MIGIRO WARNS THAT ECONOMIC TURMOIL HAS EXACERBATED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The scourge of violence against women has worsened as a result of the global financial downturn over the past year, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today as she urged some of the world's richest countries to lead the way in turning the many international pledges to support women and girls into concrete results.

In a keynote address in Rome to a ministerial-level conference on violence against women, being held under the auspices of the Italian presidency of the Group of Eight (G8), Ms. Migiro said evidence women and girls are exposed to a greater risk of violence during times of hardship.

"We have seen rising levels of despair and frustration in families and communities around the world, exacerbating violence against women," she said.

"In a recent survey of more than 630 domestic violence shelters in the United States, 75 per cent reported an increase in women seeking help for abuse since September 2008, coinciding with a major downturn in the US economy. We must remain especially vigilant through these tough times."

Ms. Migiro detailed to the conference some of the steps taken by the UN to end violence against women and girls, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE campaign, which calls on world leaders to launch national campaigns aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in all parts of the world.

She noted that the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, which is nearing the thirtieth anniversary of its adoption, and several landmark Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security indicated that the international community has taken "significant" steps towards protecting women from violence.

However, "we still have a long road to walk before the full meaning of these international agreements is fully transformed from words on paper to reality on the ground"

Ms. Migiro urged participants at today's conference to put into practice two earlier recommendations calling on G8 members to enhance the rights of women.

The first calls on G8 members to back programmes that promote women's rights and make information about sexual and reproductive health widely accessible, while the second calls for support for peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations worldwide so as to emphasize security, the protection of civilians and action against sexual and gender-based violence.

"Ending violence against women will not be easy. It will require sustained dedication and collaboration," she said.

While in Rome Ms. Migiro is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican and to hold bilateral discussions with Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and its Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna.

She is also expected to meet with staff from the UN's Rome-based agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Prog ramme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

H1N1 VIRUS FOUND IN TURKEYS POSES NO THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH, SAYS UN AGENCY

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that the detection of the H1N1 flu in turkeys in Chile does raise concerns about the spread of the virus in other poultry farms, but added that it does not pose any immediate threat to human health.

According to a news release issued by the Rome-based agency, Chilean authorities reported on 20 August that an identical H1N1 strain to the one currently circulating among humans worldwide was present in turkeys in two farms near the seaport of Valparaiso.

The agency stated, however, that the discovery does not pose any immediate threat to human health and turkey meat can still be sold commercially following veterinary inspection and hygienic processing.

"The reaction of the Chilean authorities to the discovery of H1N1 in turkeys – namely prompt reporting to international organizations, establishing a temporary quarantine, and the decision to allow infected birds to recover rather than culling them – is scientifically sound," said FAO's interim Chief Veterinary Officer, Juan Lubroth.

"Once the sick birds have recovered, safe production and processing can continue. They do not pose a threat to the food chain," he added.

Chile is now the fourth country where the H1N1 virus has been found to have been transmitted from farm workers showing flu-like illness to animals, with swine becoming infected in Canada, Argentina and, most recently, Australia.

FAO noted that the current H1N1 virus strain, although contagious, is no more deadly than common seasonal flu viruses. But it could theoretically become more dangerous if it combines with H5N1 – commonly known as avian flu – which is much more deadly but harder to pass along among humans.

The agency is encouraging improved monitoring of health among animals and ensuring that hygienic and good farming practice guidelines are followed, including protecting farm workers if animals are sick and not allowing sick workers near animals.
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HAITIAN FARMERS BOOST FOOD PRODUCTION WITH UN HELP

A United Nations scheme to combat high food prices in Haiti has yielded fruit by significantly boosting production, making food available at lower cost and increasing farmers' incomes, the world body announced today.

The $10.2 million plan to distribute and multiply quality seeds was being carried out, at the Government's request, by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with financing from the International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD).

Among the results achieved, FAO estimates that quality bean seeds from Guatemala, procured and distributed to poor and vulnerable farmers for the 2008 winter planting season for $300,000, have produced $5 million in bean crops.

"We are extremely encouraged by the results we are seeing in this programme which, along with favourable weather, has been an important factor in increasing the amount of food available to poor people in Haiti," said FAO Haiti Representative Ari Toubo Ibrahim.

