Celebrating 80 years of FAO Statistics: Achievements, challenges and way forward
Hybrid Event, 29/10/2025
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WORLD STATISTICS DAY
Celebrating 80 years of FAO Statistics:
Achievements, challenges and way forward
WEDNESday, 29 October (13.00–15.00, Rome time)
Sheikh Zayed Centre and online*
As we commemorate the 2025 World Statistics Day alongside FAO’s 80th anniversary, the Statistics Division organized a special event to celebrate 80 years of FAO Statistics achievements, serving people and the planet.
Statistics are one of the core functions of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Since its founding in 1945, FAO’s work has been shaped by its unwavering commitment, enshrined in its Constitution, to collect, analyze, interpret, and disseminate information on nutrition, food security, and agriculture.
Reliable statistics are the bedrock of impactful policies that fight hunger and poverty. They also help governments and decision-makers use limited resources more wisely, making a real difference in the lives of vulnerable people.
Over the past 80 years, FAO has become a trusted source for neutral, rigorous data. It continues to lead efforts to improve how statistics are managed and shared, both within the organization and around the world.
High-level event
This high-level event, convened in hybrid mode in Rome on Wednesday, 29 October 2025, brought together FAO members, national chief statisticians and international counterparts. The event emphasised the importance of reliable, high-quality data for global progress, and provided examples of collective achievements throughout FAO's history in serving people and the planet.
Experts from the global statistical community also spoke about the importance of statistics and the challenges and recommendations for harnessing the power of data to achieve Zero Hunger and accelerate the transformation of agrifood systems.
Finally, the event provided a platform for sharing the latest findings from FAO's World Food and Agriculture Statistical Yearbook and Pocketbook 2025, raising awareness of the wealth of data and information produced by FAO over the years.
Agenda
| Opening session | |
| 13:00 | Welcome |
| 13:05 | Opening remarks Máximo Torero Cullen, FAO Chief Economist |
| Session 1: 80 years of collective achievements for sustainable development, serving people and the planet | |
| 13:10 | FAO Statistics – a central part of FAO’s mandate José Rosero Moncayo – Chief Statistician and Director, Statistics Division, FAO |
| 13:30 | The World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook: a key example of statistical collaboration & innovation through the years Piero Conforti – Deputy Director (Data Generation and Capacity Building), Statistics Division, FAO |
| Session 2: Statistics' vital role in informed decision-making across the UN system and the world at large | |
| 13:50 | Panel discussion on the importance of food and agriculture statistics, progress made so far, challenges ahead and possible solutions/way forward (Speakers' bios)
Moderator: Valérie Bizier – Deputy Director (Data and Statistical Governance), Statistics Division, FAO |
| 14:40 | Open discussion |
| Closing session | |
| 14:55 | Wrap-up and closing of the event José Rosero Moncayo – Chief Statistician and Director, Statistics Division, FAO |
| 15:00 | Reception and exhibition tour |
*Access to FAO headquarters is restricted to persons in possession of a valid building pass.