The three United Nations agencies, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding, with the commitment of ending hunger, boosting rural development and help countries to achieve the sustainable development goals, with a special focus on achieving Goal 2 Zero Hunger.
The aim of the new MoU is to strengthen collaboration and coordination at global, regional and country levels in order to provide enhanced support to Member Countries. It sets out areas for comprehensive and integrated support including working together on national planning processes with governments, as well as developing joint outcomes, programmes and assessments.
It also covers shared data analysis, joint accountability for collective outcomes, continued sharing of corporate services including security, human resources, travel and health services, developing new joint outcome-based financing approaches for projects, and a joint reporting mechanism to measure progress.
FAO’s Director-General, José Graziano da Silva said, “This Memorandum will be very important to enhance even more the collaboration, coordination and synergies between the three agencies, especially at country level. Working closely together is fundamental to better support our Member Countries in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
President of IFAD, Gilbert F. Houngbo said, “Leveraging our collective strengths has always been at the core of the partnership between FAO, IFAD and WFP. This MOU is not just a legal document, but a real tool to support new and innovative ways of working together to maximize our joint contribution to Agenda 2030 and transform rural areas into vibrant places where families can thrive.”
The memorandum is in line with the efforts of the UN Secretary General António Guterres for the UN system to transcend the humanitarian-development divide by working towards collective outcomes based on comparative advantages.
FAO, IFAD and WFP each have a unique mandate related to technical expertise, international financial assistance and emergency food assistance. The three Rome-based agencies share a common vision that achieving food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture requires a comprehensive and holistic approach, and they have long collaborated on projects and policy areas towards ending hunger and boosting rural development.