Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

FAO focuses on poverty and hunger reduction through a “twin-track” approach: improving agricultural productivity and promoting better nutritional practices at all levels; and promoting programmes that enhance direct and immediate access to food by the neediest. Its programmes contribute to all dimensions of food security: availability, access, stability and utilisation of safe and nutritious food.

Improvements in the productivity of agriculture and related sectors directly increase farm and rural incomes and household food security. At the same time, agricultural growth focused on small farmers promotes overall rural and non-farm employment and has a strong poverty-reducing effect. Emergency relief and rehabilitation operations aim to reduce the vulnerability of those affected by natural and human-induced disasters. By facilitating better access to the skills, tools, services and rights that help the rural poor make lasting improvements in their own livelihoods, programmes addressing this overarching Goal increase the impact of work directly targeted to other Goals.

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

Poor families often cannot afford to send their children to school. The learning ability of children is compromised by hunger and malnutrition. School gardens and school-feeding programmes can encourage school attendance and bring direct nutritional benefits to children.

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

In countries where agriculture is still labour-intensive, women produce up to 80 percent of food. Helping to eliminate discriminatory policies against women, improving their access to land, agricultural inputs, financial services and skills, and promoting labour-saving technologies all work in favour of empowerment, equality and better lives for women and their families.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

It has been estimated that about five million child deaths each year can be traced to hunger and malnutrition. Programmes to improve household food security and nutrition information increase children’s chances of growing to adulthood.

Goal 5: Improve maternal health

Promoting nutrition awareness among women, especially in rural areas, introducing labour-saving technologies, and ensuring greater household food security all contribute to better maternal health.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Adequate nutrition is important in the fight against illness. Special support services including “Farmers' Field Schools” for HIV/AIDs orphans and nutrition programmes in rural areas also help to mitigate the disastrous effects of AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

Hunger and poverty often compel the poor to over-exploit the resources on which their own livelihoods depend. However, the diverse array of goods and services provided by ecosystems – clean water, fertile soils, vegetated landscapes, biodiversity and carbon sequestration to name a few – must be managed in ways that sustain human populations, not only meeting their food requirements but also a variety of other environmental, social and economic needs.

FAO supports the integrated management of land, fisheries, forest and genetic resources, including through conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, water conservation and responsible water-use practices, and the protection of biodiversity. Other activities are designed to address the sustainable development of environments at risk and to assist those living in marginal areas with livelihood support programmes based on ecosystem management principles

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

FAO, working with its Members and the WTO, is an active partner in efforts to create an open, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system, in particular through its support for food, agricultural trade and overall trade policies conducive to food security. In advocating a central place for food security on the global agenda, it works with IFAD and WFP, other UN partners, governments, civil society and the private sector to promote the International Alliance against Hunger called for in 2002 by the World Food Summit: Five Years Later.