Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, fiat panis, means "let there be bread". It was founded on 16 October 1945 in Quebec City, Canada.

The FAO has 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union (EU). Its headquarters is in Rome, Italy, and it works in over 130 countries. It helps governments and agencies work together to improve farming, forestry, fisheries, and the use of land and water resources. The FAO also does research, gives advice on projects, runs education programs, and collects important data about food and farming.

The FAO is led by a conference that meets every two years, with each member country and the EU represented. They choose a group to help manage the organization. The main leader, called the director-general, is Qu Dongyu from China. The FAO works on many areas such as money matters, plans, farming, and fishing to help make sure there is enough food for everyone.

History

The idea of an international group to help with food and farming started in the late 1800s and early 1900s, mainly pushed by David Lubin, an American farmer and activist. In 1905, a meeting in Rome, Italy, created the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA). This was the first group of countries to work together on farming problems. It collected and shared information about farming, like crop numbers and diseases.

World War II ended the IIA. In 1943, a meeting was held in Hot Springs, Virginia, to talk about hunger and poor nutrition. This meeting led to the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on October 16, 1945, in Quebec City, Canada. After the war, the IIA was dissolved, and its work was taken over by the FAO, which kept its offices in Rome.

The FAO helped countries improve their farming, fishing, and forestry. In the 1960s, it focused on creating better crops, helping people get enough protein, creating jobs in rural areas, and increasing food exports. In 1974, the FAO held a big meeting to talk about hunger in Africa and made a promise that everyone should have enough food. It still publishes important reports about food and farming every year.

Structure and finance

In 1951, the Food and Agriculture Organization moved its main office from Washington, D.C., in the United States, to Rome, Italy. The organization is led by a group of member countries that meet every two years to check on its work and plan its budget. They also choose a council of 49 countries to help guide the organization between meetings, and a director-general to lead the agency.

The FAO has eight main departments, including Climate, Biodiversity, Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Forestry. In 1994, the FAO made big changes to work more efficiently and save money. These changes helped save about US$50 million and €43 million each year.

The FAO’s budget comes from money given by its member countries. In 2018–2019, the planned budget was US$1,005.6 million. Additional money from members and partners helps support special projects and the FAO’s main work.

Offices

Main article: FAO Headquarters

The main office of the Food and Agriculture Organization is in Rome, Italy. This building used to be part of a place called the Department of Italian East Africa. There was a special stone from Ethiopia that was moved there long ago, but it was returned to Ethiopia in 2005.

The organization also has offices in different parts of the world:

Regional Offices

• Regional Office for Africa, in Accra, Ghana
• Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in Bangkok, Thailand
• Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, in Budapest, Hungary
• Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, in Santiago de Chile, Chile
• Regional Office for the Near East, in Cairo, Egypt

Sub-regional Offices

• Sub-regional Office for Central Africa, in Libreville, Gabon
• Sub-regional Office for Central Asia, in Ankara, Turkey
• Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Sub-regional Office for Mesoamerica, in Panama City, Panama
• Sub-regional Office for North Africa, in Tunis, Tunisia
• Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa and East Africa, in Harare, Zimbabwe
• Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean, in Bridgetown, Barbados
• Sub-regional Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council States and Yemen, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Sub-regional Office for the Pacific Islands, in Apia, Samoa

Liaison Offices

• Liaison Office for North America, in Washington, D.C., United States
• Liaison Office with Japan, in Yokohama
• Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium, in Brussels
• Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, in Moscow
• Liaison Office with the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland
• Liaison Office with the United Nations, in New York City, United States

Partnership and Liaison Offices

These offices help countries work more closely with the FAO. They are in:

• Azerbaijan
• Cameroon
• Ivory Coast
• Equatorial Guinea
• Kazakhstan
• Mexico
• South Korea

Priority work areas

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) focuses on several key areas to help end hunger. It works to make sure everyone has enough safe and nutritious food, supports farming and fishing practices that are good for the environment, and helps people in rural areas find jobs and support.

FAO also aims to build strong systems for growing and sharing food, especially for small farmers, and helps countries prepare for and handle disasters to protect their food supplies and keep people safe.

Programmes and achievements

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) works on many important projects to help end hunger and improve food safety around the world.

