About Procurement Services Division (AFSP)

The Food and Agriculture Organization, founded in 1945, is one of the largest specialized agencies in the United Nations system. FAO's mission is to build a food-secure world and it is the lead agency for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development. FAO's primary functions are:

• provide technical assistance to developing countries;
  
• provide policy and planning advice to governments;
  
• collect, analyse and disseminate information;
  
• act as a neutral forum for discussion and formulation of policy on major food and agriculture issues.
  

FAO activities impact every level of agricultural development - from technical projects that demonstrate to subsistence farmers new techniques for cultivating food crops, to advising governments on how to achieve more stable and equitable international trade in agricultural commodities. Consequently, FAO procurement tends to be concentrated in those areas directly related to agricultural activities such as agricultural products and machinery as well as services related to agricultural technical studies and construction and to the Organization's information dissemination activities.