food and agriculture organization: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Medium (Specialized / Institutional)Formal / Academic / Technical / Journalistic
Quick answer
What does “food and agriculture organization” mean?
A specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to achieving food security for all, eradicating hunger, and ensuring the sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries, and forestry worldwide.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to achieving food security for all, eradicating hunger, and ensuring the sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries, and forestry worldwide.
As a leading international body, it provides data, standards, policy advice, and field projects to member nations, focusing on nutrition, rural development, and the resilience of food systems.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical differences. Spelling follows local conventions for general text (e.g., organisation vs. organization in running text), but the official name uses 'Organization'.
Connotations
Same institutional connotation in both variants.
Frequency
Equally used in international, diplomatic, and development contexts in both regions.
Grammar
How to Use “food and agriculture organization” in a Sentence
The FAO + verb (estimates, warns, reports, advocates)According to + the FAOA report/publication by + the FAOWork for/with + the FAOVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “food and agriculture organization” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- FAO-endorsed guidelines
- An FAO-sponsored project
American English
- FAO-approved standards
- FAO-supported research
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare, except in agribusiness or corporate social responsibility reports referencing global standards.
Academic
Common in papers on development economics, agricultural science, food security, and international relations.
Everyday
Very rare; might appear in news reports about global hunger or food crises.
Technical
Standard terminology in development, agriculture, and public policy sectors.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “food and agriculture organization”
Neutral
Weak
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “food and agriculture organization”
- Using lowercase ('food and agriculture organization') when referring to the specific UN agency.
- Omitting 'the' before FAO in some contexts (e.g., 'He works for FAO' is acceptable, but 'The FAO issued a report' is more common in writing).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is almost always pronounced as individual letters: F-A-O (/ɛf eɪ əʊ/ or /ɛf eɪ oʊ/).
Its headquarters are in Rome, Italy.
The FAO focuses on long-term agricultural development, policy, and knowledge, while the WFP is primarily an emergency relief agency delivering food aid directly.
Mostly yes, but 'the FAO' is more common at the start of a sentence or when used as a noun phrase subject/object. Using just 'FAO' is common after prepositions ('a report by FAO').
A specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to achieving food security for all, eradicating hunger, and ensuring the sustainable management of agriculture, fisheries, and forestry worldwide.
Food and agriculture organization is usually formal / academic / technical / journalistic in register.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: Food And… Oh! (FAO) – it's the big global 'oh!' for organizing food and farming.
Conceptual Metaphor
THE GLOBAL GUARDIAN / THE WORLD'S LARDER-KEEPER (an entity that monitors and protects the global supply of nourishment).
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary role of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)?