The programme was critical for Haiti, where the impact of rising food prices has been so severe that it triggered riots in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in April 2008. Four successive and devastating hurricanes in August and September 2008 meant the seeds poor farmers had saved were either washed away or eaten because people were so hungry.

The scheme helped increase FAO seed stocks in the country so Haiti could have more quality seeds to distribute in case farmers lose their stocks again during this year's hurricane season, which is now under way.

Almost 250,000 smallholder and landless farmers have or will receive adapted quality seeds through the programme, which will also provide basic tools and advice or training via written material and radio broadcasts on best cultivation techniques.

The programme initially covered three planting seasons in Haiti – winter 2008 and spring and summer 2009 – but the Government now wants to extend the project to the upcoming winter season to build on the results achieved so far.
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HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN ZIMBABWE STILL GRAVE, UN CAUTIONS

With not enough food to feed all 12.5 million Zimbabweans and funding requirements to provide urgently-needed aid only half met, the United Nations humanitarian arm today warned that the situation in the Southern African nation remains acute.

Even with commercial imports, there will be a 180,000 ton cereal deficit for 2009-2010, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

According to an assessment by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and Zimbabwean Government, only 1.4 million tons of cereal will be available domestically, compared to the more than 2 million needed.

Even assuming that 500,000 tons will be imported, there will still be a significant gap, OCHA warned.

The FAO-WFP assessment found that in spite of increased agricultural production this year, with the maize crop to have more than doubled, high food insecurity persists in Zimbabwe.
This year's abundant rainfall has resulted in the amount of maize harvested – 1.14 metric tons – recording a 130 per cent increase over 2008.
But study warned that this winter's wheat harvest is only expected to yield 12,000 tons, the lowest ever, due to the high cost of fertilizers and seeds, farmers' lack of funds and the unreliable electricity supply for irrigation.
Some 600,000 households will also be receiving agricultural help – supplied by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and funded by 10 donors – in the form of seeds, legumes and fertilizer, OCHA said today.

FAO suggested that additional resources be channeled into providing top-dressing fertilizer, which is needed later than at seed planting, but cautioned that it must reach farmers before the end of this November.

Only 47 per cent of the $718 million needed to assist Zimbabwe, less than half has been committed to date, OCHA noted.

The funds are intended to boost access to clean water for 6 million people, feed nearly 3 million people and assist 1.5 million children in getting educations.

Currently, 22,000 children under the age of five in Zimbabwe are in need of being treated for severe acute malnutrition, while maternal and child under-nutrition is largely responsible for over 12,000 deaths, or one-third, of all deaths of all under-five children.

OCHA reported today that while no cholera cases or deaths from the disease have been reported in the country since early last month, nearly10,000 cumulative cases and over 4,200 deaths have occurred.

Aid agencies have been preparing for another outbreak by pre-positioning emergency kits around the country.
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VOLATILE CLIMATE, POLITICS LEAVE ACCESS TO FOOD PRECARIOUS IN MADAGASCAR – UN

Access to food for the people of Madagascar remains unreliable because of the impact of natural disasters, which routinely strike the island State, and continuing political tensions, a United Nations report warned today.

The joint Food and Agricultural Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) and World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP) mission tasked with assessing crop and food security in Madagascar underscored the effect a run of cyclones on the east coast in 2008-2009 and several years of drought in the south has had on the country's crops.

In addition, the political crisis – involving the resignation of President Marc Ravalomanana in early March, amid a dispute with the mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, who now leads the country – combined with the global economic recession has had repercussions for public finances, exports, tourism, unemployment and the national currency, and a knock-on effect on the agricultural sector, according to the FAO-WFP report.

The report noted that food production varies widely across the Indian Ocean nation with good rainfall benefiting the 2008-2009 harvest in the centre, north and west of the country, as well as favouring rice-growing areas with an estimated 8 per cent increase in paddy production to over 4 million tons of rice.

However, the drought devastated the south, home to some of the country's poorest communities, has caused national maize, sweet potato and cassava production to slump.

The production of maize in the province of Taliara in the south, which contributes 30 per cent of the national total, is expected to halve next year, and its sweet potato harvest, around 20 per cent of the national total, will slump by around 20 per cent, according to the report. In addition, cassava production in the area will fall by 15 per cent.

