The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. We help developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all.

Mandate
Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts - to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO's mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy.

• Mission:
  FAO's mission, in fulfilment of the purpose for which it was established (Preamble to the Constitution) and in full respect of its mandate (Article 1 of the Constitution), is to help build a food-secure world for present and future generations
  
• Vision:
  The Organization's vision of success is to remain fully responsive to the ideals and requirements of its Members, and to be recognized for leadership and partnership in helping to build a food-secure world.
  
• Objectives:
  • It is possible to define three interrelated global goals that the Organization is specifically dedicated to helping Members achieve:
    
  • Access of all people at all times to sufficient nutritionally adequate and safe food, ensuring that the number of chronically undernourished people is reduced by half by no later than 2015.
  • The continued contribution of sustainable agriculture and rural development, including fisheries and forestry, to economic and social progress and the well-being of all.
  • The conservation, improvement and sustainable utilization of natural resources, including land, water, forest, fisheries and genetic resources for food and agriculture.
• Activities/Main areas of work:
  • FAO's activities are organized around the following areas that are then articulated into strategies:
    
    A- Contributing to the eradication of food insecurity and rural poverty
    
    B- Promoting, developing and reinforcing policy and regulatory frameworks for food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry
    
    C- Creating sustainable increases in the supply and availability of food and other products from the crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry sectors
    
    D- Supporting the conservation, improvement and sustainable use of natural resources for food and agriculture
    
    E- Improving decision-making through the provision of information and assessments and fostering of knowledge management for food and agriculture
    
• Coverage:
  Global
  
• Beneficiaries:
  poor and food insecure people
  
• Membership/Affiliations:
  
  FAO works in partnership with institutions of all kinds -- private foundations, grassroots organizations, companies, professional associations, other United Nations agencies, national governments and more. Some partnerships operate at national level or in the field, others are regional or global in nature. Among them:
  
  – UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security
  – International Alliance Against Hunger
  – WFP-IFAD-FAO partnership
  – Delivering As One