Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, today had a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Production of Peru, José Luis Prado Palomino, at the sidelines of the 35th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries in Rome (5 – 9 September 2022).
Minister José Luis Prado Palomino thanked the Director-General for FAO’s continued support to Peru. He expressed concerns to increase the food consumption per capita in the country, particularly in coastal areas.
The Minister highlighted the importance of boosting aquaculture production and creating new industrial plants for the production of balanced food. He also mentioned the importance of improving the fishing fleet. For that, Minister José Luis Prado Palomino cited the National Programme for Innovation in Fisheries and Aquaculture, which aims to attract more investments from the private sector.
The Minister also noted that the Peruvian Government is elaborating national plans for production chains, and one of them will be focused on fisheries and aquaculture.
The Director-General highlighted that Peru produces types of crops that are important not only for the country and region but also the world. He highlighted the importance of supporting small farmers and artisanal fisheries, and agreed that innovation is key for Peru to tap its potential to produce diversified food.
QU noted the importance of developing aquaculture based on international standards such as CODEX Alimentarius and mentioned the importance of the new FAO Country Programming Framework 2022-2026, currently being finalized.
The Director-General also noted FAO’s readiness to support Peru in the development of National Investment Plan and in the attraction of private investments based on the Hand-in-Hand Initiative. He also suggested Peru to focus on specific commodities in order to attract investments.
