Mozambique will be one of the African countries hardest hit by climate change. Even today, drought, floods and cyclones have already cost 1.1 percent of GDP and created problems for the country's agricultural output. Therefore, since 2012 the country has been running climate-smart farming projects, designed for adaptation. The project includes the introduction of new, more resistant seeds, road improvements, and the renewal of irrigation and drainage infrastructures and vegetable processing and storage facilities.
The first organic chocolate bar produced 100 percent in Ghana. What's more, in view of the success of the product, launched in 2013, the company has now enabled cocoa growers to become shareholders in the business, so they can share in the dividends and keep producing quality, ethical chocolate.
A proposal launched by Prime Minister Theresa May and the Department of the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) would levy a tax on the producers of plastic packagings and the companies that place them on the market, to help to fund the improvement of the collection and recycling system and thus reduce the amount of raw material entering landfills.
According to a study funded by animal rights group World Animal Protection (WAP), antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found in pork-based food products produced in Brazil. The samples come from a large number of points of sale, including some of the world's best known such as Carrefour, GPA and Walmart, providing potential proof of misuse of medicinal products on livestock farms.
According to researchers from the University of Cologne, who have published a study in the Journal of Neuroscience, lack of sleep leads people to eat more junk food, or at least to be more likely to purchase it. This is thought to be linked to brain activity which modifies regulation and reward mechanisms.
The FAO has welcomed the adoption of the resolution on peasants' rights by the United Nations General Assembly. The Declaration, approved by the General Assembly on 17 December 2018, aims to protect the rights of all rural populations, including peasants, agricultural workers and indigenous populations, while also recognizing their contribution to sustainable development and biodiversity and the challenges facing them in the near future.
Ambassadors to the EU have approved an agreement with the European Parliament on new regulations for the placing of fertilizers on the EU market.
The regulation harmonizes EU rules for fertilizers produced from organic or secondary raw materials and opens out new prospects for their production on a vast scale. It also sets harmonized limits for a series of contaminants found in mineral fertilizers.
The agreement signed is not legally binding, but it is the latest move by the United Nations Member States to support the rights of 258 million people worldwide.
According to FAO Director General, Climate and Natural Resources Maria Helena Semedo, part of the solution should include investments in policies, people, data, innovation and leadership.