Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, known as FAO, is the UN agency tasked with leading global efforts to eliminate hunger and improve nutrition. Its Latin motto, fiat panis, means "let there be bread." Founded on October 16, 1945, in Quebec City, Canada, the organization now counts 194 members: 193 countries plus the European Union. Its headquarters sit in Rome, Italy, with regional and field offices spanning over 130 countries. FAO helps governments and development agencies coordinate activities to advance agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources. It also conducts research, provides technical assistance, runs educational programs, and collects data on agricultural output and development. A biennial conference representing all members elects a 49-member executive council, and the director-general, currently Qu Dongyu of China (since 2019), serves as chief administrative officer. Various committees oversee finance, programs, agriculture, and fisheries.

The idea for FAO originated at the 1943 United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture in Hot Springs, Virginia, convened by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. That meeting established an interim commission to draft the FAO constitution, which was adopted in 1945. The organization initially operated from Washington, D.C., before moving its headquarters to Rome in 1951. Its predecessor, the International Institute of Agriculture, had been founded in Rome in 1905 by David Lubin and published the first world agricultural census in 1930. FAO absorbed the IIA's assets and functions after World War II.

FAO's work falls into three main goals: eradicating hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition; eliminating poverty and driving economic and social progress; and promoting sustainable management of natural resources. The organization administers several key international instruments, including the Codex Alimentarius for food safety standards, the International Plant Protection Convention, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Its flagship publications, such as The State of Food and Agriculture and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, are widely used by policymakers. In humanitarian emergencies, FAO helps rehabilitate agricultural production systems and fights transboundary animal diseases and crop pests. [edit]