The report stressed that the amount of cereal required by the country, including cassava and sweet potato, will exceed total cereals availability by about 206,000 tons. Although commercial wheat and rice imports would normally cover the shortfall, a Government announcement of its intention to import 150,000 tons of rice to be sold at moderate prices could unsettle free-market trade.

Commercial interests are likely to "wait-and-see" how market prices react to Government imports, which could lead to delays or breakdowns in stocks, causing a price explosion during the lean season – beginning in September-October – reminiscent of the timing of events that led to the 2004-2005 food crisis.

EUROPEAN AND UNITED STATES FORESTRY SECTOR HIT HARD BY GLOBAL RECESSION – UN

The current economic crisis has pushed the European and the United States forestry sector into an even larger slump, according to a new United Nations study.

The 56-country UN Economic Commission for Europe (<"http://www.unece.org/press/pr2009/09tim_p04e.htm">UNECE), whose membership includes the United States and Canada, accounts for nearly half of global forests, and the region is also the largest global producer, consumer, exporter and importer of wood and paper products.

The new joint report by UNECE and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) found that consumption, production and trade of forest products reached record highs in 2006, with a slight downturn registered in 2007.

That decline accelerated in 2008, marking the sharpest drop since the first oil shock of 1973, and continued into the first half of this year, it said.

But the study pointed to marked distinctions between the three UNECE subregions, with consumption marking 3 per cent growth in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

However, with forest products markets primarily driven by housing construction requiring lumber, which tumbled dramatically in North America and Europe, consumption plummeted by nearly 13 per cent and almost 6 per cent, respectively.

From a peak of 2.2 million new homes in 2006, new constructions took a nose-dive, falling 25 per cent in 2007, 34 per cent in 2008 and an estimated 50 per cent this year. The UNECE/FAO study said that housing construction was down by 14 per cent last year and the same amount in 2009.

Although more houses continue to be built in the CIS, the pace has softened, the agencies said.

The fall in demand has pushed the real prices of building materials to their lows since the 1940s, while the paper sector is also falling deeper in to crisis, with production in Europe, North America and the CIS all reporting declines.

UNECE and FAO reported that some mills in the region have permanently ceased their operations, while forest owners and managers have cut back on their harvests, resulting in unemployment, as well as less income and tax revenues.

On the bright side, the new report noted that the wood energy sector seems to be immune to the current economic downturn, as demand for renewable energy sources, such as wood biomass, continues to steadily climb thanks to government policies towards climate change mitigation and energy security.

BUDGET SHORTFALL THREATENS UN’S ABILITY TO FEED MILLIONS WORLDWIDE

Millions of hungry people around the world will not receive food aid from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) due to a "dangerous and unprecedented" $3 billion budget shortfall this year, the head of the agency has warned.

WFP is hoping to reach 108 million people in 74 countries this year with food aid, but it expects to receive only $3.7 billion of the $6.7 billion needed for 2009.

"We are actively cutting $3 billion of our programme – which means a reduction in rations and programmes throughout the world, including those to the world's most vulnerable people," WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran told reporters yesterday in Washington, ahead of meetings at the White House.

In Bangladesh, for example, the agency sought to feed 5 million people this year, but must now cut back to reaching only 1.4 million, with a school feeding programme only feeding 70,000 children out of the original target of 300,000.

Ms. Sheeran welcomed the recent $20 billion pledge to boost global food security made by the so-called Group of Eight (G8) nations, which shows the industrialized world "takes the food security issue seriously."

But she cautioned that "we must also keep pace with growing emergency needs. The problem is not all about agricultural yields; the challenge is people cannot get access to food – whether because of poor infrastructure or because they can't afford it."

The food crisis is still raging in the developing world, where high food prices are exacerbated by the impact of the current financial crisis, WFP said.

Data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that in most developing countries, food prices are higher today than they were one year ago, at the height of the food crisis.

The WFP head was in the United States capital to urge policy-makers to keep urgent hunger needs as a high priority as they find long-term solutions to food security.

She also called for the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) gathering in Pittsburgh, United States, to "take action not only on the financial crisis, but on hunger."
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NEW UN ONLINE SCHEME ALLOWS FREE ACADEMIC JOURNAL ACCESS TO POOREST NATIONS

The United Nations has partnered with the scientific publishing industry to provide research institutions in least developed countries free access to online journals, the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced today at the launch of the scheme in Geneva.

