July 2008: Through its Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides regularly updated information on
the current situation of global agriculture and food security.

Information products include: Crop
Prospects and Food Situation; Food Outlook; reports on the food supply and
agricultural situation in countries or sub-regions experiencing particular food
supply difficulties; and alerts to the international community of measures
needed. Through the system, FAO also maintains an updated list of countries in
crisis requiring external assistance because they lack the resources to deal
with reported critical problems of food insecurity arising out of shortfalls in
production caused by conflicts, severe weather events and other factors; or
because of lack of access due to economic constraints such as surging food
prices. [GIEWS crop prospects and food situation
page] [Countries in crisis]