New Delhi, India (PANA) - Governments in Africa have been accused of overlooking the impact of malaria on agriculture despite recognizing a long time ago the linkage between agriculture and health. Full text...

New Delhi, India (PANA) – A research released Friday at an international conference on agriculture, taking place in New Delhi, India, has warned that increasing numbers of domestic livestock and more resource-intensive production methods are encouraging animal epidemics around the world, particularly in developing countries. Full text...

New Delhi, India (PANA) - A leading nutrition expert from Cornell University in the United States has warned that African governments ceding large parcels of land normally cultivated by small-holder farmers to multi-nationals and middle-income countries risk exacerbating food insecurity in their countries. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - A sub-regional project for the improvement of rice production in the Sahel was launched Thursday in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, with assistance from Spain. Full text...

New Delhi, India (PANA) - A three-day international conference, focusing on improving health and nutrition, through agriculture in developing countries, began Thursday in New Delhi, India, with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calling for a healthy and productive life for all. Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Prices of basic commodities such as rice, cooking oil and sugar have risen astronomically in Gambia, with the people blaming the hike on, among other things, the rise in value of foreign currencies, according to a survey conducted by PANA here. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Angola will benefit from Chinese support in Agricultural development, mainly in boosting cereal production in the African country, the Angolan Ambassador to China, João Manuel Bernardo, announced here Monday. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Thousands of hectares of agricultural land and crops have been damaged by floods and heavy rains in parts of southern Africa, and more damage may occur in the coming weeks if above normal rains persist, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has warned. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – The number of Ethiopians requiring relief food assistance in 2011 has increased by 500,000 from a November figure of 2.3 million, the Ethiopian government announced Monday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Thursday that food prices around the world surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The contribution of fish to global diets has reached a record of almost 17 kg per person on average, supplying over three billion people with at least 15 percent of their average animal protein intake, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Monday. Full text...

Libreville, Gabon (PANA) - The Gabonese development support Institute (IGAD) has announced a plan to launch an agricultural development and investment project (Prodiag) in the country this year. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African Union (AU) outgoing chairperson, Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, has called on fellow African leaders to pay more attention to agricultural development in order to produce enough food to feed their people. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - A book by Malawi's President and African Union (AU) Chairman Bingu wa Mutharika is to be launched in Addis Ababa on Saturday, ahead of the opening of the 16th ordinary summit of the AU's heads of state and government the following day. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Wednesday called on countries to "carefully" examine the implications of high food prices and not to "take any actions that might appear useful in the short-term but could have harmful, longer-term effects or even aggravate the situation." Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The World Food Organisation and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have called for continued assistance to Niger, where acute malnutrition remains high, despite a good harvest. Full text...

