177th Session of the FAO Council Closing Remarks

Independent Chairperson of the Council,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

I start by thanking the Independent Chairperson of the Council (ICC), Mr Hans Hoogeveen, for his convening and coordination of the Council during his last session as ICC.

Hans has worked seriously over the past four years during often difficult times for the Council, which reflected the many challenges due to natural and man-made disasters affecting global food availability, food accessibility, and food affordability, and agrifood systems and rural development.

As one of the typical Dutch I have been familiar with in the past 40 years, you tried your best to manage the work of the Council, ensuring that the agenda was finished and the necessary objectives reached, and to be honest it was not easy for you over the past four years!

I also heard there are a number of Members for whom this is the last Council session before they move on to different assignments, some returning to their capitals, others transferring to different parts of the world.

I hope that you will have good memories of your days and nights with the FAO Council life, which was an important part of your Rome life, and of your contribution to the Organization in one way or another, and I wish you all the best as you go forward with the next chapters in your new life.

Please remember that the colleagues you have worked with in the FAO Governing Bodies are the best, and that you will soon miss each other.

Dear Members of Council,

During this past week, I have appreciated your positive feedback and your recognition of FAO’s important work in emergency and crisis situations around the world. 

I also value your recognition and support for our data and analysis work in food security, which helps ensure that interventions are evidence-based and targeted. 

We will continue to share updates of our work in these settings in future sessions of the Council.

Our agricultural responses are crucial – and are needed by Members now more than ever.

As needs continue to grow, agricultural assistance offers a cost-effective response that deserves greater recognition and investment.

We are proud to deliver, but it is becoming more difficult.

Throughout the week, I heard many reflections on the more difficult and changing funding environment facing FAO and the wider UN system.

Be more optimistic, be more sympathetic and be more resilient!

FAO is in a good position, and I will continue to try my best to exploit the full potential of our core competence, but we must stay alert.

As I shared in my opening comments on Monday, I am proud of FAO’s hard work, and my teams and staff, and how we have managed during this first period of funding reductions. 

We will remain vigilant, forward-looking and risk aware in our management, action planning and adjustments. 

Despite the challenges, FAO is in a relatively resilient position, thanks to our broad funding base, clear, unique mandate and comparative advantage.

I am pleased of the additional grant of USD 115 million by the World Bank in support of the Afghanistan Emergency Food Security Project recently approved.

Dear Colleagues,

To sustain and even grow our resources further, it is critical that we:

One: Stay focused on FAO’s unique technical mandate, and increase coherency with other agencies, especially at the country level;

Two: Show the tangible results and impact of our work - by improving the 4Es: Efficiency, Effectiveness, Extraordinary, Excellence; and

Three: Build stronger ties with both traditional and new partners under the 4Rs: Recover, Reform, Rebuild, Renaissance.

Moving forward, we are committed to delivering and adapting, and we will continue to prioritize transparency, collaboration and impact.

As the first FAO Director-General from the son of a hillbilly or peasant, I am fully committed to help farmers and consumers globally.

As a scientist, I have been trying to do my best to offer solutions based on data, evidence and science.

Dear Colleagues,

We appreciate the comprehensive discussion by Council on the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 and Medium-Term Plan 2026-29 and Programme of Work and Budget 2026-27. 

Your feedback and suggestions help us ensure the highest priority areas are well reflected in the planning and implementation of our programmes.

We also welcome Members’ commitment to hold informal consultations prior to the 44th Session of the Ministerial Conference in June/July, with the aim of reaching consensus on the PWB 2026-27.

Global food security is at a critical point, and the situation is especially daunting in vulnerable regions.

Without urgent and escalated global action, as well as scaled up investments and applications of science and technologies for agrifood systems transformation, we cannot continue to produce more with less to ensure the realization of the Four Betters.

I welcome the Council’s support for the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and the planned increase in technical support for its participating member countries, as proposed for in the Mid-Term Plan.

We will also continue to engage for extrabudgetary support, which has proven to be invaluable for the success of the initiative.

We will continue to advocate for the central role of efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems in addressing complex and overlapping global challenges, and to turn them into opportunities.

We are also encouraged by the overall positive and constructive discussion on the draft Conference Resolution on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and we will continue to support Members, including through the One Health approach. 

I also value your willingness and efforts on the agreed roadmap based on my proposed “FAO@80: Proposals for Institutional Renewal and Reforms”.

Dear Colleagues,

Together we can do more and better, for people and the planet.

And for the Four Betters – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – which are the foundation of the FAO Strategic Framework, and are fundamental for the wellbeing of all of us on this planet.

Let us continue to learn together, work together, and strengthen our solidarity together.

The world needs a dynamic new FAO for a better future.

I thank you.