FAO both contributes to partnerships and benefits from them. Partnerships are firmly embedded in FAO’s way of doing business at global, regional, subregional and national levels.

In a world where around 1 billion people are chronically deprived of adequate food, no single individual, organization or sector can solve the problem. Only by sharing knowledge, pooling resources and working together will humanity bring an end to hunger.

FAO works in partnership with institutions of all kinds - private foundations, grassroots organizations, companies, professional associations, other United Nations agencies, national governments and more. Some partnerships operate at national level or in the field, others are regional or global in nature. FAO works in partnership with others on food security, natural resource management, forestry and fisheries, early warning of food emergencies, disaster recovery, food safety, bioenergy and many other areas.

Partnership Strategies

FAO is devoting significant efforts to strengthening and deepening its collaboration with key partners, including other UN agencies, regional organizations, academic and research institutions, civil society and the private sector. FAO recognizes that strategic partnerships are a crucial enabler for achieving its Goals and Strategic Objectives, and in this respect, facilitating and promoting partnerships for food and nutrition security, agriculture and rural development is a core function of the Organization’s new Strategic Framework.  FAO has developed an Organization-wide Strategy on Partnerships (download pdf) and guiding principles (download pdf) that are currently being implemented and mainstreamed in to the Organization’s work programme. Complementary strategies that focus specifically on collaboration with the other Rome-based agencies, WFP and IFAD (download pdf), and civil society (download pdf) have been developed.  FAO's Strategy for Partnerships with the Private Sector is currently being reviewed.