FAO's Decentralized Cooperation Programme(DCP) can help local authorities in both developed and developing countries make better choices, plan and implement projects and coordinate with other activities in the country or across borders. Leadership from local authorities strengthens a public sense of ownership of projects: a condition that FAO believes is important for sustainable development.

Initiatives are under way with local governments in Italy, France, Germany and Spain and their counterparts in developing countries around the world.

FAO hopes to extend this type of collaboration to other local authorities that make a formal request.

FAO can contribute with:

• staff on the ground in 131 developing countries;
• extensive knowledge on an international scale of agriculture, nutrition and food security;
• international expertise and networks for rural development;
• technical expertise that can help national and local governments design their own responses according to their specific needs;
• an agreed framework of action under FAO's key Programmes such as the Special Programme for Food Security, which are active in over 100 countries.