Lomé, Togo (PANA) - Japan on Tuesday granted Togo a financial aid of 430 million yens (about 2.6 billion CFA francs) for the purchase of rice and wheat, as part of its food aid assistance to the African country, PANA learnt Wednesday from an official source here. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - Zambia has signed the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Compact, which makes it mandatory for countries on the continent to allocate 10 percent of their national budgets towards agriculture in order to achieve a growth rate of six percent in the sector. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali will export 15,000 tonnes of maize to Benin and Cameroon this year, as part of an order from the World Food Programme (WFP), to help the victims of floods in the two countries, according to a source in the Malian Ministry of Agriculture. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Friday released the first global guidelines for bycatch management and reduction in fishing discards, agreed by fisheries experts from 35 countries in December, a news release from FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy, disclosed. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The Malian government and the public-owned General Tea Company of Mali (SOGETM-SA) have signed a deal for the resumption of the exploitation of the Farako tea farm, located near Sikasso, in the south of Mali, PANA learnt Wednesday from the Ministry of Industry, Investments and Commerce. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Worldwatch Institute Wednesday released its report which provides a roadmap for food security and agricultural investment, revealing 15 high- and low-tech solutions that are helping to reduce hunger and poverty in Africa, PANA reported from here. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - The number of people in need of food assistance in southern Sudan has decreased markedly, though prospects for food security largely depend on the post-referendum period and the number of returnees to the South, a United Nations report said Wednesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian government has released four improved cassava varieties, bred by scientists at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, in south west Nigeria, according to a statement from the IITA which was made available to PANA here. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Niger recorded a gross national cereal balance of about 1,500,000 tonnes for the 2010 agricultural campaign, PANA learnt Monday from the Minister of Agriculture and Breeding, Malick Sadelher, who said such a level of surplus had never been reached in the last 20 years. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The West African Development Bank (WADB) will provide Mali with 9.5 billion CFA francs to finance the extension of the first phase of the hydro-agricultural development project in Molodo North, a large hydro-agricultural development region in the country Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The West African Development Bank (WADB) will provide Mali with 9.5 billion CFA francs to finance the extension of the first phase of the hydro-agricultural development project in Molodo North, a large hydro-agricultural development region in the country Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - A mission of the World Bank is expected 10 to 21 January in Congo, to review the performance of the Agricultural Development and Rural Tracks Rehabilitation Project (PDARP), nearly three years after it took off, the Congolese Ministry of Agriculture and Breeding disclosed Friday in Brazzaville,. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - Cape Verde and the European Union (EU) have concluded a three-year deal on fishing that will come into force 1 September, just after the expiration of their current agreement, according to a communique issued Friday in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – The Ghana Cocoa Board on Monday released GH¢23,426,637.51 for the payment of bonuses to the country’s cocoa farmers in fulfillment of a pledge made by the government. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will dedicate three of its matches to the fight against hunger and poverty at an impressive show of football solidarity during the Asian Cup to be played in Doha, Qatar, and promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the AFC. Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Agriculture officials in Zimbabwe said Tuesday large swarms of armyworms had invaded farms in the main cropping northern and eastern areas of the country, threatening to severely reduce crop output. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Angola's cereals production in the 2010 agricultural season rose to 125,000 tons showing an increase of 12 per cent over the figure for 2009. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said a project it was executing in West Africa had succeeded in slashing the use of toxic pesticides, increasing yields and incomes and diversifying farming systems in the region. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated to farmers in Sierra Leone another cassava processing centre that will strengthen the value chain and boost the processing of the root crop, according to statement from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The Gambian government will continue to accord high priority to fisheries and aquaculture in its development agenda, Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy, assured here at the weekend, citing the sector's potentials and contributions to the promotion of the health of Gambians through good nutrition. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - Togo has installed an integrated system of early alert (SYAP) on the agricultural, food and nutritional situations in the country, according to a communique of the Council of Ministers published Thursday. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working in cooperation with the Ivorian Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries, has launched the latest phase of a campaign to vaccinate 700,000 animals against five major endemic diseases in Darfur, Sudan, according to an official communique from the ICRC Tuesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - As part of its contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, FAO has published a book celebrating the richness of biodiversity for food and agriculture in the Southern Caucasus, birthplace of many common foods found on plates all over the world. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Senior representatives of more than 60 countries have met in Rome, Italy, as part of measures to galvanize support for the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources and its Benefit-sharing Fund, considered essential to conserve and utilize the world's threatened plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - The 21-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the continent's largest economic bloc, has stepped up efforts to ensure that the group embraces biotechnology in agriculture to maximise agricultural production. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) – A research institution in Benin, which has developed rice varieties being cultivated on 700,000 hectares of land in Africa, has won a prestigious award for its feat. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Rapid population growth in the Near East is not being matched by growth in agricultural production, making the region ever-more dependent on food imports and increasingly vulnerable to market and supply shocks. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Ann Tutwiler of the US has been appointed one of the two Deputy Directors-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Floods and droughts in major grain-producing countries this year have triggered a sharp increase in food prices, highlighting the vulnerability of the world's food production systems and agricultural markets. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has given Nigeria a grant of US$477,000 to boost the production of plantain and banana for export in the country. Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- A senior official with the International Monetary Fund ( IMF), David Dunn, has said that agriculture remains the major driver of Gambia's economy this year, resulting in the country's excellent performance in 2010. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- FAO has launched a quick reference calendar, covering 43 major African countries that advises which crops to plant when, according to th e type of agricultural zone from dry lands to highlands. Full text...

Kigali- Rwanda (PANA) -- The first pesticide centre that processes products used to heal and prevent vegetable diseases has been inaugurated in Kenya by 20 Afric a n member countries in order to ensure food self-sufficiency, PANA learnt Friday f rom sources in Kigali. Full text...

New York- U&S (PANA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for partnersh ips to enhance the food supply systems in combating global hunger. Full text...