Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Member nations of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Sunday elected José Graziano da Silva of Brazil as its new Director-General. Full text...

Praia, Cap Verde (PANA) – Cape Verde will back the candidature of Brazilian José Graziano for the post of managing director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in an election due to take place on Sunday in Rome, official sources said in Praia on Friday. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - The West and Central African Council for Research and Development (WECARD), Thursday in Cotonou, launched a research and development project on ticks in West and Central Africa. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Flanked by heads of state, international dignitaries and entertainers, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf will unveil a plaque to celebrate global freedom from rinderpest or cattle plague, one of the deadliest animal diseases and a longtime threat to human livelihoods and food security. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Foreigners are dominating the race for the acquisition of agricultural lands in Mali with some 450,000 hectares of land waiting to be allocated to them, a source close to the government told PANA here Thursday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing food vouchers to 7,500 households in 26 districts of the town of Ziguinchor, southern Senegal, through the implementation of a pilot project launched in April, according to an official statement received Wednesday by PANA. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Wednesday Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Ms. Josette Sheeran, on Wednesday congratulated the former presidents of Ghana and Brazil, John Kufuor and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have been honoured for their contributions to improving the quality, quantity and availability of food in the world. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The Malian Meteorological Service has forecast a "normal or even above normal" rainy season this year, assuring farmers of enough water for their cropping season, PANA learnt here from the Ministry of Agriculture. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – About 290,000 hectares of agricultural lands have been "withdrawn" from inefficient foreign investors by the Malian government, sources close to the Malian government told PANA on Tuesday. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Tuesday in Rosso (south), launched the 2011-2012 crop year, PANA learnt from official sources here. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - A current buildup of locust populations in southwestern Madagascar could turn into a plague and seriously endanger the livelihoods of 13 million people unless a new campaign is launched to contain the crop-devouring insects, FAO said Tuesday in a news release. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Representatives of member nations of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will meet from 25 June - 2 July for the 37th biennial Conference, the highest governing body of the Organization, to, among other things, elect a new Director-General. Full text...

Lomé, Togo (PANA) – Participants from ECOWAS member countries, rose from a regional workshop on national agricultural programmes, saying women should be made part and parcel of the national agricultural policies of member nations. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Africa's Rice Centre has launched a project to improve the quality and marketing of rice produced in eight African countries, said a statement released Monday by the centre, which is based in Abomey-Calavi, Benin. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - High price of food will persist for the next 10 years in Nigeria and other countries of the world, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), obtained by PANA here Saturday, has said. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Thursday said that food assistance has reached more 26,500 people fleeing fighting in Sudan’s South Kordofan state. Full text...

Washington D.C., US (PANA) - As people move from rural to urban settings in search of economic opportunities, urban agriculture has become an important provider of both food and employment, according to researchers with the Worldwatch Institute. Full text...

