Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has sought customized technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for enhancing local wheat and maize production in order to help address growing demands currently met through imports.  He highlighted Bangladesh’s remarkable progress in food security and agricultural production despite facing the challenges of shrinking arable land, growing population and climate impacts. FM seeks Danish investments in renewable energy, ICT sector The Foreign Minister also urged the Country Representative to align FAO’s activities with the relevant priority areas identified in the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. Dr Jiaoqun Shi, the new FAO Representative to Bangladesh presented his Credentials to Foreign Minister Dr Hasan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. No more stray mortal shells from Myanmar to land in Bangladesh, hopes FM The Foreign Minister welcomed the new FAO Representative and assured him of necessary support in discharging his responsibilities. Minister Hasan reiterated Bangladesh’s interest in supporting contract farming through private sector engagement in interested African countries.

Dr Jiaoqun Shi has joined as the new Representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Bangladesh. He submitted his credential to Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud at the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. Dr Shi, a national of China, holds a Master of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wuhan University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from the National Academy of Governance in China. British parliamentary delegation visits Beximco Industrial Park He joined FAO in 2019 as Senior Compliance Advisor to the Deputy Director-General at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy and since January 2021, he had been serving as Special Adviser at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr Jiaoqun Shi started his career in 1988 as Researcher in the Xiangfan Prefecture, Government of China, in Xiangfan, China, according to FAO. From 1996 to 2004, he served as Deputy Director of Personnel in the Appointment Division at the Ministry of Finance in Beijing, China. Bangladesh, Canada find many areas for potential collaboration Between 2007 and 2010, he was Director of the General Division at the Ministry of Finance in Beijing, China. In 2009, he worked as Deputy Prefecture Governor for the Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Government in Xiangxi, China. From 2010 to 2016, he served as Deputy Director-General of the General Office at the Ministry of Finance in Beijing, China.  ‘Ready to work with you closely’: UAE Foreign Minister writes to Hasan Mahmud Between 2016 and 2019, he was Deputy Representative at the Permanent Representation of the People’s Republic of China to the three United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) in Rome, Italy. Dr Jiaoqun Shi, FAO Representative in Bangladesh will lead the planning and implementation of FAO programmes in Bangladesh.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have joined hands in a significant partnership agreement aimed at enhancing global food security and nutrition. This trilateral cooperation agreement focuses on empowering rural smallholder farmers by providing them with accessible, affordable and adaptable technologies crucial for ensuring food security, according to an official press release. IsDB’s Vice President of Operations Dr. Mansur Muhtar emphasized the significance of this collaboration in addressing the pressing challenges of food insecurity and malnutrition that confront numerous IsDB Member Countries, particularly among small-scale farmers and pastoralist communities. Global food prices down 2.1 pct in August: FAO He stated, "Our partnership with FAO and IFAD will play a pivotal role in identifying technologies suitable for integration into IsDB's Food Security Response Program (FSRP) and other agricultural initiatives." This alliance is poised to usher in transformative change in agricultural sustainability and food security across diverse regions. “A majority of countries in the Near East and North Africa region projects increasing rates of food insecurity and malnutrition. These challenges are particularly more prevalent amongst small-scale farmers and pastoralist communities. The new tripartite cooperation between FAO, IsDB and IFAD will facilitate identification of technologies that have the potential for mainstreaming throughout the crop value chain to improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers and food security among the entire populations,” said AbdulHakim Elwaer, FAO assistant director-general and regional representative for the Near East and North Africa (NENA).  “This cooperation is important to FAO, as it is a first building block in the partnership between FAO and IsDB since the signing of an MoU in 2020.” Elwaer added. “Technology has enabled small-scale producers to effectively contribute to sustainable agricultural development and food security. Despite the huge efforts to introduce new technologies to support farmers across the value chain, there is still an urgent need to increase capacities and accelerate innovation through partnerships. The cooperation agreement is a major milestone in our joining forces with other partners to help reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Saudi Vision 2030," said IFAD’s Director of Sustainable Production, Markets, and Institutions Division Thouraya Triki.  