Food security and agriculture

This report describes the effects of price volatility on food security and presents policy options to reduce volatility in a cost-effective manner and to manage it when it cannot be avoided, especially in relation to weather shocks such as floods or

Scientific progress has laid the basis for more effective policies to combat and manage drought and desertification. The challenge of climate change means it is imperative to translate that science into action, according to the World Meteorological Organization...

A four-year pilot project involving 15 West African countries has trained 5 700 subsistence farmers – including 1 000 rural women - in how to access and use weather and climate information to maximize yields and minimize risks...

'There is increasing recognition that these two areas share common ground; both are concerned with reducing vulnerability of communities and contributing to sustainable development'...

The annual monsoon season in South East Asia continues to wreak havoc on lives and economies across many parts of the region with Thailand reportedly suffering from the worst floods in 50 years.

'Reducing the risks of climate change and increasing the resilience of agriculture and forestry ecosystems are vital to Pacific Islanders (...) Both DRR and CCA policies and strategies recognise the vulnerability of the agriculture and forestry sectors in the Pacific'...

'Protection of children before, during and after disasters should be prioritised because they are physically weak,' declared Gen Marcel Gatsinzi, the Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Settlement...

On the occasion of the UN International Day for Disaster Reduction, Shannon Walajtys writes about the many animal species under threat of disasters, that range from catastrophic events, affecting thousands of animals, to a crisis that may impact upon just a few or even one animal...