Bilateral meeting with the Minister for Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay – H.E. Fernando Mattos Costa

Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, today received the visit of the Minister for Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay, H.E. Fernando Mattos Costa, at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The Minister thanked FAO for its continuous support and noted that Uruguay had recently faced its worst drought in 60 years, which had strongly affected agricultural production.

In this context, the Minister and the Director General highlighted the importance of promoting the adaptation of agrifood systems to the long-term challenges and impacts of the climate crisis.

Minister Mattos Costa noted that Uruguay has successfully promoted sustainable livestock production, increasing profitability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Director-General said that Uruguay can be an example in Latin America on how to promote sustainable livestock, and noted that FAO can support it through the Hand-in-Hand geospatial big data platform. He also stressed the importance of recovering ecosystems through modern technology and seeds, as well as increasing biomass production at national scale.

Qu also highlighted Uruguay's potential to invest in aquaculture not only to improve fish production but also processing, as well as to become a port economy and an aquatourism destination.