World Food Day, 16 October 2012

Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world

Agricultural cooperatives are the focus of World Food Day 2012.

The official World Food Day theme, announced each spring by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), gives focus to World Food Day observances and raises awareness and understanding of approaches to ending hunger.

“Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world” is the formal wording of the 2012 theme. It has been chosen to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger.

Interest in cooperatives and rural organizations is also reflected in the decision of the UN General Assembly to designate 2012 “International Year of Cooperatives.”

World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organisations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme.
The World Food Day theme for 2012 is "Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world".
World Food Day (WFD) was established by FAO's Member Countries at the Organization's 20th General Conference in November 1945. The Hungarian Delegation, led by the former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Pál Romány has played an active role at the 20th Session of the FAO Conference and suggested the idea of celebrating the WFD worldwide. It has since been observed every year in more than 150 countries, raising awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger.

Themes

Since 1981, World Food Day has adopted a different theme each year, in order to highlight areas needed for action and provide a common focus.
Most of the themes revolve around agriculture because only investment in agriculture – together with support for education and health – will turn this situation around. The bulk of that investment will have to come from the private sector, with public investment playing a crucial role, especially in view of its facilitating and stimulating effect on private investment.
In spite of the importance of agriculture as the driving force in the economies of many developing countries, this vital sector is frequently starved of investment. In particular, foreign aid to agriculture has shown marked declines over the past 20 years.

• 1981: Food comes first
• 1982: Food comes first
• 1983: Food security
• 1984: Women in agriculture
• 1985: Rural poverty
• 1986: Fishermen and fishing communities
• 1987: Small farmers
• 1988: Rural youth
• 1989: Food and the environment
• 1990: Food for the future
• 1991: Trees for life
• 1992: Food and nutrition
• 1993: Harvesting nature's diversity
• 1994: Water for life
• 1995: Food for all
• 1996: Fighting hunger and malnutrition
• 1997: Investing in food security
• 1998: Women feed the world
• 1999: Youth against hunger
• 2000: A millennium free from hunger
• 2001: Fight hunger to reduce poverty
• 2002: Water: source of food security
• 2003: Working together for an international alliance against hunger
• 2004: Biodiversity for food security
• 2005: Agriculture and intercultural dialogue
• 2006: Investing in agriculture for food security
• 2007: The right to food
• 2008: World food security: the challenges of climate change and bioenergy
• 2009: Achieving food security in times of crisis
• 2010: United against hunger
• 2011: Food prices - from crisis to stability
• 2012: Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world