The new UN-brokered programme, Access to Research for Development and Innovation (aRDi), will allow industrial property offices, universities and research institutes to subscribe free of charge to prominent science and technology publications including the American Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences, Oxford University Press and Royal Society of Chemistry, among others.

The World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) provided advice and expertise gained from similar initiatives which offer access to journals in their respective fields of the UN agencies.

"Knowledge contained in scientific and technical literature is critical to the innovation process," WIPO Director-General Francis Gurry said at the start of a two-day gathering of ministers and senior officials from discussing ways intellectual property policy can create wealth in least developed countries (LDCs).

In certain developing countries, low-cost access to a range of key online scientific and technical publications will also be afforded to industrial property offices.
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UN UNVEILS OFFENSIVE TO CURB ANIMAL VIRUS

A major United Nations-backed drive to bring food and mouth disease (FMD) – a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals which can easily hop borders between nations – under global control has been launched to ensure the livelihoods of herders.

The new campaign, a joint effort between the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), was unveiled last month in Asunciòn, Paraguay.

FMD is characterized by the formation of blisters in the mouth, nose and other areas of animals. While not very lethal in adults, it nonetheless has enormous economic consequences, with outbreaks impacting the livelihoods of herders and rural households in developing countries.

Wealthier nations are also not immune to outbreaks of the disease. In 2001, 6 million animals worth some $12 million had to be destroyed in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the Netherlands in an outbreak which lasted eight months.

"The FMD situation worldwide merits the attention of the international community and donors and it needs to be controlled at source," said Joseph Domenech, FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer.

The new global campaign seeks to mobilize action at the country and regional level, since different types of FMD viruses circulate in different parts of the world.

The progress of participating countries – split into seven FMD 'pools,' or regions – will be measured on a scale of 0-5, with 100 countries currently at levels 0-3 while 67 others are at levels 4 or 5 and are recognized as virus-free.

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DISEASE KILLING FISH IN ZAMBEZI RIVER RISKS SPREADING TO OTHER PARTS OF AFRICA, UN WARNS

A deadly disease devastating fish stocks in

Africa's Zambezi River basin and threatening the livelihoods and access to food of millions of rural people could soon reach other parts of the continent, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today.

The most affected country is Zambia, covering two-thirds of the basin's almost 1.4 million square kilometres, with over 2,000 villages and some 7,000 people now at risk of hunger as fish is a major source of income in many rural districts and the cheapest source of protein, said FAO.

The disease, called Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS), is caused by a fungus forming deep lesions on fish and results in high mortality rates.

Although fish infected with EUS do not normally pose a threat to humans, the ugly lacerations render them unmarketable, threatening some 25 million people dependent on agriculture or fishing and fish farming in the Zambezi River basin with serious economic loss.

"If not properly contained there is the risk of the disease spreading to other countries surrounding the Zambezi River as well as river systems in the region," said Rohana Subasinghe, FAO Senior Fishery Resources Officer.

Indications are that EUS, which was first confirmed in Africa in 2007, is spreading both upstream and downstream of the Zambezi and risks taking hold in other parts of Africa, FAO said in a news release.

Since 2007, FAO has bolstered defenses in the seven Zambezi River basin countries – Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe – against the disease, with measures including basic diagnosis, targeted surveillance and aquatic animal health management.

In cooperation with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), FAO is establishing a programme to strengthen institutional and human ability for managing aquatic animal health in the wild in the affected Southern African countries.
EUS, now present in at least 24 countries worldwide, first appeared in Japan in the early 1970s and then spread to Australia and much of Asia, while the United States was hit in 1984.

FAO said that controlling EUS in natural waters is an impossible task, but in fish farming operations a number of simple biosecurity measures – preventing possible carriers getting into water bodies or fish ponds, removing dead fish and improving water quality – can minimize its spread.
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DEVELOPING COUNTRIES STILL HURTING FROM HIGH FOOD PRICES – UN

Despite a drop in international food prices and good cereal harvests overall, prices in developing countries remain high, hurting millions of poor people in both rural and urban areas, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a report released today.

