Readout of the Director-General’s meeting with Moses Cheboi, Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Kenya

28 October 2021, Rome – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today met a parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Kenya headed by the Honorable Moses Cheboi, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. The Delegation thanked the Director-General for his strong commitment and vision, as well as his leadership of the Organization. Specifically they also noted the strong partnership with FAO in Kenya spanning over 40 years and most recently noted in the Desert Locust control operations.

They exchanged views with the Director-General on the importance and need for agri-food systems transformation and the critical role of gender equity, and youth empowerment. They underlined that the transformation of agri-food production is possible through value creation and improved processing, innovation and digitalization.

The Director-General noted the progress made in Kenya and informed the delegation that that country was leading in many regards, congratulating them for the strategic role as a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), national driven initiatives focusing on Food and Nutrition Security.

The Director-General also shared with the delegation his views regarding agri-food system transformation, noting the need for an enabling environment, appropriate infrastructure and standardization of goods in order to achieve this. He highlighted how the Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products, One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) is a useful mechanism which will also contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and address countries’ needs for increased productivity towards more efficient, inclusive and resilient agri-food systems.  

The Deputy Speaker on behalf of the delegation shared his appreciation for the Director-General’s guidance and recognized that FAO’s support for agri-food system transformation is key to achieve the Agenda 2063.