Fao

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is procuring a fleet of new aircraft it hopes will have the record desert locust swarms that have plagued East Africa under control by the end of the year.

FAO officials recently sent a film crew to Mbankana, where there’s a training school for draught animals, and then moved them to eastern DRC’s North Kivu province, where the organization is promoting the use of bullock carts along many largely unpassable roads.

So-called "animal traction" isn't a Congolese tradition, but the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that in areas where roads are bad, it could take a load off people's backs — especially for women.

The FAO says the Web-based "crop calendar" provides tips on when and where to plant more than 130 crops, including beans, beetroot, wheat and watermelon.

The FAO says agroforestry is a significant source of local commodities, such as timber and fruit, and fodder for livestock.

In its annual report released last month, the FAO said 22 countries, including 17 in Africa, are suffering from extremely high rates of hunger. The agency said the proportion of undernourished people in sub-Saharan African is 30 percent, the highest percentage of any region in the world.

The FAO chief said good nutrition spurs economic growth, peace and stability.

“International sunflower oil prices rebounded by more than 15% month-on-month, primarily underpinned by renewed uncertainties surrounding the exportable supplies out of the Black Sea region,” the FAO said in a statement.