Read-out of the FAO Director-General’s meeting with Paul-Valentin Ngobo, Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Republic of the Congo

Rome – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today met with Paul-Valentin Ngobo, Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Republic of the Congo.

The Minister shared with the Director-General the Agricultural Strategy – a lead pillar of the National Development Plan 2022-2026, to increase production and youth engagement in the agriculture sector. In this regard, he conveyed the focus of the Government on supporting cooperatives through provision of land, inputs and training. The key outcome of which is to improve production capacity, engage youth in the sector and improve the countries food security.

The Minister invited FAO’s support in farmer field school trainings, capacity development for the countries extension services to guarantee that smallholder farmers receive the appropriate knowledge and support they require in the livestock and aquaculture sectors.

The Director-General assured the Minister of FAO’s consistent support and commended the Minister on the strategic approach adopted to address agrifood system transformation. In relation to extension services, he stressed that science and innovation can improve the attainment of Members’ objectives and FAO is ready to provide support in this regard.

The Minister appreciated the Director-General’s guidance and noted that FAO’s support for agrifood system transformation is key as the country plans to increase its production capacity.