26 August 2010 – On the eve of a major conference on agriculture in Africa, the head of the United Nations rural development arm stressed the need today for the right policies, access to markets, infrastructure and affordable technologies to ensure food security on the continent.

“Agricultural revolutions that are sustainable and inclusive are enabled by policy revolutions, in which governments play a leading role,” said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

He noted that agricultural revolutions are not solely technological, and so it is not enough just to devise the new techniques and create the new varieties.

Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 10/118

August, 27, 2010 -- Public Information Notices (PINs) form part of the IMF's efforts to promote transparency of the IMF's views and analysis of economic developments and policies. With the consent of the country (or countries) concerned, PINs are issued after Executive Board discussions of Article IV consultations with member countries, of its surveillance of developments at the regional level, of post-program monitoring, and of ex post assessments of member countries with longer-term program engagements. PINs are also issued after Executive Board discussions of general policy matters, unless otherwise decided by the Executive Board in a particular case.

25 August 2010, Tappita/Rome - Like most of her neighbors in Liberia's Nimba County, Elizabeth Roberts learned to cultivate rice from previous generations of subsistence farmers. She also learned that it was not unusual to lose much of the year's rice crop after harvest.

Liberia's farmers lose up to half of their annual rice crop to post-harvest losses resulting from pests and spoilage, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Getting more of Liberia's rice crop to market has been one of the challenges facing the country as it strives to cut its dependence on rice imports.

Through a local cooperative for women farmers, Roberts, 44, has become part of an ambitious national plan to boost the production, quality, durability and marketability of Liberia's rice crop.

Press Release No. 10/318

August 25, 2010 -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved today the sixth review of the Central African Republic (C.A.R.)’s performance under a program supported by the Extended Credit Facility1. The approval will enable the disbursement of an amount equivalent to SDR 8.67 million (about US$13.1 million), bringing total disbursements under the program to an amount equivalent to SDR 69.62 million (about US$104.9 million).

26 August 2010, Monrovia/Rome - The fertile lowlands that cover one-fifth of Liberia are part of a European Union and FAO-supported plan to cut the nation's dependence on rice imports and improve the livelihood of vulnerable farmer families.

The Liberian government has prioritized the rehabilitation of swamps, especially those with damaged or abandoned rice fields, noting that lowland farms have the potential to yield up to 80-90 percent more rice than upland ones.

"In using more of our lowlands, not only will we get higher yields, we will also minimize deforestation and soil erosion," said J. Qwelibo Subah, Director-General of Liberia's Central Agricultural Research Institute, underlining the environmental benefit of his government's plan.

25 August 2010 – The number of people in need of shelter in flood-devastated regions of Pakistan has continued to rise as more areas become inundated, the United Nations refugee agency reported today, revising upwards the amount of funding it requires to ensure the homeless have emergency accommodation.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it will now need $120 million, up from the $41 million the agency sought previously, to enable it provide emergency shelter and other forms of assistance to an estimated 2 million people during the next four months.

The agency said that its field staff have reported that encampments were mushrooming across Sindh province as the floods spread into new areas of southern Pakistan over the past few days.

25 August 2010 – A United Nations workshop to “train trainers” on disaster risk reduction kicked off today in Kenya with the hope that participants apply the lessons learned elsewhere in Africa.

The two-day training held by the African regional office of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) in Rift Valley Province drew dozens of participants from several African nations.

Based on the feedback from the pilot training, a toolkit will be created to be used in Kenya and beyond.

24 August 2010 – More than 3,000 people displaced by last year’s severe flooding and mudslides in southern Tajikistan now enjoy the benefits of safe drinking water, thanks to the efforts of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and regional government agencies.

The flooding, which affected two thirds of the country, displaced thousands of people, some of them permanently. Families lost their homes, cattle and belongings in the disaster and were forced to settle in villages lacking water or adequate sanitation facilities.

Now this new infrastructure is bringing safe drinking water directly to every house in one affected village in the Khuroson district of the country, UNICEF reported yesterday.

24 August 2010 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that it may have to cut its feeding programme in the Central African Republic (CAR), where tens of thousands risk becoming malnourished unless new funding is secured.

The agency is facing a $15 million shortfall over the next eight months to provide food assistance to some 600,000 people mainly in the conflict-affected northern part of the country.

WFP provides assistance in the eastern regions to 9,100 refugees from Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and 14,000 people forced to flee from their homes due to attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In addition, there has been an influx of 17,500 Congolese refugees into the southern Lobaye region since 2009.

24 August 2010 – United Nations agencies are gearing up efforts to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people affected by the recent violence in Kyrgyzstan have enough food and adequate shelter ahead of the upcoming winter season.

A nationwide assessment carried out by the World Food Programme (WFP) in July found that more than one quarter of Kyrgyz households – or some 1.4 million people – were food insecure.

The report warned that a further 340,000 people are at risk of becoming food insecure over the coming months, due to the deteriorating economic situation and winter hardship, when food stocks are exhausted and additional expenses are required for heating and winter clothing.