FAO Podcasts

Globally, over three million people migrate to cities each week looking for work opportunities or to join their families. By 2050, over two-thirds of the global population is expected to live in urban areas. The city of Dakar in Senegal has also faced this unprecedented population increase in the last few decades. Over 3.8 million people currently live in the Senegalese capital. Population growth and rapid urbanization have led to losses of agricultural land. This has caused food shortages and a general increase in the price of food products, further threatening the food security of the most vulnerable people. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been working with the Municipality of Dakar and some NGOs on a micro-gardening project to reduce food insecurity in the city.

Producers; Yacine Cisse (FAO Senegal), Anais Hotin, Ruki Inoshita.Presenter: Daniel Johnson, UN Radio & TV Geneva. Photo credit: © FAO/Yacine Cisse

Have you ever wondered where your coffee beans come from? Chances are it was prepared in Guatemala, ninth largest coffee exporter in the world. In the remote region of Ixil, far off the beaten tracks of the northern part of the country, low literacy rates and poverty have long plagued the Maya Ixil Indigenous population. Employment opportunities are far and few between and many parents feel that they have no choice but to bring their children to work with them in coffee fields to make ends meet. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, and partners in the Ixil region are tackling child labor and poverty by promoting education and safe youth employment in the coffee industry. Producers ; Anais Hotin, Charlotta Lomas. Presenter: André Vornic, FAO Photo credit: © FAO/Santiago Billy

Imataca is a vast tropical forest in southeast Venezuela spanning 38,000 square kilometers. Rich in biodiversity, the forest is home to thousands of plant and animal species. Decades of illegal logging and mining have led to deforestation and loss of wildlife. The Karina indigenous people living in the forest are working hard to change this. Through a women-led initiative, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), they’re ensuring the forests of Imataca are now protected for generations to come.

Producers: Marina Sánchez Castelo, Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin. Presenter: Charlotta Lomas, FAO. Photo credit: ©Jesús Contreras/FAO

Across the globe, people are transforming agrifood systems to become more nutritious, equitable and sustainable. Listen to how one town in northern Italy sparked a global movement to bring about change to local food systems.

Producers: Megan Williams, Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, Marina Sánchez Castelo. Presenter: Megan Williams. Photo: ©Federica Bolla

 

 

In April 2021, four astronauts travelled to space for six months where they conducted a series of scientific experiments. From inside the International Space Station, astronaut and FAO Goodwill Ambassador Thomas Pesquet told us how growing food in space can help us to adapt to extreme environmental conditions and ensure future food security on earth.

Producers: Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, Marina Sánchez Castelo. Presenter: Charlotta Lomas, FAO. Photo credit: ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet/W. Harold. Sound effects provided by ESA and NASA.

Who says children shouldn’t play in the kitchen? Cooking healthy food starts young in this Touch Smell Taste cooking class in Rome. The hands-on cooking lab led by Naheda Slayih and supported by volunteers, invites visually impaired children to learn how to become young chefs and have a good time too.

Producers: Megan Williams, Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, Marina Sánchez Castelo, Nina Coates. Presenter: Megan Williams. Photo: ©FAO/Cristiano Minichiello.

The Greater Karamoja Cluster lies at the crossroads of Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. In this vast desert region nearly the size of the United Kingdom, crossing borders is a requisite for survival. But in recent decades, competition over natural resources has led to cattle raids and violent conflicts. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has supported a series of community-led initiatives to strengthen pastoralists’ livelihoods, enhance food security and prevent conflict in the region.

Producers: Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, Marina Sánchez Castelo, Ariel Bardi, Michael Adey, Video agency Wolfstreet. Presenter: Charlotta Lomas, FAO. Photo ©FAO/ Luis Tato.

Tonle Sap Lake in northeast Cambodia is one of the most productive inland fishing waters in the world, due to flooding and monsoon. Fisheries are the backbone of country’s economy, with Tonle Sap contributing over half of the country’s fish production. Yet the lake’s 4.8 million residents are some of the poorest in Asia. Many depend heavily on fish and rice for their livelihoods and have to send their children to work rather than school, in order to survive. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working with the government and partners to get children back to school.

Producers: Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, Marina Sánchez Castelo, Chann Tet, Sophana Sim, Panos Pictures. Presenter: Charlotta Lomas, FAO. Photo ©FAO/Tang Chhin Sothy.

This time last year, swarms of desert locusts began spreading to countries in the Horn of Africa, devastating crops and people’s livelihoods. FAO's emergency campaign appealed for urgent action to avoid a desert locust plague and a looming humanitarian crisis. One year on, we ask FAO' s senior locust forecasting officer Keith Cressman if we are winning the fight.

Host/Producer: Charlotta Lomas, FAO. Photo: ©FAO/Sven Torfinn.

Plants make up 80 percent of the food we eat. Yet, each year we lose up to 40 percent of food crops because of pests and diseases. This leaves millions of people without enough food to eat and seriously damages agriculture - the primary source of income for poor rural communities. Plants are critical to our food security, which is why the UN declared 2020 the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). Ralf Lopian, chairperson of the International Steering Committee of the IYPH, explains.

Producer: Charlotta Lomas, FAO. Photo: ©FAO/Florita Botts