Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

12 Nov 2024 14:57:43 pm

Tags : Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Topic: Multilateral Organizations

Why in the news?

Member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Heads of Delegations and partners of the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture (WASAG), adopted the Rome Declaration on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, aimed at addressing water scarcity, increasingly exacerbated by the climate crisis, particularly in the agriculture sector.

Source: Down To Earth

About Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO):

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
It is the oldest permanent specialized agency of the UN, established in October 1945.
Its mandate is to improve nutrition, increase agricultural productivity, raise the standard of living in rural populations, and contribute to global economic growth.
It coordinates the efforts of governments and technical agencies in programs for developing agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources.
It maintains information and support services, including keeping statistics on world production, trade, and consumption of agricultural commodities.
It carries out research, provides technical assistance on projects in individual countries as well as operates educational programs through seminars and training centres.
Its headquarters are located in Rome, Italy.
It currently has 194 Member States plus the European Union (member organization).
It receives 100 percent of its funding from its member countries.
In case of scarcity or conflict, the FAO usually does not intervene directly with food relief operations. Within the UN system, these activities are generally entrusted to the World Food Program.
Reports published by the FAO include:
- The State of the World\'s Forests (SOFO)
- The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)
- The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO)
- The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)

World Food Program:

It is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide.
It is the world\'s largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals.
Founded in 1961, it is headquartered in Rome and has offices in 87 countries.
It is present in more than 120 countries and territories.
In addition to emergency food relief, it offers technical and development assistance, such as building capacity for emergency preparedness and response, managing supply chains and logistics, promoting social safety programs, and strengthening resilience against climate change.
It is a major provider of direct cash assistance, and provides passenger services for humanitarian workers through its management of the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS).
It is an executive member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, a consortium of UN entities that aims to fulfill the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), with a priority on achieving SDG 2 for \"zero hunger\" by 2030.
It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 for its efforts to provide food assistance in areas of conflict and to prevent the use of food as a weapon of war and conflict.