Informal Briefing to the Permanent Representatives Further Adjustments to the Programme of Work and Budget 2020-21 Transcription

Informal Briefing to the Permanent Representatives

Further Adjustments to the Programme of Work and Budget 2020-21

Transcription

Monday, 1 June 2020, 14:32 – 17:03

Director-General opening remarks

Thank you, Laurent.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon. Not everybody is in Rome, good morning and good evening in Asia or in America.

I welcome you to this Informal Briefing. It is good to see you all, through a virtual meeting and, most importantly, I am happy to see that you are all well and staying safe during this pandemic.

From the high number of exchanges and dialogues we are holding with you, now there are 188 on the list, estimated Members, including my colleagues here. You can see how important open and direct communication is to me. I think on 8^th of April I had the informal meeting with all the Representatives and Ambassadors in Rome and other places, which represent your countries. I think during the past three months, less than three months, this is my second interaction with the Members.

Today marks 10 months for me in FAO as Director-General. Ten months, three months of virtual teleworking, seven months of real working in the office. Digitalizing FAO is an efficient way and is very well organized during this period of teleworking. You can see that we have started a little earlier and, now, we can see tangible results.

I have promised you that I wanted to build up a dynamic FAO for a better world, through transparency and accountability. You know, I told you at the Handover Ceremony 10 months ago, I wanted to be reachable by you 24 hours a day by email or other means. That is why doing more is done through professionalism, openness, inclusiveness, loyalty and reform.

Seven months during real, physical working in the office, I received more than 100 Ambassadors and in total more than 300 VIP guests, experts, Vice-Ministers, Ministers and leaders, including your Excellencies, Ambassadors or Representatives.

Today, we are going to present to you the further adjustments proposed for the Programme of Work and Budget 2020-2021. After the last Council Meeting in December, I promised you that we were preparing ourselves, trying our best to change, reforming FAO’s structure and reforming FAO governance through your approval and certain procedures.

The driving force behind the adjustments you will see today continues to be my vision of attaining zero hunger and improving the livelihoods of people through better production, better nutrition and a better environment for a better life; and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To be very frank to all my friends here, I do not have a personal agenda, my only, sole agenda is FAO Agenda, which is the 2030 Agenda for SDGs. That is what I committed to do and I will continue to do.

As to internal management arrangements, you can see from the draft that my colleague will present you, I will just give you the highlights of some arrangements. You already got that and you can read it through. The proposed structural and programmatic adjustments are to improve organizational efficiency. On 29 January of this year, at the Director Level 1 (D1) and above meeting I declared that ‘2020 is the year of efficiency at FAO’. It is not just a slogan: I have put all activities and actions in practice to achieve such an efficient year for FAO, effectiveness, while avoiding silos. Many of the Members for many years asked time and time again to change the silos, avoid silos, establish transparency, collaboration and accountability at optimal levels.

I have committed to push for change at my utmost. The proposed organigramme is  more modular and flexible to allow for optimal cross-sectoral collaboration and to enable adjustments to managerial assignments and reporting lines to respond to emerging needs and priorities.

The core leadership team consists of the three Deputy Directors-General (DDGs), the Chief Economist and the Chief Scientist that support me in all areas of the Organization’s mandate. So, why create this co‑leadership team? Because for years and years, FAO started the silos from the DDGs, not from the bottom, but from the top. That is why I really wanted to build co‑leadership with my colleagues, DDGs, Chief Economist and Chief Scientist, plus the Director of Cabinet, and other key areas, other people.