In several countries, current prices exceed last year's highs or stand at record levels, according to the "Crop Prospects and Food Situation" report.

In 27 sub-Saharan African nations, FAO found that 80 to 90 per cent of all cereal prices remain over 25 per cent higher than before the food price crisis two years ago.

"The high food price situation continues to give rise to concern for the food security of vulnerable populations in both urban and rural areas, as these groups spend a large share of their incomes on food," the publication said.

In Sudan, prices of sorghum, a type of grain, were three times higher in June than they were two years ago. In Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, maize prizes have doubled, while in Southern Africa, they have dropped recently due to a bumper harvest but remain above pre-2007 levels.

Spurring continued high prices in poorer nations are reduced harvests, higher or delayed imports, civil conflicts, strong demand in neighbouring countries, devalued national currencies, and higher transport costs, among other factors, said FAO.

Although global cereal production will decline by 3 per cent this year from 2008, which saw the largest harvest ever, the report said that the outlook for world cereal supply and demand is satisfactory.

But it also cautioned that 30 countries around the global are in crisis and require assistance due to natural disasters, insecurity and economic problems.

FAO's Rome headquarters will host a World Food Summit in November to further success towards eradicating hunger and improving governance of the international agricultural system.
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UN EXPERTS PREDICT BETTER SEEDS CAN HELP BENIN BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN RICE

Experts from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are predicting that Benin could one day become self-sufficient in rice and even export its surplus output through the intensified production and marketing of high quality seeds.

A $500,000 FAO project, due to begin in September 2009, seeks to help the small West African nation achieve the goal of producing 300,000 tonnes of rice – more than double the current output – by 2011.

To do that, Benin will have to produce more than 2,200 tonnes of high quality rice seeds each year, the agency said in a news release.

The project encourages the production of high quality seeds while facilitating access to them by farmers. FAO says an increase in production of high quality rice seeds should result in enough output to cover 70 per cent of domestic demand.

Currently, domestic rice output is "far from able to satisfy the ever-growing demand" not only in Benin but also in other parts of West Africa. FAO figures show that West African rice imports reached 6 million tonnes in 2001 and this is likely to rise to 11 million tonnes by 2010.

Exploiting Benin's rice production potential, say the experts, will not only enable the country to satisfy local demand but will also enable it to export surplus output to sub-regional and regional markets.

"If Benin exploited its full rice production potential, the net gain would be more than $55 million," according to the news release. Increased revenues would also lead to better livelihoods for farmers and would make local rice cultivation production more competitive.
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TERRORISM KILLS MORE AFGHAN CIVILIANS THAN ANY MILITARY ACTION – UN MISSION

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has spoken out against the use of suicide bombings and other terrorist activities, which it says kills more civilians than any other military action.

The reaction came after last Thursday's bomb blast in Logar province which killed more than 20 people, including children on their way to school. UNAMA condemned the "barbaric" attack, the latest in a string of violence targeted at aid organizations.

"The United Nations in Afghanistan has long made clear its deep concern about the use of suicide bombs and terrorist acts in populated areas," Nazifullah Salarzai, a spokesperson for the Mission told a news conference in Kabul today.

"These are resulting in more civilian casualties in Afghanistan than any other military tactic, and must stop. The civilian population of this country has a right to be safe from violence and threats."

The head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has also spoken out against last week's attack, stressing that the children of Afghanistan, like children everywhere, have a right to be protected from violence and to develop free of threats, intimidations and violent attacks.

"Even where they do not suffer directly from the violence, when children are not allowed to feel safe at school or travelling to school, their education and their prospects suffer, and the futures of their families and their communities are undermined," said Ann M. Veneman.

UNICEF has recorded 98 school incidents in the period from 1 May until 24 June 2009, including direct attacks by small arms and rockets, arson, and threats. Ms. Veneman said these attacks "pull the country backwards and threaten the significant advances that have been made in education and child health in recent years."

Recent violence has also targeted those trying to help the fledgling democracy rebuild. Last month three national staff members of a local non-governmental organization (NGO) were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was destroyed by a roadside bomb in Jawzjan province. In addition, the office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kunduz was attacked in early June with a rocket-propelled grenade having been fired at the compound.

The ongoing violence is of particular concern as the country gears up for presidential elections slated for 20 August. The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Kai Eide, has highlighted the critical importance of the upcoming polls, noting that it is about more than choosing the country's future leaders.

