For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt.Skip to main content
The biennial plenary governing body of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, composed of all member states, that sets policy, approves the budget, and elects FAO leadership.
The FAO Conference is the supreme governing body of the Food and Agriculture Organization, a UN specialized agency headquartered in Rome. It is composed of all FAO member states (currently including the European Union as a member organization) and ordinarily convenes every two years, typically in late spring or summer at FAO headquarters.
The Conference's powers are set out in Article III of the FAO Constitution. Its core functions include:
Each member has one vote. Most decisions are taken by a simple majority of votes cast, but constitutional amendments and certain financial decisions require a two-thirds majority.
In Model UN circuits, the FAO Conference is simulated less frequently than General Assembly committees but appears at conferences with strong specialized-agency tracks. Delegates should be aware that FAO debate is technical and sectoral: topics typically involve food security, agricultural trade rules, plant and animal genetic resources, fisheries, pesticide standards (often via the Codex Alimentarius, jointly run with WHO), and emergency response to food crises. Resolutions in a simulated FAO Conference usually take the form of recommendations to member states or instructions to the Director-General and Council, rather than binding directives. Delegates should ground positions in their country's actual agricultural profile, FAO contribution scale, and voting record on issues like agroecology, biotechnology, and food sovereignty.
Ordinarily every two years at FAO headquarters in Rome, though special sessions can be convened. Between sessions, the FAO Council manages the organization.
Each member state has one vote. Most decisions require a simple majority of votes cast; constitutional amendments and some financial matters require a two-thirds majority.
The Conference is the plenary body of all members meeting biennially; the Council is a 49-member executive organ elected by the Conference that handles governance between sessions.