The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) drew to a close today with the agriculture ministers of 71 nations, thanking FAO and the other International Organisations for developing a concept for the establishment of an International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture, as requested in the 2019 GFFA Final Communiqué. They welcomed FAO's efforts on the concept and call upon FAO's governing bodies to support a process for its establishment. The ministers issed a final communiqué full of pledges to make trade contribute to global food security and help smallholders access larger value chains.

The soybean cyst nematode (SCN), Heterodera glycines, is the most serious pathogen of soybean production throughout the world. Using resistant cultivars is the primary management strategy against SCN infestation. To gain insight into the still obscure mechanisms of genetic resistance to nematodes in different soybean genotypes, RNA-Seq profiling of the roots of Glycine max cv. Peking, Fayette, Williams 82, and a wild relative (Glycine soja PI 468916) was performed during SCN infection at the migratory phase. The analysis showed statistically significant changes of expression beginning at eight hours after inoculation in genes associated with defense mechanisms and pathways, such as the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway, plant innate immunity and hormone signaling.

Desert Locust swarms in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia - already unprecedented in their size and destructive potential - could swell exponentially and spill over into more countries in East Africa if efforts to deal with the voracious pest are not massively scaled up across the region, FAO warned today. "This has become a situation of international dimensions that threatens the food security of the entire subregion. FAO is activating fast-track mechanisms that will allow us to move swiftly to support governments in mounting a collective campaign to deal with this crisis," said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu.

Mr. Phạm Thành Nhân, Dong Thap Muoi Research and Development Centre, leaving for IRRI, the Philippines, to join the three-month training course by IRRI from  November 13, 2019 to January 21, 2020

Mr. Li Jianqiang (Director), Ms. Feng Chunmei (Technical Director), Mr. Tan Yewei (Business Manager) - Subtropical  Crop Research Institute, QuangXi, China, paid a short visit how to cooperate with the IAS about crop production and consumption, November 12, 2019.

Annual review on 2019 agriculture and rural development and 2020 planning by MARD, on-line meeting in December 23, 2019

Dr Nguyen Quang Chon’s preliminary report on  “Study on Betonite to enhance soil moisture maintaining to develop major crops’ production in drought-prone farms, Ninh Thuan province; December 27, 2-19

After peaking at 7.1% in 2018, real GDP growth in 2019 expanded 7.02 %, fueled by a robust expansion of the processing and manufacturing sector and service sector, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). Economic and political reforms under Đổi Mới (renovation), launched in 1986, have spurred rapid economic growth, transforming what was then one of the world’s poorest nations into a lower middle-income country.