"After years of conflict and developments that have not met Afghans' expectations, it is important to strengthen peoples' confidence in the democratic processes, and to strengthen Afghanistan's democratic institutions. It is about the legitimacy of leadership," he stated.

The UN has called on all candidates to campaign with dignity and avoid language that could incite violence, and on government officials and institutions to avoid interference during all phase of the election process.

It has also appealed to all voters to take part in the polls, stressing that such participation is essential to the legitimacy of the election results.
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HELPING WORLD’S HUNGRY ALSO PROMOTES PEACE AND STABILITY – BAN

By helping the world's hungry, who now number one billion, the international community can also secure a more peaceful and stable future for all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations today in L'Aquila, Italy.

The annual G8 meeting, which wraps up today, has reportedly agreed to mobilize $20 billion over three years for a comprehensive strategy focusing on sustainable agriculture development to ensure global food security.

Addressing the summit's session of food security, Mr. Ban said that last year's major spike in food and energy prices affected hundreds of millions of people.

"It amplified suffering, hardship and political unrest. We lost ground in our race to reach the first Millennium Development Goal," he stated, referring to the globally agreed target of halving poverty by 2015.

Governments, regional agencies, civil society groups and international organizations responded by joining forces to feed the hungry and prepare for a better future, and while global food prices have come down, they are still high in many developing countries, he noted.

The Secretary-General added that the situation is only getting worse with today's volatile markets, breakdown in world trade, climate change effects and falling income from job losses.

"We need to do more, faster. The food crisis is permanently harming millions of children. They need our help. This is about even more than alleviating human suffering; it is about global peace and stability."

Mr. Ban outlined four areas in need of concrete action, beginning with need to combine new initiatives to maximize their impact and avoid duplication. He also cited the need to commit to a comprehensive approach that tackles both the immediate and long-term dimensions of the problem.

Also crucial is to support national food security strategies, working through regional institutions, as well as to ensure that countries have the financial support they need for immediate assistance and longer-term actions.

The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomed the G8's food security initiative, which he said signals an "encouraging shift of policy" in favour of helping the poor and hungry to produce their own food.

Director-General Jacques Diouf voiced confidence that G8 leaders will translate their pledge into concrete action. "I am convinced that you will 'walk the talk' not only for natural ethical considerations but also for sound economic reasons and, last but not least, to ensure peace and security in the world," he told the summit.

Meanwhile, the independent UN expert on the right to food said head of State will have to do more if they want to help the billion people now suffering from hunger.

While welcoming the pledges announced today, Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter highlighted a number of issues that need to be tackled, including food price volatility, social protection, and protection of the rights of agricultural workers.

"Only then will real progress be made to ensure greater enjoyment of the right to food now denied to so many," said the expert, who reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

Mr. De Schutter called for a global action plan on food security, firmly based on human rights, focusing on five areas: reducing volatility in global agricultural markets; encouraging States to build social protection schemes; channelling resources to scale up sustainable agriculture systems; protecting agricultural worker rights; and reforming global governance for food and agriculture.
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BENIN: UN ACTIVATES HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE AS HEAVY FLOODS TAKE TOLL

United Nations humanitarian agencies operating in Benin are conducting rapid assessments to determine how they can best assist the thousands of people caught up in the heavy floods that have struck the West African country.

At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been displaced or otherwise affected by the floods, with the area around Cotonou, the commercial capital, and along the entire southern coastline among the hardest hit regions.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that it has deployed emergency staff to Benin to ensure that priority needs in health, shelter and water and sanitation are being met.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) are all taking part in preliminary assessments to ascertain the most immediate needs of the population.

Benin is beset by flooding almost every year at this time because of the annual rainy season. But this year's inundations have been so severe this year that the Government has imposed a state of emergency.
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NEW UN REPORT SPOTLIGHTS CHALLENGES TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN BALKANS

Economic development in the rural areas of several nations in the Western Balkans is being hindered by challenges related to agriculture, climate change and migration, according to a new report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank.

The report, "The Changing Face of Rural Space: Agriculture and Rural Development in the Western Balkans," takes a look at the situations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

It says that agricultural trade deficits are widening and climate change is putting pressure on agricultural resources. In addition, young people are increasingly migrating to urban areas or abroad in search of economic opportunities.

