faostat-mcp 1.2.1

MCP server exposing the full FAOSTAT API to AI assistants

FAOSTAT MCP Server

Query UN food and agriculture statistics with AI — powered by the Model Context Protocol

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes the full FAOSTAT API as tools for AI assistants. Connect any MCP-compatible client — Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, or your own agent — to the world's most comprehensive database of food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and nutrition statistics, covering 245 countries and territories from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Keywords: FAOSTAT, MCP server, Model Context Protocol, AI agriculture data, FAO statistics, food security AI, agricultural data Python, UN data, crop production statistics, Claude, Cursor, Windsurf

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Why Use This?

Researchers, data journalists, policy analysts, and developers can ask natural-language questions and get answers directly from FAOSTAT — without writing a single API call. Your AI assistant handles domain discovery, filtering, and interpretation automatically.

Who is this for?

• Agricultural economists and food security researchers
• Journalists and policy analysts working with FAO data
• Developers building AI pipelines on top of FAOSTAT
• Anyone who wants to explore crop, trade, nutrition, or emissions data conversationally

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What is FAOSTAT?

FAOSTAT is the statistical database of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is the world's most comprehensive freely available source of data on food and agriculture, covering:

• Crop and livestock production — yields, harvested area, and quantities for hundreds of commodities
• Trade — import/export volumes and values between countries
• Food security — prevalence of undernourishment, dietary energy supply, and access indicators
• Emissions — greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, land use, and food systems
• Forestry and fisheries — production and trade data
• Prices, inputs, and population — producer prices, fertilizer use, and demographic context

Data spans from 1961 to the present, across 245 countries and territories, in multiple languages.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol is an open standard that lets AI assistants call external tools at runtime. This server registers all FAOSTAT API endpoints as discoverable tools — your AI assistant automatically selects and chains the right calls when you ask a question.

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Features

• 21 MCP tools covering every FAOSTAT endpoint (data, metadata, rankings, bulk downloads, reports)
• 245 countries and territories across dozens of domains: crops, livestock, trade, food security, emissions, forestry, fisheries, and more
• Built-in rate limiting (2 req/s) — safe for the FAOSTAT production API out of the box
• Auto-retry with exponential backoff on transient network errors
• Rich tool descriptions so the AI knows exactly when and how to call each tool
• 3-tier hybrid caching — in-memory (20 min) → SQLite disk (24 h, cross-session) → Redis (optional, 30 min)
• Zero-config auth via faostat_setup — store credentials once, never touch a config file again
• Disambiguation via faostat_search_codes — agents ask before guessing ambiguous codes
• Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, and any MCP-compatible client

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Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• Any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed, or a custom agent)

Option A — Install from PyPI (recommended)

pip install faostat-mcp
# or with uvx (no virtual env needed):
uvx faostat-mcp

Option B — Install from source

git clone https://github.com/berba-q/faostat-mcp.git
cd faostat-mcp
pip install -e .

Configure credentials

Easiest — use the faostat_setup tool (no config files needed):

Once the server is running and connected to your AI client, ask your assistant:

"Call faostat_setup with my FAOSTAT username and password."

The tool validates your credentials against the API, then stores them securely in your system keychain (macOS/Windows) or ~/.config/faostat-mcp/credentials.json (Linux/Docker). All subsequent sessions authenticate automatically — no env vars or .env file required.

Alternative — environment variables (CI/CD, Docker, advanced):

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env:
# FAOSTAT_API_TOKEN=your_token_here        ← API token, OR
# FAOSTAT_USERNAME=your_email              ← username + password
# FAOSTAT_PASSWORD=your_password

Register for a free FAOSTAT account at https://www.fao.org/faostat/.

Optional — Redis caching (multi-user / high-volume deployments)

The server works without Redis (SQLite disk cache is used instead). For shared or high-volume setups, launch Redis via Docker:

docker run -p 6379:6379 -it redis/redis-stack:latest

Then set REDIS_HOST_IP_ADDRESS, REDIS_HOST_PORT_NUMBER, and REDIS_DATABASE in .env.

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Running the Server

Development mode (interactive MCP Inspector UI)

mcp dev faostat_mcp/server.py

Opens a browser UI at http://localhost:5173 where you can browse and test all 21 tools interactively.

Production mode (stdio transport, for Claude Desktop)

python -m faostat_mcp.server
# or, using the installed script:
faostat-mcp

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Caching

The server uses a 3-tier cache to minimise redundant API calls. FAOSTAT data updates at most daily, so most repeated queries are served instantly.

Tier	TTL	Scope	Notes
In-memory	20 min	Current session	Fastest; reset on server restart
SQLite disk	24 h	Cross-session	~/.cache/faostat-mcp/cache.db; no extra infra
Redis	30 min	Multi-user shared	Optional; set REDIS_* env vars to enable

Cache lookup order: memory → disk → Redis → API call. A disk or Redis hit promotes the value to memory for the rest of the session.

To disable the disk cache (e.g. on a read-only filesystem), set FAOSTAT_DISK_CACHE=false.

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MCP Client Integration

The server speaks standard MCP over stdio, so it works with any compatible client.

Recommended config (PyPI install)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "faostat": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["faostat-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Dev / source config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "faostat": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "faostat_mcp.server"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/faostat-mcp",
      "env": {
        "FAOSTAT_API_TOKEN": "your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add one of the blocks above to:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Restart Claude Desktop — faostat will appear in the tools panel.

