The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.
Zimbabwe has been a member of FAO since 1981. FAO Zimbabwe Country Office was established in 1984. Since 1996, Zimbabwe has also been hosting the FAO Subregional Office for Southern Africa.
At a country level, FAO is a lead agency in virtually all aspects relating to agriculture, fisheries, forestry, natural resources, climate change and food and nutrition security. The office provides a range of technical services and assistance to the Government of Zimbabwe through mainly the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, Ministry of Environment, Climate and Water, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Health and Child Care and other relevant stakeholders with the ultimate objective of improving agriculture in the country. The main interest of FAO for participation in the MLA group is to share information and expertise with its members.