5 December
2003, Rome -- The governing Conference of the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) passed a budget
appropriation of $749 million for the Organization to carry out
is work in 2004-2005. The budget was adopted unanimously.
While FAO received an increase of almost
$100 million on its current budget of $651.8 million, this will
only partially offset the cost increases in FAO's
dollar-based budget caused by exchange rate movements and
inflation. The Organization will still have to absorb $51
million.
To reduce future vulnerability to
exchange fluctuations, members agreed to pay their contributions
partly in euros and partly in dollars.
The
budget supports FAO's efforts to carry out its mandate from
the 1996 World Food Summit and reinforced by the World Food
Summit:five years later to lead the fight against world hunger
by reducing the number of hungry and undernourished people in
the world, particularly in developing countries. It also funds
FAO's programs in sustainable development of the
world's agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors.
FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf had
proposed a budget for 2004-2005 of $845.1 million, but also put
forward a second option at $800.3 million, which would maintain
constant purchasing power at the 2002-2003 budget level of
$651.8 million.
The previous FAO budget,
passed in 2001 was based on a US dollar euro exchange rate of
$0.88 to1.00 euro, while the 2004-2005 budget is based on an
exchange rate of $1.19 to 1.00 euro. FAO's budget was
frozen at $650 million from 1994 through
2001.
Contact:
John Riddle
Information Officer, FAO
john.riddle@fao.org
(+39) 06 570 53259
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