The Assistant Directors-General (ADGs), as I said many times should be assistants to the Director-General. Here, the focus is on specific assignments given by me in key areas of the Organization’s mandate. They can become a real taskforce, to make things happen, in a tangible way. Every ADG has their own advantage, and we have to make the most use of their advantage for our mandate, vision, and mission. Otherwise, the ADGs feel they are a little bit soft. They put themselves, every day, busy with administrative matters. In my opinion, this is not a good use of human resources. You know, I was Deputy Director-General for Human Resources in a big organization in China. Therefore, we have to make the best use of the comparative advantage of senior staff, to fit the taskforce and the mandate. The ADGs in Headquarters will no longer be encumbered by internal management issues associated with their previous role as heads of departments and other layers of administration. Instead they can focus more on high-visibility, high priority, external activities. They are really, somehow representatives of the Director-General, in certain areas.

We strengthened the accountability of the heads of offices, centres, and divisions, in line with best practice, given their role as experts and their reputation in their own fields, in their respective big areas. That is what we call the D2 level; D2 levels are real experts in their areas. They will report to the DDGs or to one of the Chiefs: Chief Economist or Chief Scientist. They are also allowed to report to me sometimes, when they feel it is necessary. So that also builds the consensus among the co‑leadership, information sharing is essential. Before, they only reported to the DDGs or the Director-General, without sharing, no cross-cutting sharing. That is not good. That is why through this reform I really wanted to destroy the silos, no matter how big or small.

As to the reporting lines, they are established under my authority and may be adjusted based on the emerging priorities, areas of expertise, and other considerations. The Director-General, DDGs, Chief Economist, and Chief Scientist will be fully covering the relevant offices, centres, and divisions, when the upcoming Council approves the adjustments. That is why we did not set out exactly the reporting lines for this document, because once the structure is fully approved then all DDGs, Chief Economist, Chief Scientist, even myself, some Offices, some Centres should report to me. It is part of the requirements of the Basic Texts and the relevant Rules.

On the Organizational structure, I will just give a few highlights.

A new Office for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is proposed – because the Evaluation asked us to do so a year ago – which would coordinate the corporate engagement with the 2030 Agenda follow-up and review, working closely with concerned units across the Organization. You know, the SDGs; even during the pandemic or post-pandemic recovery, the UN Secretary-General (UNSG), we had a first meeting last week, where all the important countries and relevant countries’ leaders were invited, on how to speed up the additional resources for the SDGs. So, FAO is one of the important professional organizations; it should be more focused on SDGs. Before, it was a very scattered dispute among the FAO System. We have to centralize and mobilize a more central office.

Then we have three Centres, where FAO works in a close collaboration with other UN or international agencies, or with the International Financial Institutions. I wanted to design bigger and do more concrete, after consulting with the relevant entities. That is why I created the three centres. It was only one centre, the Investment Centre. But already had an informal discussion with relevant international organizations: WHO, OIE, IAEA. So we tried to design bigger. They are also willing to do so, very happy to do so. I think it is an opportunity for FAO. If we do not design bigger, we cannot do much better. Especially because society and all the Members request us to do more and better.

Working in partnerships is increasingly critical to address complex and multifaceted issues and by strengthening the Centres we proposed to make catalytic use of FAO’s limited net appropriation resources. For the Investment Centre, supports public and private investment in the Member Countries to help them achieve the SDGs and rural development. An increase of USD 8 million is proposed to harness its catalytic role in supporting countries and enabling financing at scale.

I think the World Bank is our long strategic co-operator, and very powerful. You can see with the desert locusts. They turned all the professional consultation services provided by FAO, concretely by the Investment Centre into concrete investment during the past months. They offered USD 500 million to support the desert locust programme in East Africa. It was the first time the World Bank ever approved it. Therefore, there are big, big potentials for a closer cooperation with the World Bank. The World Bank Governor and Vice-President, President, they are really happy to cooperate with FAO.

The Joint FAO/WHO Centre, I said it is now we call a ‘centre’. It was a division that only focused on Codex. But we house two important joint efforts: Codex as well as zoonotic diseases.

