Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - France has given Mauritania, through the World Food Programme (WFP), Euros 1.5 million in food aid, the French Embassy announced Friday. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has complained against a UN report that the world organization will take food to the needy population in some areas inside Sudan, even without the prior consent of the government in Khartoum. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Union (EU) and Algeria have launched an agricultural project aimed at setting up an observatory for agricultural and agro-food sectors, according to a statement issued in Brussels on Thursday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Millions of people could escape poverty, hunger and environmental degradation if countries put more effort into promoting agroforestry, an integrated approach combining trees with crop or livestock production, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Tuesday. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) – The Eduardo dos Santos Foundation (FESA) and the UN Agriculture and Food Organisation (FAO) Thursday in Luanda, the Angolan capital, signed a cooperation accord on farming projects. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) and the Oakland Institute in the US will convene a day-long summit on 6 February at the India International Centre, New Delhi, bringing together activists resisting land grabs across India and Ethiopia. Full text...

Lomé, Togo (PANA) - Cotton production in Togo, in tatters over the past four years, has increased by 161.3% in 2012, official sources told PANA Wednesday in Lome. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The director general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, arrived here Wednesday for a two-day working visit to Angola. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The world risks a repeat of the disastrous 2006 bird flu outbreaks unless surveillance and control of this and other dangerous animal diseases is strengthened globally, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned Tuesday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Simple actions by consumers and food retailers can dramatically cut the 1.3 billion tonnes of food lost or wasted each year and help shape a sustainable future. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The 'bold' reforms of Nigeria's agricultural and allied sectors will create 3.5 million jobs and add 20 million metric tons of food to domestic supply by 2015, according to President Goodluck Jonathan. Full text...

Berlin, Germany (PANA) - The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Germany have called for "a significant increase in responsible investments" in agriculture to eradicate hunger and feed a growing world population. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has entered into an agreement to scale up financing for the agriculture sector, according to the privately-owned Guardian Newspaper. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian minister of state for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Bukar Tijani, has said that the West African State is determined to be self sufficient in rice production and end the importation of the commodity by 2015, according to the privately-owned Punch newspaper. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - A new agricultural programme in South Sudan is helping vulnerable farmers to improve their livelihoods by boosting the quality of the seeds used to produce key crops, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a news dispatch Tuesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - "Fruit Logistica", the world's leading international trade fair for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, is set to put on this year's exhibition showcasing fresh, unprocessed fruit and vegetables, fresh convenience products, dried fruits, nuts, herbs and spices, organic products, self-service flowers and potted plants. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) Food Price Index dropped for the third consecutive month in December 2012, edging down 1.1 per cent, the UN agency said on Thursday. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) – The third African rice congress will take place from 21 to 24 October in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital city, a communiqué issued on Tuesday in Cotonou by Africa’s Rice Centre (Africarice) has announced. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - An outbreak of African army worm, which destroys crops, has been announced in Botswana. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - In an effort to consolidate its lead as the world’s largest producer of cassava, two new varieties of the root crop have been developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, and the Nigerian Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, in eastern Nigeria. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Rice Millers, Processors and Dealers Association of Nigeria (RIMDAN) has raised the alarm over the rate at which rice, especially of low quality, is being smuggled into the country through the neighbouring countries. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The death of Italian scientist and physician Rita Levi Montalcini, 103, has claimed a tireless advocate for a hunger-free world, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said Monday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's agriculture sector has performed creditably in the out-going year, enhancing the capacity of farmers and mitigating the effect of flood disaster that ravaged many states across the country, according to Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Akinwumi Adeshina. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Gambian government has got US$ 20.28 million grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to finance a new project that is expected to improve the condition of farmers in rural areas in the West African country. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) – Zambia’s President Michael Sata has described the recent hike in prices of the country’s staple food, mealie-meal, as “unjustified and unacceptable”. Full text...