While the five countries are at different stages of development, they face similar challenges in modernizing their agricultural sectors to become competitive in regional and European markets.

"The agrifood sectors in these countries are undercapitalized and highly fragmented, dominated by small producers with unsophisticated production and quality control systems," says FAO's David Lugg, a co-author of the report. Processing capacity, a potentially critical part of the value chain, is also limited.

The report, intended primarily for policy-makers and donors in the region, notes that scarce credit or land, expensive inputs, degraded infrastructure and poor access to high-value markets are among the obstacles faced by some farmers.

At the same time, the report suggests that the prevailing challenges, as well as the region's ongoing process of integration with the European Union, are an opportunity.

"The need to meet EU food safety and other standards while addressing the food and financial crises is a powerful incentive for improving agricultural policy," it states. "Agriculture and rural development as sources of growth, employment and food security now need to be taken seriously."

Julian Lampietti of the World Bank also notes the need to look beyond agriculture at overall rural development in the region.

"What's needed is a balanced approach that emphasizes increased competitiveness of the agrifood sector while providing alternative income opportunities in rural communities to help future generations avoid the poverty trap," he says.

The report also calls on countries to come up with strategies to adapt to climate change, noting that the region is likely to face higher temperatures, reduced and more variable precipitation, and more frequent extreme climatic events, such as floods, droughts and heat waves.
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TOP UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR BOLSTERED GLOBAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEM FOR WORLD FOOD SECURITY

TOP UN OFFICIAL CALLS FOR BOLSTERED GLOBAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEM FOR WORLD FOOD SECURITY
New York, Jun 6 2009 1:00PM
A strengthened global governance system is crucial to ensure world food security, the head of the United Nations agriculture arm said today, calling for changes to be made to the parts of the international trade system that led to increased hunger and poverty.

"What is important today is to realize that the time of talk has long past," Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization <"http://www.fao.org/ ">FAO), <"http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/20452/icode/">said at the opening session of the World Grain Forum, which opened today in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"Now is the time for action. The food crisis has taught us that to defeat hunger, we have to deal with its root causes and not to continue coping with the consequences of past mistakes," he added.

The two-day gathering on global food security and the world's grain market, first
proposed by Russia at last year's meeting of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized countries, has drawn agriculture ministers and officials from over 50 countries.

Mr. Diouf pointed out today that between 2006 and 2008, international prices of basic food commodities surged some 60 per cent, while the price of grain doubled.

At present, average food prices are still 17 per cent higher than they were in 2006 and 24 per cent higher in 2005.

Soaring prices have driven an additional 115 million people into hunger, and the FAO chief cautioned that the current financial turmoil is exacerbating the situation and could push over 100 million people into food insecurity.

FAO's most recent report on food insecurity, released last December, estimated that the number of undernourished people worldwide is close to the 1 billion mark.

As of last month, 31 countries -- 20 in Africa, nine in Asia and the Near East and two in Central America and the Caribbean -- in are facing a food crisis
and need emergency help, according to the agency.

"This cannot be acceptable. How can we explain to people of good sense and good faith this dramatic situation in a state of abundance of international resources and when trillions of US dollars are being spent to stimulate the world economy?" Mr. Diouf asked, calling for increasing funding to help developing countries boost their agricultural output through investment in rural infrastructure and ensuring access to modern inputs.

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KENYAN VILLAGERS TO TEST OUT UN CARBON BENEFITS PROJECT

KENYAN VILLAGERS TO TEST OUT UN CARBON BENEFITS PROJECT
New York, May 11 2009 11:00AM
Villagers in western Kenya are the latest participants in a project carried out by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners to calculate how much carbon can be stored in trees and soils when the land is managed in sustainable, climate-friendly ways.

The <"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=585&ArticleID=6159&l=en">Carbon Benefits Project was launched today in communities in and around Lake Victoria by UNEP and the World Agroforestry Centre, along with a range of other key partners.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project is already being carried out in communities in Niger, Nigeria and China, where scientists are developing a system for measuring, monitoring and managing carbon in a diverse range of landscapes.

