FAO in North America

Bull’s-eye target on hunger and poverty

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on November 27, 2012

Last week the Bread  for the World Institute launched its annual Hunger Report. The report argues that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are within reach by 2015, and that achieving the hunger and poverty targets depends on investments in smallholder agriculture and social protection.

Calling the MDGs “the global community’s most holistic approach yet to human development”, the report looks ahead to the international development agenda beyond 2015, saying that the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty is possible within a generation:

“Whatever agreement emerges should have a bull’s-eye target of ending hunger and extreme poverty by 2040.”

The Greener Revolution

In a guest contribution to this year’s report, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva writes that the world will not end hunger if we do not shift towards more sustainable patterns of production and consumption.

“We cannot separate agriculture from the management and preservation of our natural resources, from food security and from sustainable development itself…. In agriculture, as soon as you pull on something, you find it is connected to everything else.”

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Global food prices up slightly, cereal production forecast down

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on October 4, 2012

The FAO Food Price Index rose slightly in September 2012, up 1.4 percent, or 3 points, from its level in August. The rise reflected strengthening dairy and meat prices and more contained increases for cereals. Prices of sugar and oils, on the other hand, fell.

Meanwhile, FAO’s latest forecasts confirm a decline in global cereal production this year from the record registered in 2011. But record harvests are expected in low-income food-deficit countries.

World cereal production in 2012 is now forecast at 2 286 million tonnes, slightly down from the  2 295 million tonnes estimated in September, according to the new issue of FAO’s quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report also published today.

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USDA forecasts sharp decline in corn, soybean production

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on August 10, 2012

The US Department of Agriculture projected a sharp decline in corn production for the second consecutive month. Its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates released today forecast U.S. corn production for 2012/13 at 10.8 billion bushels, the lowest since 2006/07.

Soybean production for 2012/13 is projected at 2.7 billion bushels, down 358 million due to lower harvested area and yields, the report said.

The new forecasts come on the heels of FAO’s latest Food Price Index, which rose 6 percent in July after three months of decline.

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Food prices up

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on August 9, 2012

The FAO Food Price Index climbed 6 percent in July 2012 after three months of decline. The Index averaged 213 points, up 12 points from June but well below the peak of 238 points reached in February 2011. Grains and sugar were the main drivers of the increase.

The severe deterioration of US maize crop prospects due to extensive drought damage pushed up maize prices by almost 23 percent in July.

International wheat prices also surged 19 percent amid worsened production prospects in Russia and expectations of firm demand for wheat as feed because of tight maize supplies.

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FAO: Export prices of grains rise sharply in July

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on July 20, 2012

According to FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture, export prices of grains have risen sharply in July. Export prices of maize increased by 20 percent in the first three weeks of July compared to their June level, while international wheat prices rose by some 21 percent over the same period.

Prices for maize were underpinned by continuous concerns about the impact of hot and dry weather conditions on yield potential of the 2012 maize crop in parts of the United States.

Deterioration of prospects for 2012 wheat production in the Black Sea region due to dry and hot weather, particularly in the Russian Federation, and strong maize values have put upward pressure on wheat prices since the second half of June.

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Crisis in the Sahel

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on March 12, 2012

©FAO/Jeanette Van Acker

At least 15 million people are estimated to be at risk of food insecurity in the Sahel

FAO called Friday for urgent action to support farmers and herders caught in a cycle of recurring food crises in the Sahel region of western Africa. Agropastoralists in the Sahel face mounting challenges from drought, cereal and fodder crop declines, environmental degradation, high food prices, and chronic poverty. Cereal outputs have fallen an average of 25% in the past year.

The response includes assistance with planting and harvesting, targeting nutrition education for women with children, and reinforcement of food security information and early warning systems. Regional coordination of multiple humanitarian organizations presents a more integrated approach to addressing the crisis.

Read more about the efforts of FAO and its partners.

