FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today expressed confidence that “significant progress against hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition,” will be achieved in the next four years. He made the statement while addressing the Organization’s executive council as the only FAO Director-General election candidate for the term 2015-2019.

“For that (progress) to happen, we should continue to connect political commitment, increase investments, implement sound and inter-linked policies and programs, and work together at the national, regional and global levels,” the FAO Director-General said.

Graziano da Silva also emphasized his transformational agenda “built on previous reform to better enable FAO to serve its members and support efforts geared to promoting food security, nutrition and sustainable development”.

“We elevated our global goal from reducing hunger to eliminating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. To reach this goal, we sharpened our focus around five strategic objectives, and adopted a cross-cutting way of working to bring to countries the full expertise available at FAO and its external networks,” the Director-General said.

Graziano da Silva equally stressed the importance of managing human resources with a global perspective - something which he said any truly global organization should do. “We want to recruit the best for FAO, and we want to keep the best at FAO. At all levels,” he added.

Following the Director-General’s speech, the Chairpersons of the Regional Groups (Africa, Asia, Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, North America and South-West Pacific) all conveyed their appreciation and willingness to continue to work with the Director-General during the next four years.

Election process

Graziano da Silva’s address to the FAO council was made in accordance with Rule XXXVII.1(c) of the General Rules of the Organization: “candidates for the office of Director-General of the Organization shall address the session of Council which precedes the session of the Conference which will appoint the Director-General, subject to such arrangements as the Council may make”.

By the time the deadline to submit candidates for the post of FAO Director-General expired on 31 January 2015, only one nomination had been received from FAO member countries, that of the Government of Brazil, which put forward Graziano da Silva for re-election.

The election for the post of Director-General for a four-year term of office starting on August 2015, is set to take place during the 39th FAO Conference, the highest governing body of the Organization, which will be held from 6-13 June.  

Members will cast their vote on a one country-one vote basis in a secret ballot which requires a simple majority for a valid outcome.

Graziano da Silva was first elected in June 2011. A Director-General may serve only two consecutive terms.