For many years, FAO has been talking too much, and fighting among the Members on these issues. But frankly speaking, we did not have enough action on these issues. That is why FAO is less influential in this area. Therefore, personally, I said so many times, we want to strengthen this. Of course, WHO now has a lot of challenges with the pandemic. We need a more detailed discussion with them, about how to work together after the pandemic. That is why I got some questions saying, ‘what is concrete.’ We need a discussion with them. FAO, we cannot determine what we are going to do on our own. We have to consult with them, and also with the OIE.

The joint FAO/IAEA Centre, which reflects the longstanding strategic partnership between FAO and IAEA in sustainable agriculture development and food security using nuclear science and technology, is proposed for strengthening by USD 1 million. Actually, they already gave USD 4 million extra during these two months. IAEA, its new Director-General, is really focused on strengthening that. They will come soon to us. They were supposed to come in March to talk with me in Rome, and now they will come to Rome after the pandemic. I think for the third Centre, we are more concrete now. Second, we need a wider discussion with WHO and OIE, later.

I propose a new division on Food Systems and Food Safety because during years, in FAO systems, there are so many different silos, even in Headquarters related to the food systems on nutrition, food safety and others. If we do not establish our own, one division, how can you kill these silos? Even the silos in the different departments, in different sectors. I think that it is urgent to start new divisions, to streamline ourselves first in Headquarters, which would provide strategic leadership in the development of more sustainable food systems and agro-food system transformation.

We have the duty and the responsibility to do so. Next year we will have the Food Systems Summit and after that we have one of our important mandates for FAO: to transform agro-food systems. Even after 2030, we will still need to transform agricultural food systems.

I think that Food Systems and Food Safety will become a new merit step. The Division would integrate FAO’s scientific and economic analysis, we call this hard science combined with soft science, to provide improved policy guidance and targeted investment in food systems. That is why I think a lot of what the Membership requested from FAO, to offer a comprehensive service, not an individual silo service because food systems is the large picture.

All the proposals are made within the biennial net appropriation approved by Conference of USD 1 005.6 million.

Last week I personally asked my colleague in the Office of the Director-General (ODG) to contact you in advance to try our best to get your response as much as possible. A lot of Ambassadors and Representatives gave very active, positive and even some critical responses. I appreciate your contributions very much because this meeting has a limit of time and a chance for questions and through that we can get a more inclusive and more holistic scenario of the different opinions on the issues of what we are going to propose. That is a reason; I think my colleagues did a lot. That was the first time in FAO that I asked the Regional Coordinators from ODG to contact all of you. It is because every time I found only a few people have a chance to ask questions and answer them. Even one or two hours, even three hours, it is also limited. We can use this opportunity as a platform to get more inclusive opinions, contributions, suggestions and even criticism.

I have been inclusive in getting more wisdom from you and learning from you. How to get every Member of FAO on board and working on the same page?

I think number one is transparency, through a digital FAO and proper interaction. Your questions and answers should be by explaining, common questions should be explained and answered, publically, and answer some of your personal or individual questions, either publically, or individually if you prefer.

Rules based governance by relearning the FAO Basic Texts or obeying it.I think that is very important. I will ask my colleagues in FAO to relearn the FAO Basic Texts, because that gives maximum consensus among the FAO staff with the Members , so all the employees should respect, obey the Basic Texts. Sometimes, I strongly recommend and encourage that the Members also revisit, relearn the FAO Basic Texts. Only if from both sides we respect, obey the Basic Texts, we will know what the maximum consensus is, which we share and follow.

Last but not least, I think we need to trust and respect each other. Years and years, the Members tried to get into every small detail at the manager’s level – not even Director-General level, maybe even a Team Leader or DDG, D1 or D2 levels. Sometimes, the FAO Secretariat, Director-General and DDG always complain to the Members . What is the real reason? I thought this over these past ten months, I found out; we should respect each other, trust each other.

I am a new Director-General but you still treat me as the original one. I am a new Director‑General. I always base my perception on your older Members. Some Members are old, some, 50 percent or 40 percent are already new. New Representatives, new Agricultural Counsellors.

