Through its disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) seeks to protect livelihoods from shocks, to make food production systems more resilient and more capable of absorbing the impact of, and recovering from, disruptive events.

Disaster risk reduction protects development investments in the agriculture, livestock, fisheries/aquaculture and forestry sectors, helping the world's most vulnerable people become food secure. Disaster risk reduction is vital for ensuring one of the most basic human rights, the right to food and freedom from hunger. Furthermore, disaster risk reduction creates a multiplier effect that accelerates the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 1: the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.