4
alia scientific, technological, social and economic research relating to nutrition, food and
agriculture; the conservation of natural resources, the adoption of improved methods of
agricultural production, and the development of policies for the provision of adequate
agricultural credit and with respect to agricultural commodity arrangements;
provision of technical assistance as governments may request;
organisation, in co-operation with the governments concerned, of missions that may be needed
to assist them in fulfilling the obligations arising from their acceptance of the recommendations
of the United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture and of the Constitution.
Context of FAO creation
FAO has its origins in the final years of the Second World War, as a result of growing recognition
- during the 19th and early 20th century - of the importance of nutrition for health and the need to
address common problems of agriculture, taking into account scientific and technological
developments.
At the initiative of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America,
representatives of 44 Nations met from 18 May to 3 June 1943 at the United Nations Conference
on Food and Agriculture, convened in Hot Springs and committed to the establishment of a
permanent organisation in the field of food and agriculture. In its Final Act, the Hot Springs
Conference declared "its belief that the goal of freedom from want of food, suitable and adequate
for the health and strength of all peoples, can be achieved", and an Interim Commission for Food
and Agriculture ("the Interim Commission") was created to prepare for the establishment of this
permanent organisation. The Interim Commission prepared the draft Constitution of FAO and
convened a meeting of plenipotentiaries in Quebec (Canada) at which, on 16 October 1945, the
Constitution was signed by 34 Nations and entered into force. The first Session of the FAO
Conference was held immediately thereafter.
The evolution of FAO
Over the last 70 years, FAO has periodically reviewed its structure, activities and performance
in light of new and diverse challenges, including rapid population growth and urbanisation,
changes in patterns of food consumption, globalisation of the agriculture sector, economic crises,
the impacts of environmental changes, including climate change, as well as natural and manmade
calamities. As a consequence of these reviews, it has periodically implemented a number of
institutional reforms, and has developed binding and non-binding instruments to respond to
changing circumstances and priorities.
The present structure of FAO is the result of the Independent External Evaluation (IEE) initiated
in 2005. The IEE assessed FAO's institutional structure, operational modalities and its strategic
priorities. It identified operational and governance reforms aimed at improving FAO's performance
and its ability to respond to emerging challenges. As a result of the IEE, in 2008, a Special Session
of the FAO Conference adopted the Immediate Plan of Action for FAO Renewal (IPA). The IPA
covered three main areas: priorities and programmes of the Organization; governance reform;
reform of systems, programming and budgeting, culture change and organisational restructuring.
The IPA approved a new Vision of "a world free from hunger and malnutrition where food and