Tag: FAO

FAO, AU champion expansion of Africa’s intra-agricultural trade in new AfCFTA framework

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AFRICA – The African agricultural and food market is expanding quickly as indicated by World Bank projections that show that the value of the industry is expected to more than triple to reach USD 1 trillion by 2030, compared to 2010. This according to FAO provides an opportunity to not only boost trade in food and non-food agricultural commodities and services within the continent but also enhance food security in Africa. So far regional integration is gaining momentum as evidenced by progress in the creation of customs unions and the…

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World cereal production in 2021 to increase for the third consecutive year – FAO

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GLOBAL— The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has projected that the world cereal production in 2021 will increase for the third consecutive year thanks to sharp rebounds in key production markets in Europe, India and South Africa. According to the FAO, global wheat production is forecast to reach a new high of 785 million tonnes in 2021, up 1.4% from 2020, driven by a likely sharp rebound across most of Europe and expectations of a record harvest in India. Above-average outputs also are expected for maize, with a record harvest…

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Rwandan agribusiness ventures to receive backing from FAO, JR Farms through Green Agribusiness Fund

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RWANDA – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rwanda has signed an agreement with JR Farms Limited to promote youth involvement in agriculture and create decent work opportunities.  JR Farms is a Rwandan led agri-enterprise operating in Rwanda, Nigeria and Zambia in the areas of food processing and retailing, agro commodity trading and consulting. Its corporate goals are to ensure food security, end hunger in Africa and create decent jobs for Africa’s women and young people. FAO and JR Farms have joined forces with the…

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FAO welcomes US$48.4m from Germany to help farmers withstand unprecedented shocks

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AFRICA – Germany through the KfW Development Bank has issued €40 million (US$48.4m) to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization to support farmers and fishers in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Yemen to withstand COVID-19, conflict, natural disaster and climate change shocks. The funding is aimed to boost agricultural production, reduce post-harvest losses, and create new income streams for the farmers by diversifying their activities, as well as nutrition interventions. “In light of violent conflicts, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, we are proud to deepen our…

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FAO seeks US$38m support to supplement continuing efforts of combating locust invasion

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EAST AFRICA – The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is seeking an additional US$38 million support to continue work of combating the locust menace in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen. Without this support which will be channelled towards financing fuel, airtime, and pilot hours, the 28 anti-locust aircraft which are now patrolling the skies to spot and spray locust swarms could cease operations in March, indicates FAO. “Governments have built up capacity in record-time. Swarms have been massively reduced in number and in size. “It would be tragic to throw…

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FAO projects global food prices to climb further in 2021 raising major food security concerns world wide

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GLOBAL – Global food prices reached a six-year high in December last year and are likely to keep rising into 2021, according to the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization. FAO in its report said that adverse weather, government measures to safeguard supplies and robust demand helped fuel rallies across agricultural commodities from grains to palm oil. The spike threatens to push up broader inflation, making it harder for central banks to provide more stimulus to shore up economies, while stirring memories of food-price crises a decade ago.  This is an…

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Africa turns to technology in race to out-smart locust invasion as Selina Wamucii, FAO introduce smart tools

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EAST AFRICA – As the whole world battles with the novel coronavirus, the Eastern African region seem to have been served with a second helping of a crisis of biblical proportions with the growing swarms of ravenous locusts. The crisis is extraordinary in scale and has escalated so quickly that researchers and scientists have formulated tools to stay one step ahead of the itinerant locusts. To this end, Selina Wamucii a Kenyan agricultural company and social enterprise has launched a free tool that will help farmers and pastoralists across Africa…

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FAO, OIE kickstart initiative to combat spread of African swine fever

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AFRICA – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are calling on all nations and partners to join forces to keep the deadly Africa Swine Flu (ASF), disease at bay under a new initiative. The Global Control of ASF Initiative, launched under the GF-TADs umbrella, supports actors at every level to coordinate and strengthen control measures to minimise the impact of this complex and challenging disease. Bringing together governments, industry and specialists, FAO and OIE will present the initiative…

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Global agri-food trade doubles in last two decades reaching US$1.5 trillion in 2018

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GLOBAL – Major global disruptions such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, locust invasion and climate change have proven that global systems which promote global trade are integral part of economic growth, sustainable development and strengthen resilience to shocks. “We need to rely on markets as an integral part of the global food system. This is all the more important in the face of major disruptions, whether they come from COVID-19, locust outbreaks or climate change,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu in his introduction to the report.  According to a…

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FAO seeks US$1.2 billion to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 pandemic in the global food and agriculture sector

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GLOBAL – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched a call to action for joint coordinated global response to support food and agriculture sector during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a request of an initial US$1.2 billion investment to support the program. FAO has unveiled the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme, entitled “Joint action on COVID-19: boosting our food and agricultural response” aimed at preventing a global food emergency in the face of the pandemic while working on medium to long-term development response for food security and nutrition. The…

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