HIGHLIGHTS

• FAO’s first forecast for world wheat production in 2013 stands at 690 million tonnes, about 28 million tonnes up from 2012 and the second largest crop on record. The increase is expected mostly in Europe, driven by an expansion in area in response to high prices, and in some countries due to an expected recovery in yields from last year’s below-average levels.

• The international cereal prices in recent months have followed mixed trends with rice prices rising and wheat declining, while maize prices remaining generally steady.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Firmer production estimates for 2012 confirm tightening wheat and maize supplies while the outlook for rice remains positive. In spite of a contraction in overall cereal utilization in 2012/13, the world cereal stock-to-use ratio is projected to decline by 2 percentage points from the previous season.

SECTOR OVERVIEW

Despite a four-day truce which was supposed to come into effect on Friday 26 October, fighting has continued to escalate in Damascus province, Aleppo, Idlib, Daara and Deir Ezzor in Syria manifested by a new wave of airstrikes by the Syrian forces and attacks by the rebels on strategic army checkpoints and air bases.

This week, renewed violence between Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims took place in Rahkin state in Myanmar, affecting an estimated 28,000 people. Sectarian violence between the two communities in June already left more than 75,000 people displaced. Despite a four-day truce that was supposed to come into effect on Friday 26 October, fighting has continued in Damascus province, Aleppo, Idlib, Daara and Deir Ezzor in Syria. The number of flood-affected people in Chad has risen to 700,000, up from 445,000 in September, with 16 of the country’s 22 regions affected.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Fifteen countries from Africa’s most drought prone regions are meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to share practices on how to best address recurrent droughts and chronic food insecurity on the continent.

Governments and organizations from Africa’s Horn and Sahel regions are showcasing initiatives on some of the good agricultural practices with a view of easing the impact of recurrent droughts on the continent’s productivity. Both regions suffer recurrent and severe droughts, sometimes leading to famine.

School meals from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) feed more than 11 million children in Africa each year. One of those children is a teenager called Molly Achieng, a 13-year-old schoolgirl from the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.

Jeddah, 13.09.2012 – At its 285th meeting that started last Sunday at IDB headquarters in Jeddah, the Board of Executive Directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) chaired by HE Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President, IDB Group, approved around US$ 425 million to finance development projects in member countries and for Muslim communities in non-member countries.

La hausse des prix alimentaires menace des millions de vies

Des millions de gens parmi les plus pauvres seront confrontés à de graves problèmes en raison de la forte hausse des prix alimentaires.

En effet, le système alimentaire mondial présente de sérieux problèmes que les décideurs politiques n'ont pas le courage de prendre en main, préférant miser sur les ressources bon marché qu'ils ont tenues pour acquises pendant 30 ans. Mais cette époque est désormais révolue.