WFP & FAO Partner Israel To Explore Solutions For Increasing Global Food Production

Accra, Ghana, 3rd July 2013: United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have partnered Israel to find smart solutions to increase global food production.

The objective of this partnership is to leverage Israeli technical expertise that will increase the yields of smallholder farmers and a potential opportunity for Israel to transfer technology and innovations in agriculture to countries in the world where families live on the edge of hunger, and their resilience is tested by crisis including drought and floods.

The decision to partner Israel follows a recent visit to Israel in June by the Executive Director of WFP, Ertharin Cousin where she saw pioneering work on dry lands farming and increasing yields in the most difficult conditions, among other innovations. Her visit was also to strengthen the relationship between WFP and MASHAV, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation.

According to Ertharin Cousin, 'one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, so we are also interested in exploring the possibility of developing new ways to minimize post-harvest losses'.

FAO's Director-General, Jose Graziano da Silva welcomed the opportunity to expand FAO's partnership with Israel, together with WFP. He remarked 'this collaboration could contribute to the ongoing efforts to sustainably improve productivity of small-scale producers'.