Bilateral meeting with the Minister for Agriculture of Cuba – H.E. Ydael Jesus Perez Brito

Rome – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu met today with the Minister for Agriculture of the Republic of Cuba, H.E. Ydael Jesus Perez Brito, on the sidelines of the 43rd Session of the FAO Conference.

The Minister expressed his appreciation for FAO's work in recent years and thanked the Director-General for the Organization's support in the design and implementation of the Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Plan, which he stressed were in line with Cuba’s priorities. He highlighted the support that the Hand in Hand Initiative can provide for the transformation of Cuba's agrifood systems. The Minister also provided an overview of the country’s agricultural projects aimed at promoting the involvement of young people.

The Director-General highlighted Cuba's potential to produce more food with fewer inputs based on its knowledge and resilience. He said Cuba could seek to provide more technical training for its farmers and prioritize nutritious food. The Director General also encouraged Cuba to design an investment plan to present at the next World Food Forum in October 2023, in order to attract more investments and new technologies.