A new report released at the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (1-5 March 2008) in Cairo, Egypt, finds that agriculture in the Near East is likely to suffer losses because of high temperature, droughts, floods and soil degradation threatening the food security of many countries.
The Thirty-first Governing Council Session of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) focused on challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmers in the context of climate change and new demands on agricultural production, including the rising cost of commodities. 
In a message to the Beijing International Conference on Combating Desertification, held Beijing, China, from 22-24 January, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the “impact of desertification is intensifying due to climate change, which is reducing the availability of freshwater, fertile soil, and forest and vegetation.” 
The Joint Liaison Group of the three Rio Conventions (the Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on Climate Change, and Convention to Combat Desertification) has issued an information brochure on the important contribution of forests to the achievement of their respective goals and objectives. 
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is receiving significant new funding to harness major scientific advances and address some of the biggest unsolved problems in agriculture. 
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has agreed to fund a US$ 42.2 million project in Yemen to help reduce rural poverty by reversing the accelerating trend of natural resource degradation in five of the country’s poorest areas. 
Funding for the Climate-L.org Project has been provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
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