Let us be open-minded and liberate our mind-set, otherwise everyone sticks to their own older fashion, older mind-set. I do not say that the reason is from my colleagues or reason from the Members , maybe both. But what are the real rules and regulations? These are in FAO’s Basic Texts. That is why I asked my colleagues, no matter if you are Laurent Thomas, who has been in FAO for many years. You have to re-learn it, because you have to understand what the original aspirations for FAO were, and what are the procedures that we should follow.

We have to report to the Members. Do not try to play games with Members, because theoretically they are our bosses. Also, it is sometimes a request, encouraging all the Members, especially young representatives and counsellors to read the FAO Basic Texts. Because that is our Constitution. You cannot change it easily.  That is the legal document: the 2017 edition.  We did not have any sentence or clause changed so far. Before changing we have to follow the FAO Constitution.

We are now in exceptional and challenging times, adapting ourselves to the “new normal”. What is the “new normal’? We have to watch, we have to analyse, and we have to find out after the pandemic. At least we have to build a new FAO, what is a new FAO? Let us think together.

From my understanding, the new FAO should be demand and challenge driven, professional and innovation-based, results and impact oriented. Of course, all of this it should be with a new strategy and planning ahead, with a set of new actions and our new deliverables. All of these based on the FAO Basic Texts and not based on any interpretation by individuals or by individual Members or by myself even, the Director-General. I should follow the exact interpretation of the FAO Basic Texts. With that empowerment of the Basic Texts, I will do, without that, I will consult with you.

Beth Crawford will present you now with the details of the proposed adjustments. We are happy to answer all your questions, with limited time and I will ask my colleagues in the Office of the Director-General (ODG) and the Office of Strategy, Planning and Resources Management (OSP) to take note of your remarks. After that, we will come back with a new version of the PWB.

Let us share FAO’s mission and build more solidarity, by thinking together, learning together, working together and contributing together.

I think, thinking together is the starting point of our working, learning and contributing together.

Thank you my dear Honourable Members and colleagues. Today is 1 June 2020, it is the International day for Children, so let us think of a new plan as children, and then we will have a new baby of FAO.

Thank you.

Director-General’s intervention during the Question and Answer segment

Thank you, Laurent, thank you Beth Crawford.

I think it is clear. Of course, I am listening carefully to all the friends who asked questions, but I do not want to go to the very specific questions. Maybe my colleagues will go, but I want to share several philosophies first, and then come to the bigger issues.

First, what is the philosophy of the reform? Of the re-structure of FAO? I know most of you are familiar with the matrix. Matrix thinking comes from the 1960s and it was popular in the 1980s, so it is about 30 or 40 years ago at least. Now we are in the digital world and the internet thinking. Internet thinking is different from matrix thinking. I know some of you may be familiar with information and communication technologies (ICT) or mathematics, maybe you understand. Internet thinking is based on the modulization management. And matrix thinking or management is based on the vertical and horizontal interaction. That is what we call classic management.

Now the digital internet thinking, so the children. As I said today is International Children’s Day. They play LEGO. That is a toy. They have a different modules, they can make different animals, different cars, different everything. That is modular management. If you look at the new structure, so we build the co-leadership.

But before it was always a classic pyramid. My friend from Egypt, they are familiar, very familiar with for many years 4 000 or 5 000 years, the pyramid structure. One Director-General, three Deputy Director-Generals (DDGs), seven Assistant Director-Generals (ADGs) that is a pyramid structure. That is a very very classic and traditional structure.

Now we build up one module, it is co-leadership. Director-General plus three DDGs, two Chief Scientists or Chief Economists or some others, very few, but that is one module. Then we have an ADG module. My friend, some friends say the ADG is a Consultant. No, it is a misinterpretation. They are another module.

