Director-General Meets China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

21 November 2019, Beijing - FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met with Mr Han Changfu, China’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) on Wednesday to highlight the UN organization’s plans, actions and aim to become a more transparent, open, inclusive and dynamic organization, in order to contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Director-General expressed gratitude for MARA’s support and that of the government of China, a major contributor to FAO’s human, physical and financial resources.

He noted that FAO’s work focuses on the concrete action and solution towards poverty and hunger for the world’s poorest and weakest people, in order to intensify progress on the Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2, which call for the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, respectively and are at the center of the UN Secretary General’s priorities.

Minister Han congratulated the Director-General for his fresh approaches and the new vitality he is spreading around FAO and its areas of work, and assured that MARA will continue to offer strong support for FAO’s work in global agricultural, rural affairs and poverty reduction.

He noted that China’s achievements in reducing poverty and increasing food security are a great contribution to the world and represent concrete support for FAO’s mandate and agenda.

More than half of the reduction in the number of undernourished people in the world since 2004 occurred in China, according to FAO’s annual State of Food and Nutrition Security reports.

Three-quarters of the global reduction of the number of people living in extreme poverty – as defined by international standards - occurred due to developments in China.

China’s crop yields are stable at 650 million tonnes this year, which should also be good news, he added.

The Director-General noted his hope and confidence that MARA will continue to support FAO as always in the future.