SPFS Mission

The aim of the SPFS is to improve food security within poor households through National Programmes for Food Security (NPFS) and Regional Programmes for Food Security (RPFS). All programmes are developed by the governments that participate. FAO acts as a catalyst and facilitator, its main role is to help countries identify, formulate and implement national and regional food security programmes, drawing on FAO’s corporate capacities and engaging other partners and donors.

In discussions about poverty, agriculture is often overlooked, despite its central role as the economic and social backbone of most poor countries and the fact that over 70% of the world's poor live in rural areas. FAO raises awareness amongst donors and other key decision-makers on issues related to agriculture, food and nutrition.

SPFS History

FAO launched the SPFS in 1994 as a flagship programme to boost food production in order to decrease rates of hunger and malnutrition. Initially, the programme focused on helping countries promote and disseminate simple, low-cost technologies to improve the yields and income of poor farming households. The experience showed that it was possible to engage very large numbers of rural people in identifying and applying locally-specific solutions involving the use of simple and improved technologies in agriculture to address problems of hunger and malnutrition.

Current Programme

After the World Food Summit: five years later and the recommendations of an independent external evaluation of the programme in 2002, FAO shifted the focus of the SPFS away from pilot demonstration projects towards active advocacy and support to large-scale, multi component National Programmes for Food Security (NPFS) and Regional Programmes for Food Security (RPFS).

By the end of 2006, 106 countries had engaged in the SPFS and more than half had begun shifting to National Programmes (NPFS), and more are preparing to do so.