Then you look at the three streams. We did not say department because if we use department or division, then it is fixed and it becomes another silo after one, two, three years. Now you build one stream, and under the one stream, they have three or four modules. Let us say Partnership at the UN, and Resource Mobilization of the Private Sector, and Project Support. I have just taken the first stream. Then the second one for Natural Resources and the Environment and then the third one is Economic and Social and the last one is Supporting. That is four streams and composed of several modules. And then we can become the agile FAO. If we need a special task force. That is what my friend from Kuwait asked. What have we learned? We practice our new structure.

The locusts’ emergency for resource mobilization. At the beginning they just asked USD 76 million, USD 26 million from outside and USD 50 million from inside. You know, FAO we do not have money, USD 50 million, we calculated ourselves, no extra resources and now USD 300 million more, plus World Bank is USD 500 million more. So, you have several modules, work together with the taskforce, headed by the DDG. That is the basic philosophy. That is why the regional and country offices, also, build up several competitive advantage modules, based on the requirement of Members or regions. That is one.

Second, a lot of people asked my colleagues in ODG to collect questions, about 200 already. I read it through. Number one, people are worried about the reporting lines to the DDG. I know for sure, the DDGs are now more powerful than ever before, you can tell yourself. I am not the person to control all the small things in my hand. I have fully empowered the DDG, ADG and even the Director Level 2 (D2) and D1, and regional representatives or country offices. That is one.

Then, they will get the full empowerment. Technically, because we have a new DDG who just came, she has to get familiar with, and then we also need to restructure and streamline our divisions and our new office centres. We need to let all the people to understand which division, which centre are most fit for their advantage. I said exploitation of the human resources is a skill, it’s an art, to make use of their advantages, avoid the disadvantages. That is why definitely I will give you this very much in details the empowerment of the reporting lines, who is going to. In addition, I said I have already discussed with them before March. We are going to have A and B positions, so one is responsible as A role and another one has a complementary B role. There is a double check, double responsibility. This is modern management.

Last, but not least, you are talking about the ADGs. As you know, when you work as an ADG for three years or four years, what is the legacy you are going to leave for this Organization, for the Members? Each ADG, I try to see if you work hard and properly, I will use your advantages to make one historical legacy for FAO, for the Members. It is not a consultation; you just focus, because everyone has limited power, limited energy. If we focus one or two things, you will make things across FAO’s system, make things like one project or big project, one big task will be happening and tangible. I said tangible results for a number of countries, number of regions or number of challenges. That is an ADG’s role. It is not only to become the administrative head of the department. We do not have department anymore, we are only based on modules, agile modules.

Each time maybe three modules will work on one big project or programme; and another time maybe five modules, within FAO, and then with outside FAO. That is, as I said, why we need to create cooperation, first within FAO and then we can build up our own advantages to work with other organizations outside of FAO. If we do not build up our own advantage, how can you be capitalized by other organizations? They say “Oh, FAO you are really good, and I want to cooperate with you”.

I think that is a fundamental change and then, another thing I can tell you, the Members, all senior managers, D1 and above, most of them, if they are good enough, I try to find them a proper position for them, but, you have to have your own advantage, you have to work hard and in an innovative way.

I had a personal discussion with all the Strategic Programme (SP) leaders in February. I think we already understand what their advantages are and how to use their advantages for the future structure. I cannot promise all of them, even the professional (P) staff or general service (GS) staff, but most of them, or 90-95 percent, I do not want to say the exact number, but the majority, if you are good, you have to be good in the new position, in the new structure, then do not worry. Even ADG. But of course if you are not so good, you are not willing to offer, that is a bilateral selection. FAO selects you, you also select FAO. It is not my own business, it is clear. That is the fourth point.

Of course, I have more and other questions, I said I will ask my colleagues to answer you individually and I will look at the feasibility to implement. I will push them to implement what they answer you, not only what they say beautifully to you, I am personally representing FAO to be the real quality controller or implementer, the executive. I am a real executive, to implement the mandate of FAO.

