Read-out of FAO Director-General’s meeting with Sidi Tiémoko Touré, Minister for Animal and Fisheries Resources of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire

Rome – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today met with Sidi Tiémoko Touré, Minister for Animal and Fisheries Resources of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. The Minister commended the Director-General for his vision and achievements, as well as the strong partnership and collaboration between FAO and Côte d'Ivoire.

In particular, he cited the support provided by FAO. The Minister shared with the Director-General highlights of the National Policy for Livestock, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Plan (2022-2026) adopted by the Government. He underlined his vision for cooperation with the Organization for further development of the aquaculture sector, including all aspects of the value chain, and underlined the need for increased investment in the livestock sector as a key priority.

The Minister noted that in order to address issues of conflict, as well as climate change, empowerment of fisherfolk and small holder farmers was a priority to make them more resilient. He complemented this with the vision to create more production areas in the country to address supply instability in the fisheries and livestock sectors.

The Director-General thanked the Minister and noted the accomplishments of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire in the agrifood sector. He shared with the Minster that in order to promote agrifood system transformation the starting point must be MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems that create new opportunities. He complemented this with the importance of partnerships that can provide both technical and financial support to the sectors and improve the full value chain, creating new employment opportunities for youth and women.

He proceeded to share with the Minister the FAO Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products, One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) and stressed how it can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the specific context, he noted the important work being carried out in the cocoa sector and how this could be extended to aquaculture for other priority products such as tilapia.

The Minister and the Director-General confirmed their commitment to a continued strong partnership.