English  Français  Italiano  Español   |   Home   |   What is WFD   |   Country activities   |   Links   |

What is World Food Day

World Food Day (WFD) was established by FAO's Member Countries at the Organization's Twentieth General Conference in November 1979. The date chosen - 16 October - is the anniversary of FAO.

It has since been observed every year in more than 150 countries.

Full text of the fact sheet document 2001

Information note 2002

Information note 2003

FAO Resolutions and UNGA Resolution on World Food Day

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 35/70

Resolution 1/79     Resolution 7/81     Resolution 5/83     Resolution 2/87

Resolution 4/93     Resolution 1/95     Resolution 3/97

The Fiftieth Anniversary Declaration on Food and Agriculture


WFD from 1981 to date

1981 - Food Comes First - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
Mr. Willy Brandt, Chairman of the Independent Commission on International Development Issues

1982 - Food Comes First - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
His Royal Highness Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud, Special Envoy for the U.N. Children's Fund and President of the Arab Gulf Programme for the U.N. Development Organizations

1983 - Food Security - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden

1984 - Women in Agriculture- Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Sandro Pertini, President of the Republic of Italy
H.E. Mr. Abdou Diouf, President of the Republic of Senegal

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
Professor J.K. Galbraith, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Harvard University

1985 - Rural Poverty - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Francesco Cossiga, President of the Republic of Italy

Keynote speakers at the ceremony for the 40th anniversary of FAO:
Mr. F. Mitterrand, President of the Republic of France
President Soeharto of the Republic of Indonesia

1986 - Fishermen and Fishing Communities - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Ms. Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, President of the Republic of Iceland

1987 - Small Farmers - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Giovanni Goria, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar; United Nations Secretary-General

1988 - Rural Youth - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Mário Soares, President of the Portuguese Republic

1989 - Food and the Environment - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Ruud F.M. Lubbers, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
Mr. Clayton Yeutter, Secretary of Agriculture of USA

1990 - Food for the Future - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
Mr. Enrique Barón Crespo, President of the European Parliament

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
Mr. K. de la Garza, Chairman, Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives of USA

1991 - Trees for Life - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of the Republic of Tunisia

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
Mr. William H. McKnight, Minister of Agriculture of Canada

1992 - Food and Nutrition - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Ms. Begum Khaleda Zia, Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

1993 - Harvesting Nature's Diversity - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Jacques Chirac, Mayor of Paris and former Prime Minister of the French Republic

1994 - Water for Life - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, President of the Republic of Chile

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
H.E. the Rt. Hon. James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

1995 - Food for All - Posters

WFD Ceremony:
H.E. Mr. Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada

1996 - Fighting Hunger and Malnutrition - Posters

WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
H.E. Mr. Henri Konan Bédié, President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
Dr.Ivan L. Head, O.C., Professor of South-North Relations, University of British Columbia and former President, International Development Research Centre

DG's speeches:

  • Statement on the Occasion of World Food Day Rome, Italy, 16 October 1996
  • Statement on the Occasion of the Celebration of World Food Day United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA, 5 October 1996

    • 1997 - Investing in Food Security - Posters

    WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
    His Majesty Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, King of Nepal

    Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
    His Excellency René Préval, President of Haiti

    DG's speeches:

  • Déclaration à l'occasion de la célébration de la Journée mondiale de l'alimentation Siège des Nations Unies, New York, Etats-Unis, le 21 octobre 1997 (Available in French only)
  • Statement on the occasion of World Food Day 1997 Plenary Hall, FAO Rome, Italy, 16 October 1997

    • 1998 - Women Feed the World - Posters

    WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
    H.E. Senator Rino Serri, Under-Secretary of State, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
    Mr. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General

    DG's speeches:

  • Celebration of World Food Day Rome, Italy, 16 October 1998

    • Press releases:
  • PR 98/16
    		• FAO ANNOUNCES THEME FOR WORLD FOOD DAY 1998: "WOMEN FEED THE WORLD"

    1999 - Youth Against Hunger - Posters

    WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
    His Excellency Rudolf Schuster, President of the Slovak Republic

    Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
    Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, President, Swaminathan Research Foundation and former Chairman of the FAO Council and former Director-General of the International Rice Research Institute

    DG's speeches:

  • "Youth against Hunger" Message on the occasion of World Food Day and TeleFood 1999
  • Statement delivered at the World Food Day Ceremony Rome, Italy, 15 October 1999

    • Press releases:
  • PR 99/25
    		• FAO ANNOUNCES THEME FOR WORLD FOOD DAY/TELEFOOD 1999: "YOUTH AGAINST HUNGER"
  • PR 99/60
    		• FAO NAMES FOUR AMBASSADORS; PREPARES FOR WORLD FOOD DAY 1999

    2000 - A Millennium Free from Hunger - Posters

    World Food Day web site - 16 October 2000

    "A Millennium Free from Hunger"

    WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
    H.E. Owen Seymour Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados

    Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
    H.E. Harri Holkieri, President, UN General Assembly and former Prime Minister of Finland