Under the UN Climate Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol, developed countries can offset some of their greenhouse gas emissions by paying developing economies for implementing clean and renewable energy projects such as wind, solar and geothermal power.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) has noted that by keeping higher levels of carbon in the soil – a process known as "carbon sequestration" – farmers can help reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, enhance the soil's resilience and boost crop yields.

However, as UNEP noted, more research is needed to evaluate just how much carbon different farming systems actually lock away.

"This key issue must be resolved if farmers, conservationists, communities and land owners are to be paid per tonne of pollution removed from the atmosphere," the agency said in a news release.

As part of the initiative, researchers will work with project managers in all four countries to set up carbon and greenhouse gas prediction systems.

"Farming carbon alongside farming crops is just one of the tantalizing prospects emerging as a result of the world's urgent need to combat climate change," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. "Some industrialized countries are considering investing tens of billions of dollars in capturing carbon off the smoke stacks of power stations and burying underground.

He added that managing the land and its vegetation in more "intelligent and climate-friendly" ways may generate multiple benefits from stabilizing soils, securing water supplies, conserving biodiversity and generating much needed income for poor and low-income communities.

Dennis Garrity, Director-General of the World Agroforestry Centre, emphasized that the knowledge gained from study sites around the world, including Lake Victoria, will help enable some of the world's poorest people – in the most vulnerable places – to obtain the benefits of carbon sequestration.
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UN GATHERS EXPERTS TO HELP WEST AFRICAN FARMERS COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE

A United Nations-backed workshop aimed at identifying ways for West African farmers to limit the damaging effect climate change has on their livelihoods kicked off in Burkina Faso today.

West Africa, home to 43 per cent of the total population of sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change in the world.

The region suffered a 20 to 40 per cent drop in rainfall from the mid to late 20th century, according to a UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

In addition, IPCC projections indicate that Africa is very likely to warm during this century, decreasing the length of growing seasons for farmers and cutting the potential size of harvests in West Africa.

For some countries yields from rain-fed agriculture could fall by up to 50 per cent by 2020, threatening the survival of large West African populations dependent on semi-subsistence farming.

The four-day climate change adaptation workshop, held in Burkina Faso's capital of Ouagadougou, will determine action that can be taken to alleviate the impact of global warming for farmers in the region.

Some 70 experts, brought together with the help of Spain by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), will discuss and recommend measures for the agriculture, livestock, forestry and fisheries sectors in West Africa to help them adjust to a changing environment.

"A principal WMO goal is to make farmers more self-reliant by better preparing them to cope with major issues influencing agricultural production," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. "It will increasingly be necessary to use science to identify integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies for a range of agro-ecosystems."

Noting that sustainable agriculture holds the key to mitigate climate change through carbon storage and better use of carbon in crops, Peter Holmgren, Director of FAO Environment, Climate Change and Bioenergy Division, said that "millions of farmers around the globe could become agents of change helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Mr. Holmgren stressed that farmers, particularly in poor countries, should be involved in carbon sequestration, a strategy to be discussed at the workshop, as well as more efficient use of water; changing crop variety; altering planting schedules; improving pest, disease and weed management practices; and making better use of seasonal climate forecasts to reduce production risks.
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BIOENERGY BOOSTS RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN POOR NATIONS, UN-BACKED STUDY FINDS

Bioenergy production reaps benefits for rural communities in poor countries, according to a new United Nations-backed report that examined projects in one dozen countries spanning the globe.

Although the bioenergy debate has centered on liquid fuels used for transport, over 80 per cent of bioenergy used involves other sources, mainly wood, that are used for household cooking and heating in the world's poorest areas, the study – published jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) – said.

Concern over the impact of transporting the biofuels on the environment, water resources and food security has obscured bioenergy's many positive benefits for poor people in rural areas.

Among the benefits of bioenergy cited by the study are increased natural resource efficiency because energy can be created from waste that would otherwise be burned or left to rot and the creation of useful by-products such as cheap fertilizer.

In the 15 'start-up' bioenergy projects in 12 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia assessed by the report, "the local community benefited from improved energy access both for domestic and business use," said Oliver Dubois, a bioenergy expert in FAO's Natural Resources Department.

He said that "virtuous cycles" have developed where people have access to the energy needed for development without funds flowing out of communities or depleting local natural resources.
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