Bilateral meeting with H.E. Julio León Heredia, Minister of the People's Power for Productive Agriculture and Lands of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Brasília – On the sidelines of 39th FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu, met with His Excellency Julio León Heredia, Minister of the People’s Power for Productive Agriculture and Lands of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

The Director-General welcomed the Minister and expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to meet and discuss the collaboration between Venezuela and FAO.

The Minister thanked the Director-General and provided an overview of Venezuela’s challenges and opportunities in the rural sector, and referred to the government's economic recovery plan that was focused on agricultural development and combatting hunger and malnutrition. The Minister welcomed the designation of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, highlighting that promoting gender equality was at the core of Venezuela’s rural agenda. The Minister also informed that the country looked forward to scaling up cooperation with FAO, and other international partners, particularly in areas such as regenerative agriculture, livestock farming, animal and vegetable genetics, and reducing reliance on agrochemicals.

The Director-General commended the Minister on Venezuela’s efforts in the area of food and agriculture and encouraged the country to focus on a long-term development agenda that would allow it to reach its full potential. The Director-General reaffirmed FAO’s commitment to continue providing technical support to Venezuela and to scale up cooperation in line with FAO’s mandate.