Content
United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) was founded on 16 October 1945 in Quebec (Canada). Its members currently include 191 member states and the European Union. It is the largest specialised agency of the United Nations and is based in Rome. Every year, 16 October is celebrated as World Food Day.
The aim of the FAO is to help raise living standards, improve nutrition, and overcome hunger and malnutrition worldwide. It gathers and publishes information on worldwide developments in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and the food sector, so that critical break-downs in supply can be identified at an early stage. It also elaborates food security strategies and promotes its own development programmes and projects.
The FAO budget is financed through the contributions of member states. For the two-year period 2008 – 2009, the organisation has a total budget of 929.8 million US dollars at its disposal. The Federal Republic of Germany contributes 8.6 per cent of the budget of the FAO, making it the third largest contributor behind the USA and Japan (as at: August 2009).
Contact
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla
00153 Rome
Italy
Phone: +39 / 06 / 5 70 51
Fax: +39 / 06 / 57 05 31 52
