systems thinking for nutrition, and to raise awareness about malnutrition in all its forms, including undernutrition, inadequate nutrition, overweight and obesity. The partnership also foresees greater engagement with global policy mechanisms...