FAO’s Member Nations have given the Organization the task of helping them create a world where no one goes hungry. It’s a big job.

So what exactly is FAO doing to help build a world without hunger? Fair question. Well, its work can be divided into four main activities:

Information

First and foremost, the world needs reliable information about how many people are hungry, who they are and where they live. And to help bring an end to hunger, countries need to have up-to-date and trustworthy information about all sorts of things: food production, prices and trade, land use, nutrition levels, food aid and population. FAO is the world’s leading source for this sort of information and has been for more than 50 years.

Find out more about how FAO provides the world with information.

Advice

Having mountains of information is essential. But you also need to know how to make sense of all this data to put it to practical use. When governments request assistance, FAO’s experts offer advice on how to establish policies on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development that can truly benefit the hungry.

A meeting place

Individual countries working on their own can’t bring an end to world hunger. It’s a global problem that requires international cooperation on many issues, including agriculture, fisheries, forestry, trade and the environment. FAO provides the common ground where rich and poor countries can come together to reach international agreements that can help the world’s hungry.

Field work

FAO also helps countries bring technical knowledge and expertise directly to farmers to the field. The Organization coordinates thousands of field projects throughout the world. It mobilizes and manages millions of dollars provided by industrialized countries, development banks and other sources to make sure these projects are effective.

A great many of these projects are carried out in response to humanitarian emergencies arising from natural disasters or armed conflict. Find out more about FAO’s work in emergencies.

A broad range of expertise

To get an idea of some of the specific topics that FAO deals with, why don’t you surf around through the links below. We guarantee you’ll come across some surprises.