The FAO and the World Health Organization created the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1961. This group works on setting food safety rules and guidelines to protect people’s health and ensure fair trade in food.

In 1996, the FAO organized the World Food Summit. Leaders from many countries attended and agreed to work together to reduce hunger. They set a goal to cut the number of hungry people in half by 2015.

In 1997, the FAO started TeleFood. This campaign uses concerts, sports events, and other activities to raise money to fight hunger. The money helps small farmers grow more food for their families and communities.

The FAO also has a programme for FAO Goodwill Ambassadors. These are famous people who help spread the word about the importance of food security and ending hunger.

In 2004, the FAO helped create guidelines to support the right to food for everyone.

During a time of high food prices in 2007, the FAO started a special plan to help small farmers grow more food and earn better incomes. They worked with other United Nations groups and provided advice and support to many countries.

In 2009, the FAO joined with the European Union to provide aid to small farmers in countries struggling with high food prices. This aid helps improve food security and supports farming communities.

The FAO has a special programme called the Special Programme for Food Security. It aims to help countries reach the goal of cutting hunger in half by 2015. The programme works in over 100 countries, helping people grow their own food and improve their lives.

The FAO also runs an online campaign called EndingHunger. This campaign uses the internet and social media to spread the message that hunger must end. People can sign a petition and share it with friends to raise awareness.

The FAO created the International Plant Protection Convention in 1952. This helps countries prevent the spread of pests and diseases in plants.

The FAO supports the Plant Treaty, which helps protect important plant species used for food and farming.

The Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition works to bring together countries and groups to fight hunger and poor nutrition. It started in 2002 and brings together many organizations to share knowledge and resources.

The FAO promotes integrated pest management, a way to control pests without harming the environment, through training programmes for farmers.

The FAO helps countries prepare for and control diseases in animals and plants, like rinderpest and avian flu, through its Emergency Prevention System.

The Global Partnership Initiative helps countries build better plant breeding programs to improve crops and increase food security.

The FAO’s Investment Centre helps countries develop better farming policies and attract funding for agriculture.

The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems programme protects important farming areas and traditions around the world.

The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture helps countries manage and protect biodiversity used in food and farming.

The FAO has a unit that focuses on animal genetic resources, helping countries protect and use different types of farm animals.

One of the FAO’s goals is to manage the world’s forests in a way that benefits both people and the environment. The Forestry Division helps countries create plans to care for their forests and provides information and support.

The FAO publishes reports on forests every five years and also puts out a major report on the state of the world’s forests every two years.

The FAO also publishes a yearbook with data on forest products from many countries.

The FAO helps cities recognize their efforts in caring for urban forests through the Tree Cities of the World programme.

The FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Department works to ensure that fishing and aquaculture are done in a way that is good for both people and the environment. They adopted a Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries in 1995.

The FAO’s Statistics Division provides important data on food and agriculture. The Global Statistics Service updates and shares reports with data from many countries. There are also databases for water statistics and fisheries statistics.

Membership

The Food and Agriculture Organization has many countries and groups that work together. As of May 2020, there are 194 Member Nations, one Member Organization, and two Associate Members.

The organization includes countries from all around the world. Some places, like the European Union, are also members. There are a few places that are not part of the organization, such as Liechtenstein, and the Holy See and Palestine, which are UN observer states but not members of the FAO.

Criticism

Over the past few decades, the Food and Agriculture Organization has faced some criticism. In the 1970s and 1980s, new groups were created because people were not happy with how the organization was working. Some said the group was too slow to change and had too many workers doing not enough.

In the 2000s, some meetings organized by the group did not work well, and many people were unhappy. There were also concerns about reports the group made, especially about new ways to grow food. Some said the group did not listen to everyone who wanted to share their ideas.

In more recent years, there have been questions about how the group is managed and concerns about fairness in hiring. Some have said the group needs to change how it works to better help everyone.

FAO renewal

In 2008, the FAO started important changes to work better and help more people. They made their organization simpler and faster to respond to needs. They also focused on helping their team members grow and learn.

In 2020, new steps were taken to make the FAO even better at working with different parts and responding to new challenges.