Jamaica has been a member of FAO since 1963, and a FAO Representative has been stationed in Kingston since 1979. Later that same year, the FAO Representation in Jamaica expanded its scope to also cover the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. In December 1994, the mandate of the Representation was broadened even further to include Belize.

The mandate of FAO in all three countries is to support national efforts to promote food security and sustainable development. In doing so, FAO works closely with the Ministries of Agriculture, Health and Education. Recently, FAO has begun to expand its partnership to include other ministries to reflect its focus on food security and nutrition. Its beneficiaries have also been expanded to include urban and peri-urban populations.

FAO has thus supported the Government and people of Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize over many years. From food security and nutrition to institutional reform, FAO has remained committed to supporting the development of the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors.

FAO’s work with the governments of the represented countries focuses on strengthening national food and nutrition security while targeting efforts to improve the productivity and overall performance of the agricultural sector. By supporting sustainable rural livelihoods and increasing resilience to natural disasters, FAO recognizes the importance of this sector for reducing poverty and hunger.

FAO provides assistance mainly through one of two mechanisms:

Technical Co-operation Projects (TCP) are designed to address specific technical gaps that constrain productivity in agriculture, nutrition, fisheries and forestry. They provide expert assistance.

Technical Co-operation Programme Facility (TCPF) is a smaller scale assistance that can provide a quick response to help develop projects in the country.