The Philippines’ Secretary for Agriculture and Chairperson of FAO 40th Conference, Emmanuel F. Piñol, today called for greater support and funding for FAO’s work given the crucial importance of agriculture and food production for countries around the world.
The talks took place ahead of the session in Rome of the FAO Conference, the organization’s governing body on 3-8 July.
“I really would like to see at this Conference a greater commitment by governments to support FAO, because FAO has proven to be a very reliable partner in the area of food production and agriculture,” he said in remarks following a meeting with FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
Piñol, a farmer himself, also thanked Graziano da Silva for the support FAO provided to the Philippines following typhoon Haiyan which devastated coastal and farmland areas in the central part of the country in 2013.
Leveraging support from the international community, FAO and local authorities provided assistance to over 150 000 farming and fishing families, in four critical areas of intervention: rice and corn farming, fisheries and coastal communities, coconut-based farming systems, and coastal/mangrove forest rehabilitation.
FAO’s Conference, an important opportunity for dialogue on food and agriculture issues
Around 1,000 participants are expected to attend the FAO Conference, including some 70 Ministers, 15 Deputy Ministers and one President. The session takes place over 6 days during which around 20 side events will be held.
Participants will debate a number of pressing policy issues related to global food security, including the impacts of climate change on agriculture and efforts to realize the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
The Conference will also review and vote on the FAO Director General’s proposed program of work and budget for 2018-19.
Side event topics include ongoing efforts to prevent famine in drought- and conflict-affected nations in Africa, water scarcity in the Near East and North Africa, achieving Zero Hunger, food security in Small Island Developing states, and the role of rural development in mitigating pressures that are helping drive global migration.
Photo credit: Alessandra Benedetti (FAO)
