Research Guides
International Inter-Governmental & Non-Governmental Organizations: FAO
Introduction
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a United Nations agency focused on defeating world hunger. The FAO aids developing countries in modernizing and improving agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensuring good nutrition. It works with member countries to devise agricultural policy, support planning, draft effective legislation and create national strategies to achieve rural development and hunger alleviation goals.
The FAO's activities are:
- Putting information within reach
- Sharing policy expertise
- Providing a meeting place for nations
- Bringing knowledge to the field
You can expect to find the following types of information and/or publications from the FAO:
- Technical documents
- Newsletters
- Reports and books
- Magazines
Core Resources
- FAO Library DiscoveryUse this database to search for documents, publications, books, and serials held in the FAO library. Advanced search is recommended. Note: UW Libraries has many FAO publications in print; search the UW-only catalog. [some FULL TEXT]
- FAO PublicationsSearch for the full text of FAO documents and publications. [FULL TEXT]
- FAOSTAT"Provides free access to food and agriculture data for over 245 countries and territories and covers all FAO regional groupings from 1961 to the most recent year available." Data is not consistently available at any one time.
Additional Resources
- Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)CGIAR is a global partnership of international organizations researching food security; they aim to "deliver science and innovation that advance the transformation of food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis."
- FAO Statistical YearbookA selection of indicators on food and agriculture by country. The data are drawn from FAOSTAT, the FAO statistical database, as well as several FAO divisions and other sources within the UN system.
- FAO Statistics, United NationsA variety of FAO databases covering agricultural land use, water management, production, trade, consumption, fisheries, forestry, livestock, fertilizers, soil, and more...
- FAOLEXLegislative database with direct access to abstracts and full texts of treaties, laws, and regulations on food, agriculture, and renewable resources from all over the world. [FULL TEXT]
- Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS)GIEWS keeps the world food supply/demand situation under continuous review, issues reports on the world food situation, and provides early warning of impending food crises in individual countries (see their Country Briefs). Click on the Publications links in the left-hand bar to access full text reports.
- Information for International Agricultural Research (AGRIS)Search archives and databases covering agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, aquatic sciences & fisheries, and human nutrition. A good resource for finding unpublished scientific and technical reports, theses, conference papers, and government publications. 1975-present [some FULL TEXT]
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
"Let there be bread."
Starting Points
- About FAOLearn more about the FAO, its departments, mission, fieldwork, history and more.
- FAO - TopicsAn alphabetical list of topics (and subtopics) of interest to the FAO. Follow the links to sites and/or databases to find relevant publications and statistics.