The Fifth Regional Coordination Meeting focused on implementing the OCOP across the five FAO regions

Rome, 17 December 2022. The OCOP Secretariat held the Fifth Regional Coordination Meeting for the implementation of the FAO One Country One Priority (OCOP) Initiative across the five FAO regions. The meeting was attended by 18 participants, including the OCOC focal points from Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol’s office and the core members of the OCOP Secretariat as well as the OCOP focal points and their alternatives from the five FAO regions. The meeting was moderated by Haekoo Kim, Technical Adviser at NSP and Technical Support Lead at the OCOP Secretariat.

In his opening remarks, NSP Director and OCOP Executive Secretary, Jingyuan Xia, officially announced the organizational structure, the staff composition, and the operational mechanism of the OCOP Secretariat, and clarified the process of implementing the OCOP at the global, regional, national, and field levels. XIA stressed that it is the right time for the OCOP to move from vision to action, in which the regional focal points should act as the key link for this transition. He requested all regional focal points and alternatives to apply effective communication and inclusive collaboration with the OCOP Secretariat at FAO headquarters as well as the OCOP demonstration project countries for this transition to take place.

Moreover, Technical Adviser at NSP and the Global Coordinator of the OCOP Secretariat, Hafiz Muminjanov, gave a summary of the Concept Note and the Working Mechanism of the OCOP Regional Organizing Groups as well as the basic idea regarding the identification of potential demonstration project countries for each sub-region or geo-zone. He also introduced the proposed Assistant Director-General’s emails to be sent to the country FAO representatives in their respective region to nominate focal points and lead technical experts for the chosen SAP in each potential project country.

Furthermore, NSP Sustainable Agriculture Specialist and OCOP Secretariat Core Member for Technical Support, Shangchuan Jiang, briefed the attendees on the upcoming online training sessions on the sustainable development of the field, fruit and horticulture crops in the topics to be co-organized by FAO-NSP and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences (CATAS) on 28-30 November 2022. She invited all regional focal points to widely distribute the training details and urged the relevant countries in their region to attend the online training.

Finally, OCOP Secretariat Core Member for Communication and Partnerships, Linda Perella, presented the OCOP website and newsletter and highlighted the next steps in populating both communication modalities with content that is relevant to each region and sub-region. She encouraged all regional focal points from the five regions to be actively engaged and supportive of the OCOP communication and advocacy activities.

The general discussion focused on the identification of potential demonstration project countries in each sub-region or geo-zone as well as the establishment of the OCOP focal points and the lead technical experts in each potential project country.

Director Xia concluded the meeting by reiterating the way forward, the process of reporting, and the transition from vision to action. Since the OCOP Secretariat is now operational at the global level, it is the right time to establish the regional and national operational mechanisms to ensure a successful and sustainable implementation of the OCOP.