Food and Agriculture Organization

About the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
• Its goal is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
• Head Quarter: Rome (Italy).
• Member countries: With 195 members - 194 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
• Its sister bodies are the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
• Reports published by the FAO: The State of the World's Forests (SOFO), The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA), The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO), The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)

Initiatives are taken by the FAO

• The Codex Alimentarius Commission is in charge of overseeing the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme.
• Agricultural Heritage Systems of Global Importance (GIAHS).
• Monitors the status of Desert Locusts all over the world.
• The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was adopted by the Thirty-First Session of the Conference of the FAO in 2001.

 

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Q1) What is Codex Alimentarius Commission?

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an international body that develops food standards, guidelines, and codes of practice to promote safe, fair, and standardized food trade. It was established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as a joint initiative.

Source: Declining food imports by most vulnerable countries a cause for concern: FAO