Image Source Jun 17, 2021 20:24 IST , Updated: Nov 08, 2021 19:00 IST · 1 min read
The 42nd Session of the FAO Conference was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. India is a founder member of the FAO and has played significant role since inception.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), founded in October 1945, is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
The FAO is composed of 197 member states and has it's headquartered in Rome, Italy.
It helps governments and development agencies to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and land and water resources.
It also collects data on agricultural output, production, and development.
The FAO is governed by a biennial conference representing each member country and the European Union, which elects a 49-member executive council.
The Director-General, currently Qu Dongyu of China, serves as the chief administrative officer.
FAO and the World Health Organization created the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1961 to develop food standards, guidelines and texts.
In 1996, FAO organized the World Food Summit. The Summit concluded with the signing of the Rome Declaration, which established the goal of halving the number of people who suffer from hunger by the year 2015.
The FAO Goodwill Ambassadors Programme was initiated in 1999 to attract public and media attention to the unacceptable situation that some 1 billion people continue to suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition.
In 2004 the Right to Food Guidelines were adopted, offering guidance to states on how to implement their obligations on the right to food.
Important reports: Global Report on Food Crises, State of the World's Forests (every two year).
Food Price Index (FPI)
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) released data showing its world Food Price Index (FPI) averaging 133.2 points in October, the highest since July 2011.It was introduced in 1996 as a public good to help in monitoring developments in the global agricultural commodity markets.
The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
It measures changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar.
Base Period: 2014-16.
