FIVIMS is a system or network of systems that assembles, manages, analyses and disseminates information about people who are food insecure and/or malnourished, or are at risk of becoming food insecure and malnourished. It helps identify, locate and estimate the number of the food insecure and vulnerabile and understand the causes of food insecurity and vulnerability, being built on the information systems and databases already existing in the country.

An initial attempt to launch FIVIMS was carried out in Cambodia in June 1999 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD). However, based on a top-government decision, the FIVIMS Focal Agency was transferred from the MRD to the MAFF in October 2002.

In November 2002 two officers from the MAFF participated in the Regional Expert Consultation of the Asia-Pacific Network for Food and Nutrition on the Status of FIVIMS Initiatives to followup on the establishment of a FIVIMS. Subsequently, a formal Letter of Agreement was signed between the Focal Agency- i.e. The MAFF- and FAO to implement a series of start up activities from November 2002 to March 2003 including the establishment of an institutional framework to operationalise FIVIMS.