Food and Agriculture Organization
On the 16th of October 1945, delegates gathered inside the Château Frontenac in Quebec City to sign a constitution. This moment birthed the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The meeting followed a wartime conference held at The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, which had run from May 18 to the 3rd of June 1943. That earlier gathering brought together representatives from forty-four governments under the leadership of Frank L. McDougall. He had advocated for an international forum since 1935 to address hunger and malnutrition. Sir John Boyd Orr led the first session of the new organization until the 1st of November 1945. His work on ending world hunger later earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949. Before this event, the International Institute of Agriculture had operated as the first intergovernmental body for global agriculture. It published the first agricultural census in 1930 but dissolved officially on the 27th of February 1948. Its functions transferred to the newly established FAO, which maintained its headquarters in Rome.
The agency is directed by a Conference of Member Nations that meets every two years to review work and set budgets. This conference elects a council of 49 member states serving three-year rotating terms. Qu Dongyu of China serves as the director-general as of 2019. The organization comprises eight departments including Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Economic and Social Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forestry, Corporate Services and Technical Cooperation and Programme Management. Headquarters moved from Washington D.C. to Rome in 1951. Regional offices exist in Accra Ghana, Bangkok Thailand, Budapest Hungary, Santiago de Chile, and Cairo Egypt. Sub-regional offices operate in Libreville Gabon, Ankara Turkey, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Panama City Panama, Tunis Tunisia, Harare Zimbabwe, and Apia Samoa. Liaison offices maintain presence in Washington D.C., Yokohama Japan, Brussels Belgium, Moscow Russia, Geneva Switzerland, and New York City United States. As of the 1st of May 2020, the organization has 194 Member Nations and one Member Organization called the European Union.
In 1974, FAO convened the first World Food Summit to address widespread hunger and malnutrition. A proclamation declared that every man, woman, and child has the right to be free from hunger. In 1996, a subsequent summit established a strategic plan for eliminating hunger into the 21st century. The campaign TeleFood launched in 1997 generated close to US$28 million through concerts and sporting events. Money raised pays for small projects helping farmers produce more food. Projects range from raising pigs in Venezuela to creating school gardens in Cape Verde. The 1billionhungry project became the EndingHunger campaign in April 2011. It collected over three million signatures on a global petition presented to world governments on the 30th of November 2010. The campaign used a yellow whistle symbol borrowed from the 1976 film Network. Goodwill Ambassadors include former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and actress Susan Sarandon. The Special Programme for Food Security operates in over 100 countries to eliminate undernourishment and poverty.
FAO created the International Plant Protection Convention or IPPC in 1952 to prevent the spread of pests. As of July 2018, 183 contracting parties have ratified the treaty. The organization is depositary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture which entered into force on the 29th of June 2004. During the 1990s, FAO promoted integrated pest management for rice production using Farmer Field Schools funded by Australia, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. An Emergency Prevention System established in 1994 controls diseases like rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. The Global Forest Resources Assessment provides comprehensive reporting every five years with FRA 2020 being the most recent. Unasylva has been published since 1947 as the longest-running multilingual forestry journal. The Tree Cities of the World programme launched in October 2018 recognized 59 cities on the 4th of February 2020 including 27 in the United States. The Forestry Division balances social and environmental considerations with economic needs of rural populations living in forest areas.
The total FAO budget planned for 2018, 2019 was US$1,005.6 million. Voluntary contributions reached approximately US$1.6 billion in 2016, 2017. Regular Programme funding covers core technical work and cooperation while voluntary donations support emergency assistance. In May 2009, FAO and the European Union signed an aid package worth €125 million to support small farmers. This fell under the EU's €1 billion Food Facility set up with the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Task Force. A three-year Immediate Plan of Action agreed upon in November 2008 allocated US$42.6 million for reform. Under this plan US$21.8 million would be spent on overhauling financial procedures and human resources management. Savings of about US$50 million were realized after restructuring began in 1994. The organization maintains a database called Aquastat for global water statistics and FishStat for fisheries data.
In early 1989, the Heritage Foundation described the FAO as having bloated bureaucracy known for mediocrity. The Ecologist magazine published a special issue titled The UN Food and Agriculture Organization: Promoting World Hunger in 1991. Articles questioned policies in forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, and pest control by experts like Helena Norberg-Hodge and Vandana Shiva. An Independent External Evaluation report published the 18th of October 2007 concluded the organization was in a financial and programme crisis. It noted heavy bureaucracy and declining core competencies. President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal stated in May 2008 that FAO was a waste of money. From 2013, The Italian Insider newspaper made allegations of nepotism and corruption within FAO. In June 2018, FAO took the paper to court alleging defamation using a law dating back to the fascist era in Italy. Reporters Without Borders condemned the disproportionate nature of proceedings which could result in fines up to Euros 100,000. A German public broadcaster ARD investigation showed Chinese leadership tailored the agency to Beijing's interests since Qu Dongyu took office in 2019.
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Common questions
When was the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations founded?
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded on the 16th of October 1945 when delegates signed a constitution at the Château Frontenac in Quebec City. This event followed a wartime conference held from May 18 to the 3rd of June 1943 at The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia.
Who is the current director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization as of 2019?
Qu Dongyu of China serves as the director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization since 2019. He leads an agency that currently has 194 Member Nations and one Member Organization called the European Union as of the 1st of May 2020.
Where are the headquarters and regional offices of the Food and Agriculture Organization located?
The headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization moved from Washington D.C. to Rome in 1951. Regional offices exist in Accra Ghana, Bangkok Thailand, Budapest Hungary, Santiago de Chile, and Cairo Egypt while sub-regional offices operate in Libreville Gabon, Ankara Turkey, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Panama City Panama, Tunis Tunisia, Harare Zimbabwe, and Apia Samoa.
What major summits did the Food and Agriculture Organization convene to address hunger?
The Food and Agriculture Organization convened the first World Food Summit in 1974 which declared every man woman and child has the right to be free from hunger. A subsequent summit established a strategic plan for eliminating hunger into the 21st century in 1996.
When was the International Plant Protection Convention created by the Food and Agriculture Organization?
The Food and Agriculture Organization created the International Plant Protection Convention or IPPC in 1952 to prevent the spread of pests. As of July 2018, 183 contracting parties have ratified this treaty.