Read-out of the bilateral meeting between FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of Ecuador, Tanlly Vera Mendoza

27 July 2021, Rome - FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, and the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of Ecuador, Tanlly Vera Mendoza, today talked about the organization of the next FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Quito (March 2022), as well as ways of transforming agri-food systems, in a bilateral meeting held on the margins of the Pre-Summit of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021.

The Minister confirmed Ecuador’s commitment to hold the next FAO Regional Conference in a hybrid format, combining in-person and virtual meetings. The Director-General agreed that the hybrid model would promote inclusive and broad participation from countries in the region. The Director-General noted that it would be the first regional conference following the endorsement of the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031 in June 2021, and would provide an opportunity for region specific discussions.

The Director-General also referred to the importance of transforming agri-food systems, and highlighted Ecuador’s potential to prioritize high value cash crops and increase farmers’ income. In this regard, he noted that FAO would soon launch a platform for countries to promote their flagship products through the Organization network.

The Minister agreed that the quality of Ecuador’s agricultural products, such as banana and cacao, were highly appreciated and in-demand in international markets. She also talked about a process for crop conversion in Ecuador to promote diversification towards less traditional products.

Lastly, the Director-General and the Minister noted the successful engagement of Ecuador in terms of attracting investments and promoting matchmaking within the context of FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative.