Rome, Italy. April 13, 2011
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Excellencies, Members of the Council, Members of FAO, fellow staff of this Organization,
Candidatura brasileira à Direção-Geral da FAO
1. I stand before you today as a candidate for one of the most significant and challenging jobs in the UN system.
2. FAO was born in 1945, at the end of the second world war. In a historic document, entitled The Work of FAO, its founders summed up their vision for the Organization, claiming that (and I quote) “Progress toward freedom from want is essential to lasting peace…”(end of quote). We are frequently being reminded how relevant these words still are for FAO nowadays.
3. FAO has achieved much during its 66 years of life. Above all, it can claim credit for successfully overseeing an unprecedented growth in food production. Enough food is now being produced to meet the needs of almost seven (7) billion people. The problem, however, is that almost 1 billion people are undernourished and many more are malnourished. At the same time, the technologies that have made the fast expansion of production possible are damaging natural resources.
4. I subscribe to the view of FAO’s founders that ending hunger is entirely possible. This is not a view based on wishful thinking. It is based on my own experience in leading both the design of Brazil’s Zero Hunger Programme and its implementation in 2003, when I was appointed by President Lula as the country’s first Minister of Food Security.
5. Today, Zero Hunger benefits one quarter of Brazil’s population of almost 200 million. And all this has cost less than 0.5% of GDP. The big lesson from this experience is that combating hunger and malnutrition opens the door to fast inclusive economic growth. It enables people who have been prevented from playing an active roll in society, to benefit from national prosperity. Ending hunger is not charity, but an investment in our poorest people and a key to sustainable development.
6. In all continents, there are examples of countries that have had comparable success in boosting their agriculture through strengthening small-scale farming and in broadening food access.
7. Hence, Mr Chairman, the first of 5 pillars on which I propose to build my programme is Hunger Eradication. I have no hesitation in commending to all member countries that they commit themselves this goal as fast as possible. FAO will need to strengthen its capacity to help countries to design and implement plans for hunger eradication. For this, it must deepen its joint work with WFP (World Food Programme), WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) as well as with regional agencies and civil society.
8. My second pillar relates to the Organization’s role in catalyzing a shift to Truly Sustainable Food Production Systems. Agriculture and deforestation currently account for one quarter of all annual greenhouse gas emissions. FAO needs to become much more engaged in “greening the Green Revolution”, enabling farmers, fishermen and other players in the food system to learn how to intensify production while conserving natural resources.
9. My third pillar concerns the vital role that FAO must continue to play in Addressing Global Challenges in an Integrated, Coherent and Fair Manner. I will list here the priority global issues that FAO will have to address with a sense of urgency over the next four years. Of paramount importance, as has been acknowledged in the reform of CFS, the Committee on World Food Security, is the need to arrive at an effective global food and nutrition security governance system.
10. Also mitigation and adaptation to climate change must be addressed more actively by the Organization. FAO must help member countries to find ways to promote sustainable use of natural resources, particularly water, land, biodiversity and forestry as well as oceanic resources – the so-called blue economy, that Small Island Developing States consider as a matter of their survival.
11. FAO must also pay more attention to issues relating to food safety, transboundary pests and diseases, rural employment and gender. For this, FAO must reinforce its alliances with WHO in relation to Codex Alimentarius; with OIE, the World Organization for Animal Health; and especially with the ILO (International Labour Office), the Regional UN Commissions, and the recently created UN Women.
12. In approaching these issues, FAO must improve its internal capacity for cross-cutting work as well as its ability to partner with other institutions, both inside and outside the UN system, including civil society. There must be much closer cooperation between FAO, WFP and IFAD, as well as with all members of the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis.
13. My fourth pillar is to Bring the Ongoing Reform Process to a Satisfactory Conclusion. Having worked in a senior position in the Organization, I am very much aware of the long time that the reforms have taken and of the substantial resources – both human and financial – that have been dedicated to this process.
14. I share the strong commitment of member countries to enhancing FAO’s performance. It must operate with greater transparency and accountability, and adopt results-based management systems, putting in place objective monitoring and post-evaluation systems. It must also free staff from time-consuming bureaucratic procedures.
15. Any reform creates uncertainties, and I wish to pay tribute to the responsible manner in which FAO’s staff have continued to dedicate themselves to their substantive duties during this process.
16. I am also conscious of the need for genuine but balanced decentralization, with delegation of authority to the regional and sub-regional levels. These offices can also play a bigger role in resource mobilization. Country-level offices need to enjoy greater autonomy in initiating and implementing projects and in local procurement. If elected, I will seek to lead by example in introducing a more collegiate style of management, as I have always done throughout my career.
17. My fifth pillar is to promote South-South Cooperation. We need to bring on board middle-income countries from Latin America, Africa and Asia to share their technical expertise. This could supplement FAO’s ongoing technical cooperation activities and alleviate some of the financing difficulties that might affect the Organization.
18. Mr. Chairman. I would like now to draw to your attention some of the reasons why I consider that I am qualified to serve as FAO’s next Director-General.
19. First, Brazil has always been an active member of FAO, sharing its experience in agriculture and food security, and offering technical cooperation programmes in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean countries. Our representatives have always been working to build consensus among members of the Organization, as in the recent debate on the reform of the CFS.
20. My great hope is to see an FAO whose members put aside the distinctions that have sadly grown up between “developing” and “developed” countries. As an adviser to president Lula for 25 years, from the time when he was a labor union leader until I was recruited by FAO, I have learnt the importance of building consensus for moving forward quickly.
21. Second, while there is no written rule on this, it is customary for the heads of UN agencies to be rotated between regions. Since FAO was founded, it has had 7 Directors-General. Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region that has not yet had the honor to provide a Director-General for FAO. Nor does any Brazilian at present occupy a top level post in the UN system.
22. Third, I have devoted my whole working life to the technical, social and economic dimensions of agriculture, rural development and fighting hunger that are so central to FAO’s mandate. In 2003, I found myself moving from Professor to Minister to set up an entirely new Ministry and managing a budget that was twice the size of FAO’s!
23. In 2006, I became FAO’s Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean where I have learned the importance to build partnerships with international and regional agencies, as well as civil society.
24. Mr Chairman, members of the Council, I feel that I should point out that I am the only candidate who has concrete management experience within the Organization where I have been working during the last 5 years. This is important, given that the next Director-General will hold office for a shortened period and that all of us want to bring the reform process to a successful conclusion.
25. Before closing I would like to mention that the paper that has just been circulated is a draft version of my platform. I intend to develop it further in response to the discussions with member countries that I shall have between now and when I would take up office, if elected.
26. Let me close, Mr. Chairman, recalling the words that the then elected Brazilian President, Tancredo Neves, had intended to say at his inauguration in 1985, had he not died a few days earlier: “I will not be able to do anything except what we can do together.”
Thank you.
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