FAO-ERD sign technical assistance project agreement  She added: "We aim through this agreement to share our knowledge and technical expertise with FAO and IsDB and benefit from this joint initiative to promote the scale of these technologies and strengthen the capacities of rural farmers to help them to reduce costs and increase production, income and food security.” These transferable, adoptable, smart agricultural technologies and digital solutions will support the development of low carbon agriculture, improve resilience, contribute to poverty alleviation, create employment and reduce vulnerability to climate-related risks. Aligned with the digital era, this collective initiative aspires to harness innovative tools and approaches with the objective of empowering rural households and smallholder family farmers to thrive despite multifaceted challenges. These technologies and solutions are anticipated not only to improve agricultural productivity but also to pave the way for sustainable, low-carbon practices. By enhancing resilience, reducing poverty, creating employment opportunities, and mitigating vulnerabilities linked to climate-induced risks, this partnership emerges as a source of optimism. Global food prices rise after collapse of Black Sea deal: FAO This tripartite agreement represents a synergistic collaboration, harnessing the expertise and resources of FAO, IsDB, and IFAD to empower rural households, uplift smallholder family farmers, and contribute to elevated global food security. Through the integration of cutting-edge technologies into agricultural practices, this partnership seeks to cultivate a sustainable and resilient food supply, fostering prosperity for communities worldwide.

The benchmark index of international food commodity prices has declined 2.1 percent compared to July, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Friday. The prices of rice, however, surged by 9.8 percent in August to a 15-year high compared to a month earlier. The increase was triggered by India's rice export ban from July, complicated by a seasonal lull in production between rice harvests in the Northern Hemisphere. Read : FAO-ERD sign technical assistance project agreement  Overall prices for grains and cereals, the largest component in the index, slipped by 0.7 percent due to strong harvests from major producers. Corn prices fell for the seventh consecutive month based on bumper crops in Brazil, while wheat prices were 3.8 percent lower based on strong harvests in the United States and Canada. FAO said four of the five broad sub-indexes saw declines. In addition to the slight dip in prices for grains and cereals, prices were also lower for vegetable oils, dairy products, and meat. Read : Global food prices rise after collapse of Black Sea deal: FAO Sugar prices, meanwhile, rose by 1.3 percent and were more than 34 percent above their levels from a year earlier. FAO said the increase in sugar prices stemmed from persisting concerns about impacts from the El Niño weather phenomenon in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Sugar output in India was also hurt by low rainfall there, while heavy rains made sugar harvests more difficult in Brazil. Read : Climate adaptive innovation must for development of agro industries: Speakers say at ICC Bangladesh, Standard Chartered, FAO roundtable The next FAO food price index is scheduled for publication on Oct. 6, 2023.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has offered to Nepal the use of its newly constructed Payra port during a meeting with her Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The two visiting ministers met at newly opened Bangladesh-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Room in the FAO Headquarters on the sideline of the UN Food Systems Summit. Both leaders are in Rome to attend the summit. In the meeting, PM Hasina offered Nepal the use of theu Payra port, said Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen while briefing reporters. Read: Italy keen to take more manpower from Bangladesh in agri & hospitality sectors “Bangladesh has already opened the Chalna and Chittagong ports for Nepal. Nepal can use the newly constructed Payra port as well,” Momen  quoted her as telling Dahal. PM Hasina said Bangladesh is developing its Sayedpur airport as a regional hub to extend the connectivity in the region. The Nepalese premier  commended the development of Bangladesh under the successful leadership of PM Hasina, said Momen. Read: Time has come for a climate-smart agri-food revolution: PM Hasina tells UN food summit “You are a leader of our region,” Momen quoted him as saying. He said there is a huge scope of hydroelectricity generation in Nepal. In this context, Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh will take steps to import renewable energy particularly hydroelectricity after the first trilateral power trade from Nepal to Bangladesh through India for 40MW of power starts. Read: Bangladesh-Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Room opened at FAO Headquarters  Dahal mentioned that a good number of Nepalese students are pursuing their studies in Bangladesh.    

