The twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda has been a member of FAO since 1983. Cooperation over the past 30 years has produced a strong partnership, both at the country and Caribbean level. FAO interventions have ranged from food security and agriculture policy formulation to direct support in a variety of areas, including food production, crop protection and fisheries development as well as natural disaster response and preparedness.

Saint Lucia and FAO have partnered since the country joined the organization in 1979. Assistance has been geared towards sustainable agricultural development and food and nutrition security, with a parallel focus on natural resource management. Ranging from national policy support to community-level projects, interventions seek to improve agricultural productivity and local food production as well as income-earning opportunities for rural communities. Other key features of cooperation are disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change.

Three years of drought have taken a heavy toll on the rangelands and water supplies that Somalia’s 7+ million pastoralists rely on to keep their animals alive and healthy. Livestock are their most important possessions – trade items bartered for food and other essentials; high-value assets used as collateral; the source of daily dairy protein. But malnourished animals do not produce as much milk. They cannot be traded, or only traded for less. And even minor illnesses can kill livestock weakened by a lack of food and water.