Bilateral meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus - H.E. Petros Xenophontos

Rome - Today, the FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, met in Rome with H.E. Petros Xenophontos, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus on the sidelines of the 43rd Session of the FAO Conference.

The pair discussed the positive impact that Digital Agriculture can bring to rural communities. In that regard, the Director-General mentioned the FAO 1000 Digital Villages Initiative that provides support to countries to expand access and use of digital tools in agrifood systems, as well as the importance of eco-tourism and e-commerce for rural areas.

The Director-General invited the Minister to use the Digital FAO as a platform to share their expertise, as an instrument for each country to share its own specificities with other FAO Members.

The pair further discussed the impact of the climate crisison biodiversity, and the importance of integrated water management and agroecological zoning for sustainable farming.

The Director-General underlined his appreciation for Cyprus’s longstanding support to FAO and the pair agreed to further strengthen their cooperation.