28 June 2019, Rome--- There is a growing realization that food and agriculture must play a vital part in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals and that in this context, FAO provides a neutral forum to address global issues of transboundary dimensions, the UN agency’s Director-General, José Graziano da Silva said today.

In closing, the Director-General thanked the member states and staff for their support during his tenure, and he expressed his satisfaction that Brazil’s pioneering Zero Hunger programme is being replicated by many countries and could be further expanded.