FAO, IFAD and WFP collaborate in many ways to further the global community's goal of eliminating hunger and poverty. By working together, they give Member Countries the benefit of their combined strengths.

IFAD has strengthened its ties to the other Rome-based UN agencies: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP). Together, the three agencies are exploring ways to expand and deepen their collaboration and to make more efficient use of resources. FAO, IFAD and WFP are finding new ways to share policy and analytic functions, human resource management and training, financial processes and administrative functions.

The High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence urged the three agencies to work together to help build long-term food security and break the cycle of recurring famines, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A joint mapping exercise between the agencies is identifying gaps and opportunities for greater collaboration in many areas, including agricultural investment, policy formulation and emergency aid.

In April 2006, FAO, IFAD and WFP jointly established Food Security Theme Groups at the country level to combine the technical and outreach capabilities of the three agencies. The Theme Groups will operate within the One UN programme, ensuring that food security and hunger are adequately addressed by the UN country team. While the Rome-based agencies will jointly lead the groups and form their core, other UN agencies will be encouraged to participate, as well as national institutions, civil society organizations and other development partners. The groups will directly support countries’ development efforts in the areas of food security, agriculture and rural development and provide the basis for intensified UN-wide action towards halving the proportion of hungry people in the world by 2015.