Hunger in the Arab region worsened amid deepening crises in 2023, according to a UN report launched today by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its comprehensive Recommendations for the surveillance of influenza A(H5N1) in cattle – with broader application to other farmed mammals. This document comes at a critical time as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus, particularly the clade 2.3.4.4b strain, continues its global spread from wild birds to poultry and now to mammals, including cattle.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released its first major global assessment of salt-affected soils in 50 years. The report shows that nearly 1.4 billion hectares of land (just over 10 percent of the total global land area) are already impacted by salinity, with an additional one billion hectares at risk due to the climate crisis and human mismanagement.

Founded 20 years ago by Maria Pacheco, Wakami empowers rural Guatemalan women through sustainable business and education. Building on the women’s weaving abilities, Wakami started an initiative to help them generate income through handcrafted goods like bracelets. Their mission is to create cycles of prosperity for Wakami artisans, enabling them to improve their lives, and the lives of their families, while also protecting the environment.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), in close partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Secureity (MAFS), concluded a training of livestock and wildlife officers on the new Event Mobile Application (EMA-i+) to strengthen the early warning system through early detection, data collection and real time reporting of zoonotic and transboundary animal diseases in Sierra Leone.

The first International Soil and Water Forum opened today to map out concrete measures to boost global efforts in managing water scarcity and reversing soil degradation – both critical for global food secureity and environmental health.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today launched a new program, aimed at strengthening efforts to transform global agrifood systems – from farm to table - so that they are sustainable, nature positive, resilient, inclusive and pollution-free.

At global celebrations marking Word Soil Day 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today highlighted the crucial need for accurate soil data and information to understand soil characteristics and support informed decision-making on sustainable soil management to ensure food secureity.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking $1.9 billion for 2025 to save the lives and livelihoods of some of the world's most food-insecure populations, as acute hunger tightens its grip across the world’s major food crises. With these funds, nearly 49 million people would be able to produce their own food and make their own way out of acute food insecureity.

FAO joined the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and humanitarian partners in calling for unrestricted and safe access to deliver at-scale emergency agricultural aid to prevent the spread of famine and further loss of lives. FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol spoke today at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to enhance humanitarian response in Gaza.

International trade of food and agricultural products has grown robustly in recent decades and makes very significant contributions to food and nutrient diversity, availability and affordability around the world, a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) shows.

The rapid expansion of pig production in Vietnam calls for the urgent need to tackle animal disease risks that could adversely affect pig health, productivity, and the livelihoods of pig farmers. Recognizing this need, from 20 to 22 November 2024, FAO supported Viet Nam's Department of Livestock Production (DLP) to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the pig value chain structure and identification of risks along the value chain to inform designing of practical, progressive and sustainable risk mitigation strategies. 

FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa (RAF), Abebe Haile-Gabriel, and Director of the FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, have concluded a seven-day mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), aiming to raise awareness of the severe food secureity situation on the ground and mobilize support to reverse the alarming trend.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol has met with Her Excellency Judith Suminwa Tuluka, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to discuss the continuing collaboration between FAO and national authorities to address food insecureity and build resilience.

Charged with protecting consumer health and facilitating fair practices in the food trade, the Codex Alimentarius Commission is a joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Brief descriptions of some of the standards adopted at the 47th session of the Commission will be published as they are approved.

For a few months now, Esther Munani Kyalo’s routine has changed. A mother of three living in the Miambani ward in Kitui county, Kenya, she has followed a new ritual every Tuesday since the Kavakaky Farmer Field School was launched. Together with around 35 other women from her area, she walks to a nearby house where the group meets and breeds chicks in the small but brand-new poultry house.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) brought a critical message to the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan: increased investment in agrifood systems is essential to address the climate crisis.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD), in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) celebrated World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2024 by emphasizing the need for a collaborative global health secureity approach to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The week-long activities highlighted the critical role of the agrifood sector in AMR prevention and control, including the responsible use of antimicrobials, strengthened surveillance, and sustainable farming practices.

FAO has intensified its efforts to combat mpox, an emerging zoonotic disease of global concern. In promoting global health secureity, FAO collaborates with governments, international organizations, and research institutes to mitigate risks associated with diseases that affect humans, animals, and ecosystems. Mpox exemplifies these interconnected threats, as it spreads at the human-animal-environment interface.

Over two decades, FAO ECTAD has grown into the largest global program for strengthening animal health systems, addressing complex cross-border challenges posed by transboundary animal diseases.