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HomePosts Tagged "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)"
Agro Universities, Environment, Soil Health, World

The joint Partnership will play a pivotal role leading effort to coordinate, grow, and strengthen the VACS movement across a wide range of public and private stakeholders.

An initiative to build resilient agrifood systems grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate-adapted crops grown in healthy soils, today marked another milestone through a new partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and CIMMYT, a CGIAR Research Center.

FAO and CIMMYT signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Partnership for the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) initiative.  The joint Partnership will play a pivotal role leading effort to coordinate, grow, and strengthen the VACS movement across a wide range of public and private stakeholders.

“By joining forces with the CGIAR and CIMMYT, we bring together our collective capacities to build a strong momentum and platform to advance the VACS,” said FAO’s Director-General QU Dongyu. “VACS effectively brings together the Four Betters set out in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind.”

“Our 2030 Strategy focuses on strengthening agrifood systems to increase nutritional value and climate resilience,” said CIMMYT’s Director General, Bram Govaerts. “We are proud to stand united, through VACS, with FAO, whose excellent track record on policy work and networking with national governments will help equip farmers with resilient seed and climate-smart cropping systems that regenerate, rather than degrade, the soils on which their diets and livelihoods depend.”

Launched in 2023 by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with the African Union and FAO, the VACS movement aims to build sustainable and resilient agrifood systems by leveraging opportunity crops and building healthy soils to enhance agricultural resilience to climate change and improve diets. Nutrient-rich and traditional crops like sorghum, millet, cowpea, and mung bean are vital for food security and nutrition under climate change but have seen little attention so far. VACS recognizes the interdependence of crops and soils: Crops need good soil to be productive, and different crops can only be sustainably grown on some types of land. 

Since its launch the VACS initiative has supported many activities including the Quick Wins Seed Systems Project in Africa, which promotes the adoption of climate-resilient dryland grains and legumes and helps smallholders access seeds of local nutritious crops like pearl millet, finger millet, and mung bean, and connects them with markets and agri-services. Meanwhile, the VACS Fellows programme trains African breeding professionals, strengthening regional agrifood systems. In Central America, InnovaHubs partner with CGIAR, Mexico, and Norway to connect farmers with markets, technologies, and high-quality seeds. FAO, through its work, including as part of the International Network on Soil Fertility and Fertilizers (INSOILFER) and the Soil mapping for resilient agrifood systems (SoilFER) project, assists members with the implementation of sustainable and balanced soil fertility management for food security and to promote actions to enhance the link between nourished healthy soils and opportunity crops.

Leveraging on the expertise and mandates of both CIMMYT and FAO, the new joint VACS Partnership will support, coordinate and amplify the impact of all stakeholders of the VACS movement, public and private, through the following functions:

  • Strategy: The Partnership will develop and maintain a VACS strategy, including by defining its mission, objectives, and approach.
  • Resource Mobilization: The Partnership will work with public and private sector donors to increase investments in VACS-aligned work.
  • Donor and Implementer Coordination: The Partnership will coordinate work among major VACS donors and implementers, including by coordinating the VACS Implementers’ Group.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: The Partnership will strengthen ties across public and private stakeholders to catalyse action in support of VACS, including by coordinating the VACS Community of Practice and the VACS Champions program.
  • Shaping the Policy Environment: The Partnership will coordinate the development of a VACS policy agenda and work to advance it at the local, national, and multinational levels.
  • Communications: The Partnership will elevate the importance of diverse crops and healthy soils as a fundamental means of advancing a range of sustainable development goals.
  • Results Management: The Partnership will develop and maintain a results management framework to track progress in achieving VACS objectives.

The joint Partnership will play a pivotal

Acquaculture, Dairy, Foodgrains, Industry Reports / Analysis, Live Stock, Poultry, Pulses, World

Global crop production growth will mainly be driven by continued progress in plant breeding and a transition to more intensive production systems.

