Fierce rivals by tradition, football clubs Roma and Lazio, of Italy's top-tier Seria A league, have found common cause: supporting the World Food Programme's Stop The Waste campaign. The drive, now in its third year, aims to raise awareness around how food waste plays into the hands of global hunger. As part of the collaboration, players are being encouraged to advocate for healthy diets in public engagements and on social media, while pressing home the importance of reducing food waste.
Our current food systems are not sustainable. Hunger has been on the rise for several years, with an estimated 690 million people worldwide going hungry in 2019 – and with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 132 million more people are expected to join this number soon. Meanwhile, our food production practices – particularly the expansion of large-scale industrial agriculture – come with an unacceptably high environmental cost, threatening the food security of future generations. IFAD believes small-scale farmers can offer solutions to these problems.
The UN Food Systems Summit is a turning point in the world's journey to achieving the SDGs by 2030. Over the next year, the Summit aims to set a course to radically change the way we produce, process, and consume food. It will be a people's summit—giving a voice to citizens, bringing us closer to realizing an equitable and healthy future. Everything and everyone must change – that means understanding the tradeoffs, but also recognizing that all can benefit. Rebuilding food systems enables us to answer the Secretary-General's call to "build back better" and to leave no one behind.
The newly launched International Year of Fruits and Vegetables 2021 (IYFV) appeals to improve healthy and sustainable food production through innovation and technology and to reduce food loss and waste. Proclaimed at the 74th session the UN General Assembly, IYFV 2021 is dedicated to raising awareness about the important role of fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, food security and health. FAO, the lead agency for celebrating the year in collaboration with other organizations, launched the year with a campaign that includes a promo video and background paper.
Crop Certification: Going green unlocks global markets for farmers
Distilling herbs with zero waste in eastern Serbia
When COVID-19 restrictions in Kenya disrupted access to the export market, the local markets flooded with produce and a group of local farmers, who have been practicing organic farming were stuck with their crop. Such experiences are becoming more and more common – especially throughout Africa. IFAD’s Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) works with countries and development partners throughout sub-Saharan Africa to promote a holistic approach as risk and uncertainty intensify in the agriculture sector.
Thanks to its unique geographical conditions, including soil and weather, Jamaica produces some of the world’s best ginger. FAO has joined public and private sector bodies to protect the industry from a destructive disease.
The COVID-19 pandemic could threaten global food security, if urgent action is not taken. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme, which aims to mitigate the immediate impacts of the pandemic while also strengthening the long-term resilience of food systems and livelihoods. In this podcast, FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol details the plan and calls for a global coordinated response to the crisis.
Rural women, nature and development: An agenda to advance towards just, inclusive and, resilient societies
#WorldFoodDay called for global solidarity to help all populations, and especially the most vulnerable, to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make food systems more resilient and robust so they can withstand increasing volatility and climate shocks, deliver affordable and su
For Idris Elba, returning to Sierra Leone late last year was about two things: reconnecting with his roots and learning about the challenges facing the country where his father was born, so that he could become a better advocate for its people. The actor, producer, and humanitarian took part in a project field visit with his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, the model and activist, organized by the United Nations’ International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) and Global Citizen last December. The Elbas saw firsthand how IFAD transforms the lives of smallholder farmers while in Sierra Leone.
During these uncertain times many have rekindled an appreciation for what some take for granted and many go without: food. For this World Food Day, it is important to support our food heroes - farmers and food system workers. Global solidarity is key for making food systems more resilient and robust to help all populations, especially the most vulnerable, to recover from the crisis. Let’s make delivering affordable and healthy diets for all, and decent livelihoods for food system workers, a priority. Join the celebration on 16 October 8:00 a.m. EDT and check the FAO website to learn more.
An FAO-led project brought together 30 students and their parents, members of the Asoprocaffe coffee association, with an association of coffee producers, to address coffee farming methods. As students learn about the cultivation process, they question the effects of changes in climate and frequent droughts. Together, they developed the 'Smart Agro' project to counter the effects of climate change and promote the efficient use of water through Big Data and the Internet of Things.
