Putting sustainable agriculture, healthy diets and biodiversity at the top of the EU Agenda

For the first time ever, FAO had the chance to exchange views at the European Parliament with Members of the European Parliament from four Committees. FAO Deputy Director-General for Climate and Natural Resources, Maria Helena Semedo, focused her presentation on the interlinkages between FAO’s work on sustainable agriculture and food systems and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Her intervention was followed by comments and questions from MEPs from the Committees on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI), Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), Development (DEVE) and Fisheries (PECH). The Director for Planet and Prosperity at the EU Commission Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, Carla Montesi, took the floor and emphasized the importance of the EU-FAO Strategic Dialogue to finding “common answers to common challenges”, such as the FAO-European Commission cooperation on sustainable food systems. She said the EU Commission was looking forward to the next Strategic Dialogue exercise, which is to be held in 2020.

Ms Semedo also met with the Director-General of the EU’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), Anne Bucher, with whom she discussed various areas of collaboration between the two organizations, including Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), fighting pests and diseases, food waste, food safety and others.