I am counting on the DDGs, senior staff, D1 and above, also General Service staff. That is why I can tell you that several days or weeks ago we asked to share the document with the G-staff and I also asked the G-staff and P-staff representatives to have a speech at the Town-Hall Meeting. We wanted to make use of all staff that have their advantages, the merits, but of course we have to work hard.

After the pandemic, we will face very harsh competition. We need the strong support from the Members, from volunteer contributions, from the private sector and from civil society and others. Also, my colleagues in countries, regions, and Headquarters, everyone you have to make use your brain and intelligence to contribute to FAO. Otherwise, you can see, after the pandemic, they will have a big recession. FAO we have to prepare ourselves to be strategically competitive, individually competitive and modularize our Organization and then we can become a very agile Organization to build a strong taskforce team to get more resources from outside.

That is what Members asked for many years, FAO should become dynamic, should become competitive, visible, tangible, should provide more service to the ground and farmers. My friend asked me “How? If we are not so strong, how can we offer the service to farmers and the Members?” Too bureaucratic, not efficient and everyone builds their small silos of two or three people working under the name of FAO. Not the comprehensive ability or competitiveness or core competence. Many years ago, I read some Member asked, “What is the core competence of FAO?” We want to build the core competence of FAO by modularizing management, by agile taskforce teams, maybe headed by myself, the Director-General, or by DDGs or ADGs, even by some D2 or by regional representative or country representative.

That is why I also had the first meeting in the history with all FAO representatives. I want to empower all the people, not only DDGs or ADGs or D2s, no, that is the bureaucratic position. I want to empower from P-staff, G-staff, all those employees and the staff.

Thank you, thank you for your questions.

I am still listening to what you are going to ask and answer.

If my colleague says something wrong, I will check.

 

 

 

Director-General closing remarks

Laurent, thank you. Thank you, dear friends, Representatives, Ambassadors and all the friends for all your contributions. I have been listening carefully.

In general, you touched the points, the issues and the suggestions. I think there is not much contradiction. I think 80 percent or 90 percent can be accepted.

Ms Beth Crawford, together with the Office of the Director-General (ODG) and other colleagues will go through, from the preface to the end of the table, to see which points are in line with the suggestions and the comments from the Ambassadors and the Representatives.

We will try our best to make changes. Of course, this job is coordinated by Laurent Thomas. Because you are the most senior staff in our leadership.  Together with Beth Bechdol, Maria Helena Semedo, and Maximo Torero, and so you can really look at it carefully.

Of course you also need to consult with the Independent Chairperson of the Council (ICC) and the Programme Committee (PC), Finance Committee (FC), and the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM) chairs and those relevant. That is number one. So I appreciate it. Also, please follow the details.

Secondly, we have to keep the balance between daily management and overall change. I have been listening carefully to some Ambassadors and friends, who asked some friendly questions and noted that some small actions have already been introduced. Because as Director-General, I am the responsible person on behalf of you. We have to do jobs every day, but that is my authority.

For instance, Staff Regulations 3.1 and 3.2 state that staff members are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to do any of the activities at any of offices of the Organization. You cannot stop me from changing any movement, any activities, any meetings, any document, or from bringing all documents to the Council Meeting. No, the Council, as a governing body is like a big company’s board.

I am the Chief Executive Officer, I am a CEO, so I have to do something. That has to keep a balance. Of course, the most important things I have to report to you, and the overall structural changes have to be reported to you. This does not mean I do nothing until you all approve it. No, that is a way, we have to change both sides and have a meeting point. That is a way to build more trust, be more reliable and more accountable for both of us; the Members and the Management Team.

Third, I am listening; people are used to reporting lines. Definitely, we will have reporting lines soon. I said, Beth Bechdol just arrived in the first week of March. I am a very democratic person, I can say, I was a professor, I need to personally talk with her and other colleagues. We also have another incoming, the Chief Scientist; still on the way of evaluation and application. We said we will establish a reporting line, 90 to 95 percent, and then we will change slightly in line with new priorities and new people to come.

