DAR, FAO discuss expanded partnership, potential areas of deeper collaboration
FAO and DAR have been long-term partners in development initiatives in the Philippines, and with the new FAOR on board, this collaboration is expected to further expand.
On 26 April, a team from FAO Philippines led by new FAOR Representative in the Philippines, Ms Kati Tanninen, held a courtesy meeting with Secretary (Atty) John Castriciones of the Department of Agrarian Reform. Accompanying Ms Tanninen were Ms Tamara Palis-Duran, Assistant FAO Representative for Programme, and Mr Alberto Aduna, National Emergency Coordinator.
Apart from being a courtesy call to formally introduce Ms Tanninen to Secretary Castriciones and to introduce and update each other about their respective agencies work, the teams also discussed potential areas of expanded collaboration between FAO and DAR. Both agreed that such collaborative work is especially important given the unprecedented challenges to food security that Filipinos are currently facing because of the ongoing pandemic, an issue which is intrinsically tied to land and agrarian reform.
FAO and DAR have been longtime allies in land and agrarian reform-related food security initiatives that have benefited thousands of smallholder farmers across the Philippines, and will continue to do so in the coming years as inter-agency partnership is strengthened.