The U.N. delivered grim news on global food security Wednesday: 2.4 billion people didn’t have constant access to food last year, as many as 783 million faced hunger, and 148 million children suffered from stunted growth. Five U.N. agencies said in the 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition report that while global hunger numbers stalled between 2021 and 2022 many places are facing deepening food crises. They pointed to Western Asia, the Caribbean and Africa, where 20% of the continent’s population is experiencing hunger, more than twice the global average. “Recovery from the global pandemic has been uneven, and the war in Ukraine has affected the nutritious food and healthy diets,” Qu Dongyu, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement. “This is the `new normal’ where climate change, conflict, and economic instability are pushing those on the margins even further from safety.” FAO chief economist Maximo Torero said the FAO food price index has been declining for about 15 months, but “food inflation has continued.” But he said not knowing if the deal that has enabled Ukraine to ship 32 metric tons of grain to world markets and is trying to overcome obstacles to Russian grain and fertilizer shipments will be renewed when it expires on July 17 “is not good for the markets.” UN warns its development goals for 2030 are in trouble and 575 million people will remain very poor If it isn’t renewed immediately “you will have a new spike for sure” in food prices, but how much and for how long will depend on how markets respond, he said. According to the report, people’s access to healthy diets has deteriorated across the world. More than 3.1 billion people – 42% of the global population – were unable to afford a healthy diet in 2021, an increase of 134 million people compared to 2019, it said. Torero told a news conference launching the report that reducing the number of people eating unhealthy diets “is a big challenge, because it’s basically telling us that we have substantially to change the way we use our resources in the agricultural sector, in the agri-food system.” According to the latest research, he said, between 691 million and 783 million people were chronically undernourished in 2022, an average of 735 million which is 122 million more people than in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Eliminate legal barriers to women owning land: UN chief Torero said U.N. projections for 2030 indicate that 600 million people will still be suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2030, far from the U.N. development goal of achieving “Zero Hunger” by that date. In the report’s foreword, the heads of FAO, the World Food Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and the World Health Organization wrote that achieving Zero Hunger “poses a daunting challenge.” They called for redoubled efforts “to transform agri-food systems and leverage them” to reach the target. As for children, the report says they are continuing to suffer from malnutrition, with not only 148 million younger than 5 stunted but 45 million too thin for their height or “wasted,” while 37 million youngsters were overweight. Torero said the five agencies also looked at increased urbanization and found that people in rural and semi-urban areas are also consuming mass market products. “Normally, we used to believe that rural people will consume what they produce, but that’s not the case,” he said, explaining that in rural areas about 30% of the family’s food basket is purchased from the market, and in semi-urban and urban areas it is higher, which has implications for nutrition because of the consumption of more processed foods. WFP chief economist Arif Husain told reporters in a virtual briefing that in 2022 when the war in Ukraine was ongoing the food situation didn’t get worse because the donor community stepped up with about $14.2 billion, and the agency was able to provide aid to 160 million people, up from 97 million in 2019. Stop targeting truth, truth-tellers: UN Chief on World Press Freedom Day “My concern is that moving forward we are looking at huge funding cuts,” he said, citing WFP donations of just $4.2 billion by last week, 29% lower than at the same time last year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to visit Rome, Italy later this month to discuss bilateral issues and attend the UN Food Systems Summit. The 2023 UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment will be held in Rome, Italy on July 24-26 at the premises of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It will be hosted by Italy in collaboration with the Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, and the wider UN system. The Prime Minister is scheduled to be in Rome from July 23, said a diplomatic source. Also read: PM Hasina to visit Japan on April 25-28 She is likely to have a bilateral meeting with her Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni during the visit. PM Hasina will speak at the Food System Summit in Rome while her Italy visit is likely to see the signing of half a dozen bilateral documents in the areas of energy, migration, ICT and cyber security. Bangladesh and Italy have been discussing a possible memorandum of understanding (MoU ) on