International Year of the Potato International Year of the Potato The year 2008 was declared the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations, noting that the potato is a staple food in the diet of the world’s population, and affirming the need to focus world attention on the role that the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty. Food and Agriculture Organization was invited to facilitate its implementation. The corresponding resolution adopted on 25 November 2005 by the Food and Agriculture Organization, which was to facilitate the implementation of the year, affirmed "the need to revive public awareness of the
Food and Agriculture Organization number of major ‘State of the World’ reports related to food, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and natural resources. There are a total of 197 members comprising 194 member nations, 1 member organization and 2 associate members. The UN member state that is a non-member of the FAO is Liechtenstein. Some countries may denote specific representatives to the FAO, for instance the United States Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, who has ambassador rank and is also part of the United States Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome. There has been public criticism of FAO for