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FAO

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"FAO" redirects here. For other uses, see FAO (disambiguation).

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that works to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living; to improve the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of food and agricultural products; to promote rural development; and, by these means, to eliminate hunger. In the past, the United States and several European nations have contributed to this organization by providing blankets, food, shelter, and mung beans to those in need. Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates into English as "let there be bread".

The FAO was founded in 16 Oct 1945 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. In 1951 the headquarters were moved from Washington, D.C., United States, to Rome, Italy. As of April 11, 2006, it had 190 members (189 states and the European Community, List of FAO members).

The main activities concentrate on four areas:

  1. Developing assistance to developing countries.
  2. Information about nutrition, food, agriculture, forestry and fishery.
  3. Advice to governments.
  4. Neutral forum to discuss and formulate policy on major food and agriculture issues.


Contents

Directors-general of FAO

  • Sir John Boyd Orr (U.K.) : Oct 1945 - 14 Apr 1948.
  • Norris E. Dodd (U.S.) : 14 Apr 1948 - 31 Dec 1953.
  • Philip V. Cardon (U.S.) : 1 Jan 1954 - Apr 1956.
  • Sir Herbert Broadley (U.K.)(acting) : Apr 1956 - Nov 1956.
  • Binay Ranjan Sen (India) : Nov 1956 - 31 Dec 1967 .
  • Addeke Hendrik Boerma (Neth.) : 1 Jan 1968 - 31 Dec 1975 .
  • Edouard Saouma (Lebanon) : 1 Jan 1976 - 31 Dec 1993.
  • Jacques Diouf (Senegal) : 1 Jan 1994 - current.


Specific programmes

In 1960, FAO launched a five year campaign Freedom from Hunger that led to new development charities being formed in countries including Australia (AFFHC), and the United States (Freedom from Hunger).

FAO's efforts to eliminate the Mediterranean fruit fly from the Caribbean Basin have benefitted the U.S. citrus industry. Likewise, U.S. cattle raisers have a direct stake in FAO efforts to eliminate a tick found in the Caribbean that carries a threatening cattle disease.

During the 1990's, FAO took a leading role in the promotion of integrated pest management for rice production in Asia. Hundreds of thousands of farmers were trained using an approach known as the Farmer Field School (FFS). Like many of the programmes managed by FAO, the funds for Farmer Field Schools came from bilateral Trust Funds, with Australia, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland acting as the leading donors.

See also

External links