mobility and migration — to encourage regular migration and prevent irregular ones. “We want to go further in our cooperation on migration issues. In particular, creating and enlarging the existing legal channels or legal pathways for migration while stemming the irregular one,” Italian Ambassador to Bangladesh Enrico Nunziata told UNB in an interview recently. Also read: PM leaves Geneva for home ending 3-day visit The envoy said the two countries have to deepen cooperation for preventing irregular migration, trafficking and so on. Ambassador Nunziata recalled one of the deliverables during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Italy in 2020 — reinsertion of Bangladesh in the list of countries whose nationals can benefit from a quota for work. Talking about collaboration in the defence sector, he said there is possibility of collaboration and transfer of know-how as well on a win-win basis. “So this is another important sector.” The ambassador said a memorandum of understanding in the cultural sphere for programmes of cultural exchanges is also in the pipeline. Also read: PM to brief media on the outcome of her Switzerland visit on Wednesday The Italian ambassador also said they want to collaborate in the shipbuilding industry for the Navy or Coast Guard by sharing know-how and technologies with Bangladesh. “I mean that level of know-how that Bangladesh has not reached in shipbuilding yet. Together we can do more on that in shipbuilding as well as in other sectors.” The 2023 UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment will build on the momentum of the 2021 Food Systems Summit and will create a conducive space for countries to review commitments to action that were made during the Summit, share stories of success and early signs of transformation, maintain the momentum for bold acceleration and bold action to further the resilience of food systems, advocate for their adaptation to climate change, ensure they contribute to communities’ resilience to further shocks and crises, and boost the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more: PM Hasina leaves for Geneva to attend World of Work Summit  

Global food prices dropped for the tenth consecutive month in January, the UN food agency said recently. Price indices for vegetable oils, dairy and sugar drove the January decline, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said Friday. The FAO Food Price Index fell 17.9 percent below its peak reached in March 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The downward pricing trend was helped in part by a pivotal agreement signed in July to unblock Ukraine grain exports amid the ongoing war. Tracking monthly changes in the global prices of commonly traded food commodities, the latest index averaged 131.2 points in January, falling 0.8 percent since December. The FAO reported small price decreases on its latest meat and sugar indices. "Strong harvest progress in Thailand and favourable weather conditions in Brazil outweighed the impact on sugar prices due to concerns over lower crop yields in India, higher gasoline prices in Brazil, which support demand for ethanol, as well as the Brazilian real's appreciation against the US dollar," the UN agency said. Also, vegetable oil prices fell 2.9 percent, stemming from subdued global import demand for palm and soy oils and ample export availability of sunflower seed and rapeseed oils. Cereal prices remained essentially unchanged since December. International wheat prices fell for the third consecutive month. The 2.5 percent decrease relates to Australia and Russia outpacing production expectations. Meanwhile, slightly higher global maize prices were rooted in a strong demand for exports from Brazil and concerns over dry conditions in Argentina. Cheese became slightly more expensive despite dairy prices averaging 1.4 percent lower than in December, which came after lighter demand from leading importers and increased supplies from New Zealand. Currency movements drove the price increase alongside a recovery in food services and retail sales in Western Europe following the New Year holiday. Global rice prices climbed 6.2 percent from December, triggered by tighter availability. Other factors included strong local demand in some Asian exporting countries and exchange rate movements. In its latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, the FAO expects international trade in cereals in the 2022/23 period to decline by 1.7 percent from the previous year's record level to 474 million tons. Early indications point to likely area expansions for winter wheat cropping in the northern hemisphere. However, higher costs may affect the amount of fertiliser that can be applied to crops, with adverse implications for yields. Low domestic prices could result in a small cutback in wheat plantings in Russia, the world's largest exporter, while severe war-induced impacts in Ukraine are estimated to reduce winter wheat area plantings by 40 percent. Record planting is forecast for India, spurred by high market and support prices, and relatively high planting is projected in Pakistan as standing water from the 2022 floods is causing less hindrance than initially anticipated. In the southern hemisphere countries, most of the 2023 coarse grain crops have been sown. Brazil may post record maize plantings, while those in Argentina could decrease due to low soil moisture levels and weather conditions augur well for maize yield prospects in South Africa, the FAO said. Read more: Global food prices in 2022 hit record high amid drought, war

