In his address to the Joint Meeting of the Finance and Programme Committees this morning, the Director-General assured Members of the determination and commitment to delivery of the current Programme of Work and Budget. Setting aside his written speech, José Graziano da Silva spoke very frankly about what has been achieved and what lies ahead.

FAO is now clearly showing the positive effects of transformational change, having dealt with the challenges of implementation of savings by redefining roles, abolishing posts and trying to obtain the best value for money in all its work. The Director-General emphasised the huge team effort that had been made by all FAO staff in this regard. “Thanks to this team effort, FAO has pulled together to make the transition to a new way of working a reality. FAO staff are the most important resource of this Organization.” said the Director-General “We have done our utmost to cut the bureaucracy and leave the technical work intact, and while it is true that you can always find something more to cut, please bear in mind that those cuts have very high costs and ultimately add little value.”

Over the past twenty years, FAO’s budget has been cut by almost one third. “It is like trying to dry ice – enxugar o gelo,” said the Director-General, “we need to be able to get on with the work.”

This year has been full of activity so far. The five regional conferences were successful: each echoing continued support for the new strategic direction. All FAO’s 15 regional initiatives were endorsed by Members as a means of responding to the needs and priorities of countries in a specific region or sub region. For example, climate change and the rising need for marine and ocean research make the South Pacific one of those areas where FAO is extending its support.

Decentralization is working: the political support of the countries is high and improving as the countries are feeling more involved and closer to FAO’s work. Countries which have moved from being low income to middle income are engaging differently with FAO, exploring establishment of liaison offices, and being actively involved in South –South Cooperation activities.  Moving forward, the coverage of FAO country offices will need to be reviewed, especially for areas where the Organization is best placed to deliver results and positive impact, such as the South Pacific and Central Asia. 

“Learning by doing is the way forward, some people were still looking for their own micro-budget line but we have changed that and we are looking at the big picture now – of what we want to achieve” said the Director-General. “There is trust between us and our roles are clear,” he added, referring to the renewed teamwork between management and Members.

With regard to the makeup of FAO staff, the Director-General recalled “I am doing my best to ensure geographic representation and gender balance, you can see the results from that, but please remember that FAO staff are international civil servants, there are no nationalities here.”

The Chairpersons of both the Finance and Programme Committees expressed their appreciation for the unprecedented, open and passionate manner in which the Director-General had addressed the meeting. “The fact that the Director-General put aside his speech and just spoke is a very positive sign and points the way forward to many fruitful discussions” commented H.E. Ms Cecilia Nordin Van Gansberghe, Ambassador, and Permanent Representative of Sweden and Chairperson of the Programme Committee. “This non-speech is indicative of a clear and solid heart committed to the work”, said H.E. Mr Médi Moungui, Permanent Representative of Cameroon and Chairperson of the Finance Committee. He also acknowledged that following the large amount of savings found in the last implementation, the curve of future efficiency savings would plateau and that member countries should work to find solutions that would allow the Organization to deliver the support that countries expect and need.

Read the Director-General’s address (written, not spoken) here
See the photos here