What is in news : Recently, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare addressed the 42nd session of Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Conference.

Food and Agriculture Organization

• FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
• World Food Day is celebrated every year on 16th October to mark the anniversary of the founding of the FAO in 1945.
• It is one of the UN food aid organisations based in Rome (Italy). Its sister bodies are the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Flagship Publications:

• The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA).
• The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO).
• The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI).
• The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA).
• The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO).
• World Food Price Index.

India and FAO:

• Support of FAO in endorsing the Indian proposal for an International Year of Pulses which was celebrated in 2016 and for declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
• India released a commemorative coin of Rs. 75 denomination to mark the 75th Anniversary of the FAO (16th October 2020).

About the conference :

• The Conference takes place every two years and is FAO’s supreme governing body.
• It determines the policies of the Organization, approves the budget, and makes recommendations to Members on food and agriculture issues