Morogoro, Tanzania (PANA) - Tanzania will not achieve its ambition of being ranked as a competitive middle-income economy unless urgent efforts are made to advance its agriculture to a middle income sector, Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Minister Jumanne Maghembe, said here Thursday. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is prepared to support the agricultural programme, called "Nigeriens Nourish Nigeriens (3N)", initiated in Niger by President Mahamadou Issoufou, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said after a two-day visit to the country. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – Mauritania and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday began negotiations in Nouakchott to renew the fishing agreement between them, which expires on 31 July 2011. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - The number of people facing severe food shortages is set to increase as the impact of drought, along with high food and fuel prices, continues to grip the Horn of Africa region, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned Tuesday. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Determined to achieve food security, Nigeria is exploring its bilateral relations with China to develop the agricultural sector of the economy. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Monday launched a new initiative to grow more food to feed the world’s growing population in an environmentally sustainable way. Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – The recent launch of the 2011-2012 agricultural campaign in the 33 Guinean prefectures, where ministers were sent to kick-start the process, buttresses the resolve of the government to attain food self-sufficiency in three years. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - An urban horticulture programme, organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the five main cities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has taken a bite out of chronic malnutrition levels in urban areas and created a surplus with a market value of over US$ 400 million. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The government of Congo is to spend four billion CFA francs in 2011 for the rehabilitation of 17 rural roads in eight of the 12 departments covered by the Agricultural Development and Rural roads Rehabilitation project (PDARP), PANA reported. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - West African farmers are to undergo a training workshop 20-22 June 2011 in Niamey, Niger, on restoration techniques and soil enrichment with tree species with high potential of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP), as part of regional efforts at achieving sustainable management of forest resources, ECOWAS Commission said in a statement here Wednesday. Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - The European Union (EU) Wednesday gave Zimbabwe US$100 million in agricultural aid for the forthcoming farming season. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - High and volatile agricultural commodity prices are likely to prevail for the rest of 2011 and into 2012, according to the latest analysis published Tuesday in the biannual 'Food Outlook' of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The French Development Agency (AFD) has granted over FCFA 2.4 billion to the regional Chamber of Agriculture in Segou, central Mali, under a financing agreement signed here Monday Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - A three-day regional seminar on commercial aquaculture development strategies will commence on 8 June in Libreville, Gabon, to facilitate fishing cooperation between African countries riparian of the Atlantic Ocean (COMHAFAT), based in Rabat, Morocco. Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwe has earned US$239 million from tobacco exports since the marketing season opened in February, a national marketing agency said Thursday. Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwe's Agriculture Minister Joseph Made said Tuesday foot and mouth disease had broken out in the south of the country, affecting thousands of cattle. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - A report released Tuesday by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank has said investing in post-harvest technologies to reduce food losses could significantly increase the food supply in sub-Saharan Africa. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – Ghana, the world's second largest producer of cocoa after Cote d'Ivoire, says it saw a record harvest in the main crop season of the 2010/11 year, which ended a few weeks ago. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has declared the country's current drought a national disaster and ordered the government to use all means within its reach to deal with the crisis. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The quality research and scientific professionalism demonstrated at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in fighting hunger and poverty in tropical countries, has been commended by Ambassadors from Finland, Norway and Sweden, according to a statement made available to PANA here. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – India has pledged support to Tanzania’s efforts in adapting modern technology for improved agricultural production, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete revealed here Friday. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - The World Bank Thursday granted Togo US$12 million, or about 5.6 billion FCFA, to finance the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Project (WAAPP), PANA reported. Full text...

Washington, US (PANA) - The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore ways to help smallholder farmers in Africa through coordinated research, exchanges, training and development activities, an AGRA statement obtained by PANA here said. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has ordered the governors of his country to transfer the management of recently donated tractors to the womenfolk of the West African country. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A sub-regional capacity building workshop on the theme: "Food standards development", opened Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, for members of the West African Peasant and Producers Organizations Network. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Monday announced a financial package of US$ 17.4 million aimed at helping some 132,000 poor people in southern Chad. Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - A fisheries project, Ba-Nafaa, aimed at supporting the Gambian government to achieve its fisheries management and development objectives is being funded by the United States Agency International Development (USAID) to the tune of more than US$ 2 million. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Director-General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Senggen Fan, has said the steep increases in prices of basic commodities, such as cereals, are harmful for the poorest consumers who devote a large part of their incomes to food. Full text...

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Bamako, Mali (PANA) – Potato earns the southern Mali region of Sikasso about 10 to 13 billion FCFA annually, the Malian News Agency (AMAP) reported on Monday. Full text...

Johannesburg, South Africa (PANA) - As fisheries ministers from around the globe meet in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss the future of fishing agreements between EU and foreign countries, Greenpeace Africa has called for a fairer and sustainable fishing partnership that will protect the livelihoods of West African fishing communities. Full text...

Rome, Italy (PANA) - Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tonnes - gets lost or wasted, according to an FAO-commissioned study. Full text...