Kebkabiya, Sudan (PANA) - A new project funded by the second phase of the Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund (DCPSF) has brought peaceful coexistence for farmers and herders in Kebkabiya this cropping season, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Thursday. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The global forest products industry is slowly recovering from the economic crisis, with the Asia-Pacific region and particularly China taking the lead, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - African countries are making steady progress towards improving the agricultural sector, as more countries become active in the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme(CAADP), which aims to improve food security, rural development as well as to reduce poverty. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are investing US$25.2 million to improve cassava productivity and build human and technical capacity for plant breeding in sub-Saharan Africa. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Niger recorded a grain surplus of 419,964 tons at the end of the 2012 crop year, the government said in a statement in the capital, Niamey, Friday Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), based in Ibadan, South West Nigeria, has developed improved cassava varieties with high prospects of tackling the seasonal bouts of famine in the Horn of Africa region, according to a statement from the Research Institute, made available to PANA here on Monday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva has said that improving food security in the Sahel will contribute to peace and stability in the region. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Most parts of Sudan, including war-ravaged areas, are witnessing improved food security, a report prepared by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in collaboration with humanitarian partners, said here Friday. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Making more and better investments in agriculture is one of the most effective ways to reduce hunger and poverty while safeguarding the environment, according to a key message from FAO´s flagship annual report - The State of Food and Agriculture 2012 (SOFA) - presented Thursday in Rome, the Italian capital. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index averaged 211 points in November 2012, down 3 points (1.5 percent) from October and the lowest since June 2012, FAO said Thursday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - A three-year study of the ways small-scale farmers operate in Africa, Asia and Latin America has prompted calls for a major rethink of development and business interventions. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Burundi's rice production could increase from 69,000 tons this year to 169,000 tons by 2020, requiring a financial involvement of over US$ 315 million in the country’s rich agricultural sector, according to a study conducted on the Burundi rice development strategy. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Lawmakers across Africa have a critical role to play in placing agriculture at the centre of their legislative duties in order to overcome large-scale poverty, hunger and improve food security, in line with the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), so says the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union Commission (AUC), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Instituto Lula of Brazil have announced a joint effort to help eradicate hunger and undernourishment in Africa. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – Countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have been urged to upgrade their livestock sector to commercial production and intensification if the region is to tap into the emerging opportunities in the Far East and Europe. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Burundi has said it is willing to enter into partnerships, through Swiss coffee company "Sucafina" and its Geneva-based foundation Kahawatu (popular coffee in Swahili), in order to significantly improve the performance and competitiveness of the African nation's coffee sector. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Global rice production for 2012 is forecast to outpace consumption in 2012/13, resulting in an upward revision of 5 million tonnes in 2013 closing inventories, according to a new forecast by Food and Agriculture Organisation's Rice Market Monitor (RMM) issued Tuesday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - A major international project has provided insights into how small-scale farmers in Africa can improve their livelihoods by building sustainable trading relations with international businesses in the food industry, according to the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – The European Union Commission on Friday warned Togo and Guinea for not taking sufficient measures to fight illegal fishing. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The FAO-based International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) Wednesday agreed to join forces to help countries better manage their handling of the ozone-damaging gas methyl bromide (MeBr), used in treating plant products to prevent the accidental spread of pests and diseases. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Conflict, recurrent drought and volatile food prices have countries in Africa and the Near East in a hunger trap, although there is a way out, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva told the International Conference on Food Security in Drylands that opened in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - International investments that give local farmers an active role and leave them in control of their land have the most positive effects on local economies and social development, according to a new FAO report published here Tuesday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Convinced by the efforts being made in the East African Community (EAC) partner states to attain food self-sufficiency, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has earmarked the region as its top priority for support in 2013. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The Food Outlook, a bi-annual global market report published Thursday by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has said lower international prices and freight rates, together with lower cereal purchases, could push down the world food import bill in 2012. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The ECOWAS Commission has launched an "ambitious programme" to promote food self-sufficiency and reduce food import into the region by 40 percent over the next three years, Commission Vice-President Toga Gayewea McIntosh said. Full text...