Global agricultural and food production are projected to continue to increase over the next ten years, but at a slower pace of growth than the previous decade due to demographic trends, according to a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2023-2032 is the key global reference for medium-term prospects for agricultural commodity markets. While uncertainty has risen due to geopolitical tensions, adverse climate trends, animal and plant diseases and increased price volatility for key agricultural inputs, global production of crops, livestock products and fish are projected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.1 percent during the period, half the pace recorded in the decade ending in 2015. Total food consumption is expected to rise by 1.3 percent per annum to 2032, indicating an increase in the share of agricultural commodities used as food.

These projections assume a fast recovery from recent inflationary pressures, normal weather conditions, no major policy changes and on-trend evolution in consumer preferences. The possibility that inflationary pressures remain persistent poses downside risks to global food demand and production.

Global crop production growth will mainly be driven by continued progress in plant breeding and a transition to more intensive production systems. Yield improvements are projected to account for 79 percent of global crop production growth, cropland expansion for 15 percent, and higher cropping intensity for 6 percent over the Outlook period.

“The broad trends outlined in this report are heading in the right direction, but need to be accelerated,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said. “Promoting a faster shift to sustainable agrifood systems will bring many benefits and help usher in better lives for all, leaving no one behind.”

Global crop production growth will mainly be

Agrotech, Environment, World

Identifies two main goals: the preservation of natural vegetation on black soils such as grasslands, forests and wetlands, and the adoption of sustainable soil management approaches on cropped black soils

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) marked World Soil Day 2022 with the launch of its first global report on black soils, which are at greater risk than ever due to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and land use change.

The focus of this year’s World Soil Day event, held in hybrid form at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, is the role of soils in food security and how the loss of soil fertility results in low crop yields and crop failures, leading local populations to hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

As The Global Status of Black Soils report shows, this black treasure is under threat. Because of land use change (approximately 31 per cent of global black soils are cultivated), unsustainable management practices and excessive use of agrochemicals, most of the black soils have already lost at least half of their soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and suffer from moderate to severe erosion processes, as well as nutrient imbalances, acidification, and biodiversity loss.

The report highlights two main goals: the preservation of natural vegetation on black soils such as grasslands, forests and wetlands, and the adoption of sustainable soil management approaches on cropped black soils. It also puts forward tailored recommendations for farmers, national governments, research and academia and the International Network of Black Soils.

Participants including Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Lee Seong-ho, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea to FAO, and Victor Vasiliev, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, were introduced to The Global Status of Black Soils report and the Soil Atlas of Asia. The event also saw the delivery of the Glinka World Soil Prize 2022 to Ashok Patra Kumar, a renowned soil scientist from the ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS) in Bhopal, and the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award 2022 to the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. The IUSS Distinguished Service Medal 2022 was presented to the Global Soil Partnership to recognize its contribution to soil science since its creation 10 years ago.

In the current food and fertilizer crisis, smallholder farmers, particularly from vulnerable countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia, lack access to organic and inorganic fertilizers and are currently facing a 300 percent increase in fertilizer prices. These crises call our attention to the crucial role of sustainable management and the restoration of our precious resource to safeguard healthy soils and their fertility.

“Today, reduced availability and soaring fertilizer prices are driving increased food prices and food insecurity,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said in his opening remarks. “We need to work together to produce safe, nutritious and micronutrient-rich food in a sustainable way that avoids soil degradation, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and decreases agrifood systems pollution.”

Asia Atlas

World Soil Day also saw the pre-launch of the Soil Atlas of Asia, a collaborative effort between FAO’s Global Soil Partnership with the European Commission through its Joint Research Centre, and with financial support from the Korean Rural Development Administration and participating countries. The atlas is designed to raise awareness about soil health among a wide range of stakeholders. Thanks to contributions from over 100 soil experts from 45 countries, the atlas portrays the rich diversity of soils in the region.

Identifies two main goals: the preservation of