Remarks by Ambassador Kip Tom at the at FAO Informal North American Regional Conference Plenary Session
A BIG Congratulations to the FAO on your 75th anniversary. Read More»
U.S. scientists work to stave off desertification
On June 17, the U.N. will observe Desertification and Drought Day, which raises public awareness of desertification. (The annual observance was started in 1994 by the U.N. General Assembly and until this year was called the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.) Read More»
Soil researcher wins World Food Prize
Soil health scholar Rattan Lal, a native of India and a citizen of the United States, is the winner of the 2020 World Food Prize. Read More»
Agricultural biotech makes farms more productive
Farmers around the world are using advances in agricultural science to increase crop yields, reduce the need for pesticides and feed hungry communities. In Nigeria, for example, the government recently recommended the first strain of genetically engineered cowpea for commercial use, which was developed by Nigeria’s Institute for Agricultural Research at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, ... Read More»
Ambassador Kip Tom visits model Italian farm
It is a model Italian farm using available science and technology to make sure they do their part in feeding a hungry world Read More»
Taking on a billion locusts in the Greater Horn of Africa
In March, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced an additional $10 million in humanitarian assistance to control the worst desert locust infestation in decades in the Greater Horn of Africa. This brings to $19 million the total amount the U.S. government has provided to the fight against the billions of locusts swarming in ... Read More»
Ambassador Kip Tom visits Rwanda, attends the Africa Food Security Dialogue
August 10, 2019 Partnerships were a key theme on Ambassador Kip Tom’s recent visit to Rwanda. From August 5-8th the Ambassador participated in the Africa Food Security Leadership Dialogue (AFSLD) in Kigali, Rwanda and made several site visits to UN projects promoting food security and local economic development. “Agriculture by nature involves risk, but by ... Read More»
Under Secretary Ted McKinney delivers the U.S. Statement at the 41st FAO Conference
Rome, June 24, 2019 Mr. Chairman, Director General Graziano da Silva, distinguished colleagues and guests, thank you for the opportunity to address you all today. It is an honor and a pleasure to join fellow Member states to find solutions to end hunger. And, the United States thanks Director General Graziano da Silva for his ... Read More»
Remarks by Ambassador Kip Tom at the Digital Agriculture Transformation Seminar at FAO
We are in the early years of the digital revolution as it relates to farming, and we are seeing the convergence of biotechnology and digital sciences transform our ability to measure, monitor and control our farms. Read More»
Ambassador Kip Tom speaks at the launch of the Decade of Family Farming at the FAO
One of the challenges of farming is making your farm sustainable: making the right choices so the farm can grow, remain profitable, preserve its natural resources, so it can survive for generations. Read More»
Fan-Li Chou, Biotechnology Coordinator, USDA, participates in FAO Agricultural Innovation Symposium
"As a government entity, at USDA we don’t pick and choose what’s good – what’s bad," said Chou. "We just tell you what’s useful. In the U.S. we always say we have a big umbrella: we have organic agriculture, we have conventional agriculture, we have biotech agriculture. They all coexist with each other. It is ... Read More»
U.S. Support for UN Farmer Field Schools Promotes Rural Development in Haiti
By Heather Eaton. Getting out of Rome and into the field to see international humanitarian projects in action is an essential part of representing the United States at the United Nations food and agricultural agencies in Rome. Visiting the operating grounds of these projects and meeting beneficiaries allows us to see firsthand how U.S. contributions to ... Read More»
U.S. farmers feed the world
American farmers are selling more of their crops to the rest of the world than ever before in the history of U.S. agriculture. “Today, America’s farmers feed not only our nation, but millions of people around the world,” President Trump said earlier this year as he signed an executive order aimed at promoting American agriculture and lowering ... Read More»
USUN Mission participates in FAO field trip to Morocco and Sudan
USUN Political/Economic Officer Daleya Uddin recently joined other representatives from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)'s member countries on visits to observe the particular food security and agriculture challenges in Morocco and Sudan. Her video report below provides a glimpse into those challenges, as well as the innovative FAO projects making a ... Read More»
Nobel scientists: Genetically modified foods save lives
An open letter signed by more than 100 Nobel Prize winners — that’s one-third of living science laureates — calls on governments around the world to approve genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and exhorts environmental opponents to stop fighting biotechnological innovations. “How many poor people in the world must die before we consider this a ‘crime ... Read More»
The Future of Agriculture in Mozambique: Entrepreneurs
Farmers in Mozambique, like those in other developing countries I have visited, consistently said they want one thing most of all – to move beyond subsistence farming to a modern agricultural economy. They seek business skills to improve and diversify their production, so that they can increase their incomes and provide more opportunities for their ... Read More»
Farmer Field School Enhances Food Security in Mozambique
In the middle of a sun-drenched field in central Mozambique, Otilia Vasco, a farmer from Choridzo village, pointed to an easel illustrating demonstration plots the villagers were sowing under the guidance of a facilitator from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and explained excitedly how these test plots would help them choose the best ... Read More»
Innovation Will Transform Agriculture in Cambodia
One of the goals of my recent journey to Cambodia focused on exploring opportunities for transforming Cambodia's agriculture sector. Cambodia’s challenge is to produce enough nutritious and broadly accessible food to support a healthy, productive population and drive the growth of the national economy Read More»
Smallholder Farmers Go Commercial in Tanzania
On the way to Hoyohoyo Village, south of Dar es Salaam, we learned how diseases like Cassava Mosaic Disease and Brown Streak Disease, in addition to drought, have been severely affecting cassava crops in the region, undermining both the food security and livelihoods of small holder farmers. To tackle these blights, the Government of Tanzania, ... Read More»
Show More ∨