Please, definitely without reporting lines there is no responsibility. That is why I wanted to establish a new office for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDGs are so important, but who is responsible for SDG1, SDG2, the 21 SDG indicators of which we are custodians of and the 39 small goals under FAO’s responsibility? So we wanted to streamline responsibility. No responsibility, no accountability. That is, from myself, the Director-General, the Deputy Director-General (DDG) down to General Service staff. Everyone should have responsibility.

I really wish that all of the Members closely watch what they are doing, not only look at myself. That is why I welcome external auditing, evaluation and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). We mentioned this summer additional increase of the budget for the OIG. But, if we look carefully, I remember I said an increase of USD 400,000. Beth Crawford, if I am wrong, correct me. Therefore, we really wanted to increase. But you know that the budget assessments did not increase, zero increase. If I increase OIG, I should get some additional money from other parts.

So, I think that you have to understand, we do something that is really needed to be done, to increase, and please support us with your contributions. So far there are three or four countries, big countries, I am talking about, that still have not paid their assessment fee. That is your responsibility. Of course I accept more voluntary contributions from richer countries, from new donors. That is why I am happy with the recent progress made by Beth Bechdol – since she just arrived, here, two months ago – and also by other new colleagues.

For instance, the new structure of the Human Resources Department, we just got into streamlining. That is why we want to break the small silos which used to be a small silo in the Office of Support to Decentralized Offices (OSD), in my opinion, because OSD they recruit the regional FAO representatives, but this is for Human Resources. Then they divide from regional, country representatives to liaison offices – so there is a separation into three small silos again. I know that, and so we want to build one big team covering all Human Resources. Then some friends talked about the reporting line coming from countries, regions and then Headquarters. If we have emergency issues, we go through the Emergency Division. If we have some TCPs, you go through the Programme Support and Technical Cooperation Department (PS). If you want to programme investments, you go to the Investment Centre. That is why I said we need to reform and liberate our mind-set. If you still want to have one small silo office, window office, to coordinate everything – it is impossible.

I know that the OSD people work very hard. At the beginning I thought they were not doing so, after ten months I saw that they work very hard. But they are very small, they cannot coordinate everything for the 134 country offices or the seven regional offices. That is why I asked all the DDGs to take care. Not only Laurent himself. Laurent has a lot of other things and he has also looked at all the regional, country offices, but the other DDGs also have looked at some others to support projects, to support resource mobilization, and so on. So, that is why we really want to build the ‘one leading people,’ and the several other people to compliment them, or him or her. That is a new dynamic.

So, I think for that, please answer all the questions and listen carefully. Some are very concrete suggestions we can follow. Give them clear answers. I promise you, the final version should address the major concerns and suggestions from today’s meeting. Today is an Informal Briefing, it is not an academic meeting. It is a working meeting. It is really an inclusive meeting. Not just listening, a diplomatic meeting. I want to deliver and I want tangible results. You will find the tangible difference. New version with the previous one, so Laurent, you will coordinate. Together with the other DDGs, the Chief Economist, with Beth Crawford, with Godfrey Magwenzi, and others, Donata Rugarabamu, Greet De Leeuw, Basharat Ali, and Rakesh Muthoo, and others. Also, Dan Gustafson, he is my Senior Adviser.

I think we want to build one big team. I said, FAO, first, I am the responsible person, but it is not run by myself. It is run by collective wisdom. That is a clear message. Running by the intelligence from the Members , not only from a few countries. I tried my best. That is why I want to get an answer and explanations to all of your questions. Some questions maybe not so, but you can give a detailed explanation. That also is a service to the Members. To convince, to explain to them and build on one page. We are working on one page. Not based on perception, rumours, or other ‘insiders’, the so-called ‘insider.’ We have our ‘insider’ here. Everything is here, inside.

Thank you. Thank you for your contribution, and within two weeks you have to answer all the questions. Before or after the PC and the FC Meetings.