Hunger reached 821 million people in 2017 worldwide, of which about 39 million are Latin American, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The figure represents a deterioration of 6.1% in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to previous years and could be due to the economic slowdown in South America, especially marked by the case of Venezuela, the UN agency said on Tuesday.
ROME - Time is running out for the world's forests, whose total area is shrinking by the day, warns a new FAO report urging governments to foster an all-inclusive approach to benefit both trees and those who rely on them.
Global agricultural food commodity prices rose in May, with dairy prices jumping significantly. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 176.2 points during the month, up 1.2% from April.
The current marketing season (2017/18) should end with record inventory levels for wheat and maize following better-than-earlier-expected harvests, based on FAO's latest forecasts.
After its success in controlling a devastating fruit fly with nuclear technology, Argentina is gearing up to fight a new enemy: mosquitoes that transmit Zika, in addition to dengue and chikungunya. The method applied in both cases is the sterile insect technique, SIT, an insect birth control method that uses irradiation to sterilize and release insects to suppress pest populations.
Meeting for the first time in Latin America, the World Trade Organization’s 11th Ministerial Conference will take place in Buenos Aires from 10-13 December. Central to this year’s talks will be an international deal to curb harmful fishing subsidies. These are government payments or tax breaks that contribute to overcapacity, overfishing and illegal fishing (IUU) globally.
In the lead-up to World Antibiotic Awareness Week (13-19 November 2017), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are together calling for responsible use of antibiotics in humans and animals to reduce the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Global food prices dipped in August, mainly as the prospect of bumper cereal harvests pushed up expectations for larger grain inventories. The FAO Food Price Index declined 1.3% from July, averaging 176.6 points in August.
The FAO monthly Food Price Index averaged 175.2 points in June, up 1.4% from May and 7.0% from a year earlier. The FAO Cereal Price Index rose by 4.2% in the month, amid surging prices of high-protein wheat due to deteriorating crop conditions in the United States of America. Maize prices, by contrast, declined amid record harvests in South America.
Global food commodity prices fell in April amid expectations of ongoing robust supplies of many key staples. The FAO Food Prices Index averaged 168 points in April, down 1.8% from March although remaining 10% higher than a year earlier.