Director-General in dialogue with all FAO representatives around the world

12 February 2021, Rome – In mid-January, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stated his vision to the Organization’s senior managers that 2021 will be the year of continued efficiency and increased effectiveness, particularly by “harvesting results on the ground.”

Forging ahead in this direction, Qu recently joined meetings held by each of the five Regional Offices (Santiago de Chile, Cairo, Budapest, Bangkok and Accra), in which he could hear first-hand from and interact with FAO country representatives around the world (FAORs) about their work at national and local levels. Qu took these opportunities to reinforce priorities, give overall strategic direction and address specific concerns and opportunities region by region.

In all five meetings, the Director-General thanked FAO’s field teams for their dedication and resilience in pursuing results, particularly at this time, despite the constraints and restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He reiterated the importance of moving away from business as usual to embracing ambitious innovative approaches and initiatives that support Members in achieving tangible results and transform agri-food systems.

“The new FAO culture builds on openness, professionalism, dedication, accountability, talent and innovation,” the Director-General said at one of the sessions. “Flexibility and agility are key to achieving the transformations and the effectiveness that we seek,” he said at another.

Qu stressed the importance of FAO country offices working closely not only with governments, but also with the population and particularly farmers to better understand their situation and needs. He further stressed the need to work hand in hand with the private sector and civil society.

The Director-General spoke of the various initiatives, platforms and tools developed by FAO which should help the FAO Country Representatives in the development of plans and strategies to support Members, such as the ambitious COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme.

“We need to offer all our expertise to our Members, making sure that we become a trusted partner in their work to recover from the crisis as soon as possible,” Qu said. “This is a big challenge, but at the same time an opportunity to build forward better and to develop long-term strategies and actionable programs,” he added.

Cross-regional cooperation

The Director-General urged Regional and Country Representatives to take advantage of all available digital technologies to collaborate across regions and share solutions and best practices.

“Establishing cross-continent cooperation through the FAO Network will be a real game changer in the way you collaborate internally, with direct impact on the quality of the support provided to our Members,” he said.

In this context, Qu called for each Region to establish knowledge platforms for specific areas of work, based on the experience available. In relation to Asia and Pacific Region, for example, he suggested the areas of digital food and agriculture as well as aquaculture, while Latin America and the Caribbean should focus on family farming. Similarly, the Near East and North Africa regional office could develop a knowledge platform on water shortage and scarcity, while Europe and Central Asia has a lot to share on Green Development. The Africa regional office should focus on the modernization of Africa’s agriculture as well as the experiences gained in the region’s efforts towards a common market.

Director-General Qu welcomed the launch of a specific platform to promote innovative cross-regional cooperation among Small Island Developing States - SIDS Solution: “Because of their geographic isolation or limited natural resources, SIDS often share a unique set of circumstances, such as vulnerability to natural disasters or reliance on imports.”

On the ground

The Director-General offered his instructions on opportunities that various regions could pursue.

He encouraged FAORs in Latin America and Caribbean to support governments to better promote their products in the international markets, particularly those with the potential to become “national brands”. FAO Representatives, for their part, echoed the Director-General’s views on opportunities to foster digital tools and technologies as well as to collaborate with the private sector, particularly within the Hand-in-Hand Initiative.  

Regarding the Near East and North Africa, Qu pointed to the region’s biodiversity as having significant potential for economic and agricultural development. FAORs in the region highlighted recent local successes, particularly in relation to aquaculture and fisheries.

During his meeting with Europe and Central Asia, Qu emphasized the importance of a well-designed pathway for the green development of agriculture in the region and the importance of promoting solutions that preserve natural resources. The Director-General highlighted the fact that the region’s cultures lend themselves to leveraging FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Sites framework as well as using geographical indicators to complement large-scale sustainable food production. FAORs pointed to significant project expansions in Central Asia, where the Organization is now implementing 88 projects, noting success in accessing support from the Green Climate Fund and Global Environmental Facility, as well as initiatives to support smallholders and boost digitalization of the agriculture sectors in Eastern Europe.

While engaging with FAO Representatives of the Asia and Pacific region, the Director-General listed numerous benefits of digital technologies, which could be put to use more extensively. He emphasized that these benefits can lead to making poor populations more resilient, improving market efficiency, reducing price variability and promoting extension services. These are among the objectives of the 1 000 Digital Villages Initiative, which aims to facilitate the farmers’ access to markets and diversify their incomes. FAORs outlined their current work, including bolstering disaster resilience in South Asia, nutrition in the Pacific and an array of data-based and digital initiatives in Southeast Asia, and upcoming plans, ranging from tropical forest restoration to curtailing the impact of dust storms.

Qu completed his tour by speaking to FAO Representatives from across Africa. He strongly urged them to select priority themes, all the while adopting a customer service business model with Members and partners, in order to relentlessly strive to achieve substantive impact on the ground.

“Promote the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment and Better Life,” he said, urging the Organization’s Country Representatives to continue to “work passionately for the people with the most needs.”

Representatives in Africa, in turn, outlined their priorities for 2021 in the face of multiple, complex emergencies such as Desert Locusts, Fall Armyworm and the impacts of conflict and climate change in a number of areas such as the Sahel.