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Policy reform to resolve food crisis

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on February 16, 2012

A recent report by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy addresses how food security has made its way into the parlance of governments and international agencies as a priority issue. In particular, the report looks at how the policies and investments surrounding food and agriculture have changed since the outset of the food crisis in 2007.

The conclusions suggest that while there has been renewed attention to agricultural and rural development, as well as increased funding for the sector, these actions lack the urgency necessary to address the immediate needs of the hungry. Moreover, the authors suggest a need for a redesign of policy for agricultural trade and development, calling for more emphasis on agro-ecological methods and decoupling energy and agriculture.

In order to achieve some of the reforms suggested in terms of biofuel expansion, price volatility, and land grabs, the authors call for increased engagement of developing country governments and a shift in focus by those of developed nations.

Read the full report online.

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Prices ease a bit, cereal production forecast up

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on December 8, 2011

Photo: ©FAO/Vasily Maximov Speaking of prices, FAO released its November Food Price Index today, which saw prices virtually unchanged from their October levels. At the new level of 215 points, the Index was 23 points, or 10 percent, below its peak in February 2011 but remained two points, or one percent, above its November 2010 level.

The prices of cereals, one of the main commodity groups included in the Food Price Index, dropped by 3 points or  1 percent from October.

Contributing to the downward pressure on cereal prices is the significant upward revision of the 2011/2012 global cereal supply estimate as a result of better crop prospects in some Asian countries and the Russian Federation, and larger than anticipated stocks in the latter. Other factors include deteriorating world economic prospects and a strong U.S. dollar.

These are among the highlights of the latest issue of FAO’s quarterly Crop Prospects and Food Situation report also published today. The report confirmed a record level of world cereal production of 2 323 million tonnes for 2011 – a 3.5 percent increase on 2010 production. FAO says that this should be sufficient to cover the expected increase in utilization in the coming year and also allow for a moderate replenishment of world reserves.

Read more on the report, including updates on the world’s food insecurity hot spots.

For more on the global price situation, watch this Bloomberg interview with FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian.

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From food crisis to stability

Submitted by Rachel Friedman on December 8, 2011

Both 2008 and 2011 were years of high food prices and troubling levels of hunger. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) held a seminar on Monday in which a distinguished panel of IFPRI board members explored the underlying factors behind the food crises and what lessons can be gleaned for the years to come.

Dr. Kym Anderson of the University of Adelaide presented on the economics behind food price spikes. This included an analysis of protective agricultural policies, taxes and trade policy. From Iowa State University, Dr. Catherine Kling provided thoughts on the trade-offs between food production and water quality. Using the Gulf of Mexico’s ‘Dead Zone’ as a case study, she provided examples of management practices better suited to maintaining water quality and healthy ecosystems.

Shifting over to China, Dr. Zhu Ling from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences provided an overview of the drivers for food price increases in China. He concluded by explaining how the Chinese government has responded to the challenges posed by food prices, including the investments made in agricultural research, education and training. These presentations led to an interesting round of questions from the audience and ensuing discussion.

Watch the video of the seminar for the full presentations.

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Report charts pathway to tackling hunger and climate change

Submitted by Teresa Buerkle on November 21, 2011

A new report issued in the run up to the next round of UN climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, later this month, lays out key policy responses to the global challenge of feeding a world faced with climate change, rapid population growth, poverty, food price spikes and degraded ecosystems.

“Business as usual in our globally interconnected food system will not bring us food security and environmental sustainability,” says the report, Achieving food security in the face of climate change – a summary for policy makers from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, an international group of experts convened by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

The report’s recommendations include significant increases in global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems over the next decade; sustainably intensifying agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture; and reducing losses and waste in the food system.

No small challenge, according to Sir John Beddington, the UK’s chief scientific adviser and chair of the Commission:

“It’s about reorienting the whole global food system – not just agricultural production, and not just in developing countries. We need a socially equitable, global approach to produce the funding, policy, management and regional initiatives that will deliver nutrition, income and climate benefits for all.”

The Commission’s final report, upon which the recommendations are based, will be released early in 2012.

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