That’s a big question. FAO stands for “Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations”. But that’s probably not a very big help, is it?

Let’s take the full name and break it up into nice bite-sized chunks.

Organization…

It’s an Organization. But what exactly is it an organization of?

It is an Organization of countries. In total, FAO has 189 member nations in addition to the European Community.

Here’s something you should remember: FAO’s Member Nations are represented by their governments. That’s why FAO is known as an inter-governmental organization.

Each country pays membership dues to belong to the Organization. Contributions vary depending on the country’s wealth. With these funds, the Organization carries out work on behalf of its members.

Here are two more things you should remember.

The first is that FAO is not an organization that gives out grants or loans. It was never set up that way. It carries out all its activities relying on money provided by its members and other donors.

The second is that FAO is not an independent organization that can do whatever it wants. FAO responds to the needs and requests of its members.

Even though FAO member nations are all very different from one another, they have chosen to unite and pool their resources for the common good of humanity.

That brings us to our second bite-sized chunk:

…of the United Nations…

FAO is a specialized agency that forms part of the United Nations system. What is the United Nations? That’s kind of a big question. Find out more about the United Nations.

United Nations organizations are all intergovernmental organizations, and FAO works closely with many of its “sister agencies” in the UN system. Non-governmental organizations, sometimes called NGOs or civil society organizations, also play a big part in FAO’s work. To find out more, click here.

OK, so now you know that FAO is an inter-governmental organization and that it is part of the United Nations system. Now we’re ready to move on to the last bite-size chunk of its name:

…for Food and Agriculture

FAO’s mission is pretty simple really. It’s working to make sure everyone in the world has enough to eat. It’s working to make sure our food is safe. It’s working to make sure everyone has a balanced diet that gives adequate nutrition. It’s working toward a day when no one will have to worry about being hungry or malnourished. And working to make sure we don’t destroy the environment while we’re at it.

OK, now you know what FAO is. But hang on a second.

If you think about it, an organization is really just an idea. It takes people to make an organization a reality. Find out about the people who make FAO work.