Cursor

Add the block to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root, or to your global Cursor MCP settings. See the Cursor MCP docs for details.

Windsurf / Zed / other clients

Any client that supports MCP stdio servers accepts the same config shape. Consult your client's documentation for the config file location.

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Example Queries

Once connected, ask your AI assistant questions like:

Domain	Example Question
Crop production	"What were the top 10 wheat-producing countries in 2022?"
Food security	"Show me food security indicators for Ethiopia from 2015 to 2020"
Trade	"Which countries are most dependent on food imports?"
Yield comparison	"Compare maize yields between the USA and Brazil over the last decade"
Emissions	"What are greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa?"
Discovery	"What agricultural datasets does FAOSTAT have for trade?"

Your AI assistant will automatically:

1. Call faostat_list_groups or faostat_groups_and_domains to find the right domain
2. Call faostat_search_codes to look up a code by name — if multiple codes match (e.g. "production" matches both Production and Gross Production Index), the assistant pauses and asks you to choose before proceeding
3. Call faostat_get_data or faostat_get_rankings with the confirmed codes
4. Interpret and summarize the results in plain language

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Available MCP Tools

Discovery & Metadata

Tool	Description
faostat_ping	Check API health
faostat_list_groups	List all data groups
faostat_groups_and_domains	Full domain tree
faostat_list_domains	Domains within a group
faostat_get_dimensions	Available filters for a domain
faostat_get_codes	Browse all country/item/element filter codes
faostat_search_codes	Search codes by name — returns requires_confirmation=true when multiple codes match, forcing the agent to ask you before proceeding
faostat_get_definitions	Domain definitions
faostat_get_definitions_by_type	Definitions by type
faostat_definition_types	All definition types
faostat_get_metadata	Full domain metadata
faostat_get_metadata_print	Printable metadata

Data Retrieval

Tool	Description
faostat_get_data	Fetch actual statistics
faostat_get_datasize	Estimate query result size before fetching
faostat_get_rankings	Top-N country rankings
faostat_get_report_data	Report data
faostat_get_report_headers	Report column headers
faostat_list_bulk_downloads	Bulk download file listing
faostat_list_documents	Related documents

Authentication

Tool	Description
faostat_setup	First-time setup — validate and store credentials securely; subsequent sessions authenticate automatically
faostat_refresh_token	Manually refresh the API access token

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Project Structure

faostat-mcp/
├── pyproject.toml
├── smithery.yaml             ← Smithery MCP registry manifest
├── .env.example
├── mcp_config_example.json   ← AI config snippet
└── faostat_mcp/
    ├── server.py             ← FastMCP server + all 21 tool definitions
    └── client.py             ← HTTP client, rate limiting, 3-tier cache, credential storage

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Important: Filter Codes vs Display Codes

The FAOSTAT API uses two different code systems: filter codes (used in query parameters) and display codes (shown in response data and bulk CSVs). Always use filter codes from faostat_get_codes when calling faostat_get_data.

Area, item, and year codes are the same for both. Only element codes differ:

QCL — Crops and Livestock Products

Filter Code	Display Code	Element
2312	5312	Area harvested
2413	5412	Yield
2510	5510	Production quantity
2111	5111	Stocks
2313	5320	Producing animals / slaughtered

TM — Trade Matrix

Filter Code	Display Code	Element
2610	—	Import quantity
2620	—	Import value
2910	—	Export quantity
2920	—	Export value

FS — Food Security

Filter Code	Display Code	Element
6120	—	Value
6210	—	Confidence interval

Always call faostat_get_codes(dimension_id='element', domain_code=...) before querying data. Filter codes vary by domain and cannot be inferred from display codes.

# WRONG — uses display code 5510, returns empty data
faostat_get_data('QCL', area='2', item='515', element='5510', year='2024')

# CORRECT — uses filter code 2510, returns data
faostat_get_data('QCL', area='2', item='515', element='2510', year='2024')

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Limitations & Notes

• This server targets the FAOSTAT production API (https://faostatservices.fao.org/api/v1).
• Rate limit: 2 requests/second, enforced automatically via token bucket.
• Responses are cached across 3 tiers (memory → SQLite disk → Redis) to reduce API calls — see .env.example for TTL and size configuration.
• The SQLite disk cache lives at ~/.cache/faostat-mcp/cache.db and defaults to 24 h TTL with a 1,000-entry LRU cap. Set FAOSTAT_DISK_CACHE=false to disable.
• For large domains (e.g., Trade Matrix), always apply area, item, and year filters to keep response sizes manageable.

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Related Projects & Resources

• Model Context Protocol — the open standard powering this server
• FAOSTAT — UN FAO's official statistics portal
• FAOSTAT API Docs — developer reference
• Claude Desktop — one of the AI assistants this server works with
• Cursor — AI code editor with MCP support
• Windsurf — AI IDE with MCP support

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Contributors

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this project.

Contributor	Contribution
berba-q	Project author — API client, MCP tool layer, response formatting
Tohokantche	Hybrid caching — in-memory (dict + min-heap TTL) and Redis tiers with graceful fallback

Contributions are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

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Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a full history of changes, generated automatically from conventional commits.

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GitHub Topics

If you fork or star this repo, suggested topics: mcp, faostat, model-context-protocol, ai-tools, agriculture, food-security, fao, un-data, python, llm, unfao, undata