FAO's 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.

FAO provides the kind of behind-the-scenes assistance that helps people and nations help themselves. If a community wants to increase crop yields but lacks the technical skills, we introduce simple, sustainable tools and techniques. When a country shifts from state to private land ownership, we provide the legal advice to smooth the way. When a drought pushes already vulnerable groups to the point of famine, we mobilize action. And in a complex world of competing needs, we provide a neutral meeting place and the background knowledge needed to reach consensus.

Structure and finance

FAO is governed by the Conference of Member Nations, which meets every two years to review the work carried out by the Organization and approve a Programme of Work and Budget for the next biennium.

The Conference elects a Council of 49 Member Nations to act as an interim governing body. Members serve three-year, rotating terms. The Conference also elects the Director-General to head the agency. The current Director-General, Dr Jacques Diouf, of Senegal, began a six-year term in January 1994, was re-elected to a second term which began in January 2000, and a third term beginning of January 2006.

FAO is composed of eight departments: Agriculture and Consumer Protection; Economic and Social Development; Fisheries and Aquaculture; Forestry; Human, Financial and Physical Resources; Knowledge and Communication; Natural Resources Management and Environment and Technical Cooperation. 

FAO’s Regular Programme budget is funded by its members, through contributions set at the FAO Conference. The FAO budget for the biennium 2008-2009 is US$929.8 million, adjusted to the Euro/US dollar exchange rate fixed by the FAO Conference. The budget covers core technical work, cooperation and partnerships including the Technical Cooperation Programme, information and general policy, direction and administration.

In 2007, US$505 million paid for 1615 active field programme projects, of which 520 were emergency operations amounting to US$250 million across all funding sources and accounting for 49.5 percent of total delivery. The technical cooperation field programme amounted to US$255 million, of which FAO contributed 10.7 percent with the remainder coming from outside sources: Trust Funds – 72.0 percent, unilateral trust funds – 15.9 percent, and the United Nations Development Programme – 1.4 percent.

FAO employs more than 3 600 staff members - about 1600 professional and 2 000 general service staff - and currently maintains five regional offices, nine subregional offices, five liaison offices and 74 fully-fledged country offices (excluding those hosted in Regional and Subregional Offices), in addition to its headquarters in Rome.

Continuous improvement

Since 1994, FAO has undergone the most significant restructuring since its founding to decentralize operations, streamline procedures and reduce costs. Highlights of the reforms include:

  • the transfer of staff from headquarters to the field
  • increased use of experts from developing countries and countries in transition
  • broadened links with the private sector and non-governmental organizations
  • greater electronic access to FAO statistical databases and documents

In 1999, the Conference approved a Strategic Framework to guide FAO's work until the year 2015. It was developed through extensive consultations with member nations and other FAO stakeholders and provides the authoritative framework for the Organization's future programmes.

Reform is a continuous process at FAO. In 2005-06, Member Governments approved the transfer of still more staff from Headquarters to the decentralized offices, as well as measures for significant new efficiency gains and reorganization at headquarters.

©FAO/Giulio Napolitano