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has said that the cities of Bangladesh need rooftop agriculture in order to ensure sustainable food and reduce food wastage. To stress on the importance of rooftop gardening, the UN body conducted a training workshop for the ward councilors of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Wednesday under a project titled Dhaka Food System (DFS).   DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam attended the event as the chief guest, while Xavier Bouan, the project’s Senior Technical Adviser, addressed the event  focusing on the need to grow fruits and vegetables on the  rooftops of buildings. Read: FAO Asia-Pacific regional conference to kick off in Dhaka Tuesday “Households can reap nutritional and health benefits from rooftop agriculture. Rooftop agriculture also has positive effects on communities and society in general. They can help people to re-establish a relationship with what they eat. This is a link that has weakened since we started outsourcing our food and relying so much on industrialized production,” Bouan said. According to the Agriculture Information Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, approximately 4,50,000 roofs, covering 4,500 hectares, remain underutilized in Dhaka city. A survey using images from drones conducted by DNCC concluded that only two percent of rooftops in that part of the city had rooftop gardens. “DNCC, with the support of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Co-operatives, have announced the possibility for a ten percent holding tax rebate for city residents practicing rooftop agriculture. FAO is assisting the city’s two corporations to prepare the guidelines to implement the planned tax rebate policy,” Atiqul said. Participants at the workshop provided their input into developing and applying a set of guidelines for city corporations that will assist officials in determining whether households practicing agriculture qualify for a property tax rebate.  Read: Hasina focuses on food security as FAO conference opens The DFS project, funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is working with a local organization, Proshika, to develop 20 rooftop agriculture demonstration plots throughout the city and to train 550 people from slum areas. The Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives is leading the DFS project implementation with technical support from FAO and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) of the Netherlands.

The food import costs are on course to rise to near record $2 trillion this year, around $128.6 billion more than predicted in June, as countries are facing ballooning costs for staples, the UN food agency said Friday. Many economically vulnerable countries, with weak economic forecasts and high debt-to-GDP ratio, are paying more while receiving less food, heaping pressure on the world's poorest. The low-income countries' food import shipments are expected to shrink by 10 percent as their food import costs for the year are expected to remain little changed, pointing to growing accessibility issues. Read: Australia to send millions to Bangladesh, Myanmar for food, shelter "These are alarming signs from a food security perspective, indicating importers are finding it difficult to finance rising international costs," the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its twice-yearly Food Outlook report. In addition to beverages and basic foods like cereals and meat, the FAO's food import costs cover a larger range of items, from fruit and vegetables to seafood, chocolate, tea, and spices. World food prices jumped to record highs in March after the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine, the latter a key grains and oilseeds producer. Although the UN-mediated Black Sea Grain Initiative, starting July this year, guaranteed safe sea passage to ships carrying food grains in the conflict-prone region, it was unable to significantly cut food prices in the global market. Read: Currency depreciations risk intensifying global food, energy crisis: World Bank Food imports will rise by $180 billion, or 10 percent, above the previous year's record high, with high- and upper middle-income countries accounting for the majority of the increase. As the purchasing power of countries that import goods is reduced by rising prices and a stronger dollar, the rate of that bill's increase will slow, lowering volumes. Also, import costs for agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, fuel and seeds are expected to rise 48 percent to a record $424 billion from 2021, forcing some countries to buy and use less. Higher bills and a stronger dollar will cut input applications, threatening both productivity and food security into next year, the FAO said. "This will inevitably lead to lower productivity, lower domestic food availability and negative repercussions for global agricultural output and food security in 2023."