FAO was founded in 1945 with a mandate to raise nutritional levels and living standards, to improve agricultural productivity and to better the condition of rural people. FAO is the lead agency for technical expertise in food security, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and rural development, as well as in the sustainable management of natural resources essential over the long term.
IFAD was established in 1977 to assist developing countries to combat rural poverty by mobilizing and providing financial resources on concessional terms for agricultural and rural development projects. Its mandate is unique among international financial institutions: to fund rural development projects that will improve the nutritional level and living conditions of the poorest populations in developing countries.
WFP, the food aid agency of the United Nations system, was created in 1963. It provides food aid to save lives in emergency situations, to improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people at critical times in their lives, to help build infrastructural assets and to promote the self-reliance of poor people and communities.