FAO appoints Julio Berdegué as its new Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean
Agronomist born in Mexico, Berdegué is a doctor in Social Sciences and has developed an outstanding career focused on territorial rural development and the fight against inequality, poverty and hunger.
May 16, 2017, Santiago, Chile - FAO appointed Julio Antonio Berdegué Sacristán, an agronomist and doctor in social sciences as its Deputy Director General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Of Mexican nationality, Julio Berdegu has a doctorate in social sciences from the University of Wageningen, Netherlands, and a master's degree in agronomy from the University of California-Davis, United States.
Prior to joining FAO, he was lead researcher and coordinator of the Territorial Coherence Development Working Group of the Latin American Center for Rural Development (RIMISP), where he led research, government advisory and capacity development programs focused on inequality territorial.
"The only way to achieve zero hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean is through a real transformation. This cannot be achieved through specific projects and interventions, but requires a large-scale change. That is FAO's mission in the region”, said FAO’s new Regional Representative.
Berdegué noted that while the region has made significant progress in terms of food security, “hunger still affects 34 million people, 140 million people are obese and 34 percent of rural people live in extreme poverty. This is an unacceptable reality, the result of a way of doing things, a way that we must change. "
In order to eradicate hunger, inequality must be combated
According to the new FAO Regional Representative, hunger in the region is closely linked with economic inequality and the historical rigidity of income distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean.
"Growth with inequality is a feature of our region, which remains the most unequal in the world," said Berdegué, who stressed that the regional concentration of land is even greater than that of income.
“We need policies for equality, fiscal policies that limit the extreme accumulation of wealth, policies against gender and ethnic inequality and measures to promote territorial cohesion and further equal opportunities between regions "
According to Berdegué, working to reduce inequality is not only an act of justice, but an investment in the future, as it allows unleashing the potential of millions of people that the current development model has left behind.
"We will not be able to eradicate hunger if women - half of our population - continue to occupy a marginal space, without political power, labor markets or decent employment. Nor can we tolerate the very high levels of poverty and food insecurity of our native and Afro-descendant populations”, he explained.
How to feed a migrant population
In recent years there has been a significant increase in intraregional migration. About 28.5 million Latin Americans and Caribbeans reside in countries not of their birth, and 66 percent of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean emigrate to countries within the same region.
Berdegué highlighted the fragility faced by migrants, who often reach their new countries without any support networks, which makes them easily exploitable, as they flee from situations of vulnerability caused by poverty, food insecurity, great competition for land, scarce resources and armed conflict.
“How do we ensure the food security of millions of people who migrate from one country to another in search of a better future? We need urgent solutions that lead to true regional integration, since hunger does not respect national boundaries,” Berdegué said.
A lifetime in favor of rural development
Julio Berdegué has developed a career marked by his passion for rural development, working on several related aspects, such as rural and non-agricultural employment, changes in food markets and their effects on agri-food systems, and rural territorial development.
According to Berdegué, strengthening territorial development in the rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the fundamental aspects to achieve zero hunger.
“Between the cities and the rural areas that surround them there is a dense network of interdependencies. The peasant buys and sells food in the city. The village trader depends on a significant number of rural clients. Women in the countryside looking for urban jobs, and many urban residents are temporary agricultural workers,” he explained.
An outstanding researcher career
Julio Berdegué has authored numerous books and dozens of articles in international scientific journals, and has advised national and regional governments in various Latin American countries, including Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru.
In recent decades he has worked in some of the most important national and regional agencies and institutions dedicated to rural development, such as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the National Agricultural Development Institute (INDAP) in Chile and the Agrarian Research Group (GIA), one of the most important non-governmental organizations of Chile.
In addition, he has been a board member of several international organizations, including the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT-CGIAR), which he chaired from 2008 to 2011, and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). (See full curriculum vitae)