    DG's speeches:

  • Statement by the Director-General on the occasion of World Food Day and TeleFood 2000
  • "A Millennium Free from Hunger" Message on the occasion of World Food Day and TeleFood 2000

    • Press releases:
  • PR 00/41
    		• FAO ANNOUNCES THEME FOR WORLD FOOD DAY 2000: "A MILLENNIUM FREE FROM HUNGER" THE UN AGENCY CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO ELIMINATE UNDERLYING CAUSES OF HUNGER
  • PR 00/57
    		• FAO NAMES GONG LI AND YOUSSOU N'DOUR AS NEW AMBASSADORS; PREPARES FOR WORLD FOOD DAY 2000

    2001 - Fight Hunger to Reduce Poverty - Posters

    World Food Day web site - 16 October 2001

    WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:
    H.E. Dr. Johnannes Rau, President of the Federal Republic of Germany

    Keynote Speakers at WFD Observance in New York:
    His Excellency Ambassador George McGovern, USA Ambassador to the Food Agencies in Rome

    DG's speeches:

  • FAO Director-General's Message on the occasion of World Food Day and TeleFood 2001

    • "Presentation of highlights of World Food Day activities in selected FAO member countries" by Ms. Carleen Gardner, Assistant Director-General, Department of General Affairs and Information.

    Speech by Federal President Johannes Rau to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) marking World Food Day - Germany President's Page - Photos

    Press releases:
  • PR 01/52
    		• FAO ANNOUNCES THEME FOR WORLD FOOD DAY: "FIGHT HUNGER TO REDUCE POVERTY"
  • PR 01/68
    		• FAO TO NAME NEW AMBASSADORS ON WORLD FOOD DAY; ACTIVITIES SCHEDULED WORLDWIDE TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE ON-GOING THREAT POSED BY WORLD HUNGER
  • PR 01/70
    		• MORE THAN 150 COUNTRIES OBSERVE WORLD FOOD DAY UNDER THE THEME "FIGHT HUNGER TO REDUCE POVERTY" FAO NAMES NEW CELEBRITY AMBASSADORS

    2002 - Water: source of Food Security - Posters

    World Food Day web site - 16 October 2002

    WFD Ceremony at FAO Headquarters:

  • His Excellency, Hugo Cháves Frias, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

    • DG's speeches:

  • Message of the Director-General for World Food Day 2002
  • Statement by the Director-General World Food Day Ceremony - Theme: "Water: source of food security"

    • Press releases:
  • PR 02/33
    		• WORLD WATER DAY 2002: FAO: AGRICULTURE NEEDS TO PRODUCE MORE FOOD WITH LESS WATER
  • PR 02/100
    		• WORLD FOOD DAY 2002: FAO CALLS ATTENTION TO THE VITAL ROLE OF WATER IN AGRICULTURE
  • PR 02/105
    		• WORLD FOOD DAY OBSERVED IN SOME 150 COUNTRIES

    World Food Summit: five years later: Securing enough food from limited water supplies

    International Year of Mountains: Issues: Mountain waters

    2003 - Working together for an International Alliance Against Hunger - Posters

    DG's speeches:

  • Message of the Director-General for World Food Day 2003
  • Address by the FAO Director-General World Food Day Ceremony at FAO Headquarters
  • World Food Day Address by the FAO Director-General at UN Headquarters

    • Press releases:
  • PR 2003/67
    		• International Alliance Against Hunger, theme of World Food Day/TeleFood 2003
  • PR 2003/90
    		• World Food Day - building an International Alliance Against Hunger
  • PR 2003/91
    		• Online scientific information on food and agriculture for poorest countries
  • PR 2003/92
    		• Five more international celebrities named as FAO goodwill ambassadors
  • PR 2003/93
    		• FAO urges international alliance against hunger on World Food Day

    United Nations press releases:

  • General Assembly President says time to take action, make good on promises to end hunger, eradicate poverty, in UN Day Message
  • On World Food Day, UN says true international alliance needed to reduce hunger

    • World Food Day Observance at the United Nations Headquarters on 17 October 2003:

  • Mr. Julian R. Hunte, President of the 58th Session of the General Assembly
  • Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General (Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, Under Secretary-General (ECOSOC) read the Secretary-General message)
  • His Excellency, Gert Rosenthal, President of ECOSOC
  • Mr. Mohamed Bennouna, Permanent Representative of Morocco, Chairman of the Group of 77
  • Mrs. Nane Annan
  • His Excellency, Marcello Spatafora, Permanent Representative of Italy at the UN, on behalf of the European Union
  • His Excellency, Stanislas Kamanzi, Permanent Representative of Rwanda, Chairman of the African Group
  • His Excellency, Rastam Mohd Isa, Permanent Representative of Malaysia, Chairman of the Coordination Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement
  • His Excellency, Amadou Kébé, African Union
  • Mr. Poul Nielson, Member of the European Commission, Brussels
  • His Excellency, Wang Guangya, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations

    • FAO - Media Advisory