Santiago de Chile, November 2, 2011 – Inter-agency cooperation is important for the fight against hunger, said the Director-General elect of the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva.
©FAO/Tatiana Vargas
“The solutions to increasingly complex problems such as those we face today require a multidisciplinary approach and a joint effort between institutions,” said Graziano da Silva at the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, held in October in San Jose, Costa Rica.
In a speech at the meeting organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Graziano da Silva explained that strengthening cooperation with other international and regional organizations was a way to improve the support provided to countries and advance towards the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty.
In recent years, as FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Graziano da Silva has pushed for increased cooperation with other agencies.
Examples of this include the document “Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development of the Americas“, produced by FAO, IICA and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). In 2011, the same three agencies co-organized sub-regional dialogues on food prices and volatility.
With ECLAC and the regional office of the International Labour Organization (ILO), FAO also prepares studies to support policy recommendations in order to make agricultural markets more effective in reducing rural poverty.
At the ministerial meeting, Graziano da Silva also thanked the support he received from the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in the FAO election. ”My election was a collective effort in which all of you played a decisive role,” he said.
“I rely on your support to advance towards the eradication of hunger, the promotion of sustainable food production and consumption model and the development of a more efficient global food security governance system”, he said.
Graziano da Silva also advocated for increased investment in agriculture and food security in the world.
“I am certain that an emphasis on food security and agricultural development can bring together governments, civil society and private initiative to promote sustainable, inclusive and fair development,” he concluded.
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