Joint Meeting of the Programme and Finance Committees Opening Statement

Chairperson of the Joint Meeting, and Chairperson of the Programme Committee

Chairperson of the Finance Committee

Independent Chairperson of the Council

Members of the Joint Meeting

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

Good morning and welcome.

I am pleased to address you today at the start of this first Joint Meeting since the FAO Ministerial Conference in July, and I warmly welcome the Chairs and new members of these committees.

I also welcome the newly elected Independent Chairperson of the Council (ICC).

We gather today with a shared and critical purpose: to align our strategic ambitions with the practical means to achieve them.

The challenges of global food security demand from us not just vision, but decisive, well-resourced action.

As we mark FAO’s 80th Anniversary this year, our mandate, rooted in the noble goal of achieving a world free from hunger and malnutrition – a world free from want - has never been more urgent.

In this context, the synergy between the Programme Committee (PC) and Finance Committee (FC) is the engine of our effectiveness.

As I said regarding the UN80 reform initiative, do not just simply cut. You need to first protect 可以arears, and second uphold the key parts and then cut the rest. And then third is the integrated reform, and fourth is the comprehensive deeper reform.

In the UN, you need to holistically design these four stages, together. But unfortunately, they just start to cut and cut. History will tell us it is too simple to just cut. This is not a real reform.

At FAO, we are fortunate that our Members understand this, and you are not simply asking to cut and cut.

We must remember that even no cut is a real cut because of inflation, compared to ten years ago or even five years ago before the pandemic.

For example, here in Italy the cost of spaghetti is now two and a half times what it was when I arrived in 2019, and the cost of rice has also doubled.

Unfortunately, that is the reality because we are not living in a vacuum or a greenhouse. We are living in the real world.

We need to acknowledge the fact and make evidence-based decisions, not emotions-based. I always try to keep this in mind.

Last December, for example, when you stopped my comprehensive reform proposal, I did not get angry. Why should I? It’s your Organization, and the majority, led by the richer countries together with some countries mobilized by them, did not want the reform. History will record your decision.

It will record that now you have been left one year behind with something we had started to prepare for two years prior.

The term used is “evaluation”, but what does this mean?

Any comprehensive reform proposal must come from the top, and of course everyone can have their different opinions.

Any reform should start with a holistic design first and then you can buy into it, or provide inputs, and then you should develop the action plan. It’s a step-by-step process. You start with the low hanging fruit first and then work your way up. That is the way to do it.

Some Members are saying we should follow the UN80 Reform, but we are ahead of that. We need to use this momentum to speed up and scale up our reform. That is the positive leverage from UN80 initiative.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Programme Committee (PC) provides recommendations to chart our course, aimed at defining our priorities, shaping our interventions, and ensuring our work delivers tangible impact on the ground.

The Finance Committee (FC), in turn, provides recommendations on our vital fuel - ensuring what I call Vitamin M (Money) - and ensures our resources are managed efficiently, and with transparency, building the trust of our Members and resource partners alike.

And this Joint Meeting bridges these two essential pillars of our governance structure.

The Programme Committee wants us to do more and better; the Finance Committee wants us to cut the budget - so you should first reach consensus and compromise, because without money how can you run this Organization?

But our dialogue here is about more than just reviewing documents - such as the Adjustments to the Programme of Work and Budget (APWB) 2026-27 before us – but is about forging a unified path forward.

The FAO Ministerial Conference has already decided, so now you have to trust FAO Management to take it forward.

For example, I know that some have already said that we do not need to renovate the bathrooms, or the elevators, but it is not really a decision for Members.

After 75 years, this building – your headquarters – was not is a good state. It needed urgent renovations.

It is not a matter of money. It is a matter of humanity.

I told the Minister for Infrastructure of Italy, Matteo Salvini – who is a friend of mine – that we should allocate a budget to match our political commitment.

It is about ensuring that each dollar invested by Members translates into measurable progress for the farmers, smallholders, fishers, forest-dwellers, consumers and families who depend on our work.

My proposal for the PWB for the next two years was grounded in efficient delivery of our programme of work, and identification of areas of programmatic emphasis, de-emphasis and realignment.

Because next year, we will have the Regional Ministerial Conferences, and it will be an opportunity for FAO. We need to travel more; we need more engagement. Everyone wants to support FAO – the money is there.

Political willingness is the most important thing.

Our aim was to deliver a strong and impactful PWB and maintain the budgetary appropriation at the same nominal US dollar level as in the 2024-25 biennium.

Actually, the US Dollar has already been devalued against the Euro; more than 10 percent during the past two years.

That is why I offered a compromise to my American friends: if we look at the dollar, we will spend 80 percent of our budget in dollars and not in euros. Only here do we spend a little bit of euros. In the rest of the world, we always spend mostly in dollars.

That is why FAO's budget has decreased by at least 5 percent, compared to two years ago, but previously it had increased by 5.6 percent.

To be honest, compared to three years ago, we are in quite a similar situation.

It was not an easy task, but we did it - a reflection of how we walk the talk!

We put in place a strategic review and abolition of 177 budgeted posts for a total of USD 29 million, that is what I designed two years ago.

I looked at the different divisions. Some, we called “silent posts’, because of different historical reasons. For instance, the Markets and Trade Division (EST). Before the World Trade Organization (WTO), FAO had a lot of posts, but now we have the WTO, and the political negotiations take place there. We only offer technical support, but the number of posts in that division remains relatively high.

We need to be proactive, not only for budget approval, but for overall efficiency as an organization.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI) has quite a high number of posts, but that is because many countries have independent ministries dealing with these issues.

And then there are the newly established units such as the Office of Innovation (OIN), the Office of Sustainable Development Goals (OSG), the Office of Emergencies and Resilience (OER), and others. These are just examples of my role in managing this Organization with the aim of maintaining a balance between historical posts, innovative positions and traditional divisions.

When I was the Vice President responsible for financial matters in China at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), which had 22 000 staff members, 67 percent were what we call “regular budget”.

So, we depended on the PhD students, who worked hard and efficiently to get their degrees. For every regular budgeted post, we got more PhD students.

At FAO, the situation is a little bit different. We need more PWB posts, and this will allow us to recruit more consultants (contract labour).

That is why at FAO we are 17 000 employees in total, but less than 4000 are PWB posts.

For this reason, I really appreciated former Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, because he started to change the mechanism, the control of the PWB, and this allowed colleagues to have more consultants.

But one thing I have improved based on his business model, you should have better control of the quality of P4s and above. He trusted all the Division Directors too much and this led to lower-level staff replacing higher grades for savings, which led to a weakening of technical capacity.

Now, our technical capacity is increasing, and the mechanism has also changed.

There are two narratives here, two indicators, so we have to be very careful.

We have to go back to our original aspiration, re-focus and re-prioritize.

It is not a slogan. We need to look at our mandate and how it has expanded;

At FAO, we still need to make some small structural adjustments. For example, the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB) is also responsible for Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) – why? They do not have a mandate for Heritage; they are responsible for protecting the environment. This is just an example of a small structural reform we need to look at.

We have appointed the new Secretary of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) - a highly experienced plant pathologist and biosecurity expert from Australia. With his appointment, we will ensure continuity of global leadership in plant health.

Of all the countries I have visited, Australia is one of the most serious in dealing with biosafety.

We cannot neglect the critical importance of transboundary animal disease prevention, which affects all countries globally. An increase of USD 1 million in the budget will ensure sustained leverage of funding through the new Global Challenge Programme on Transboundary Animal Diseases.

At the recent UN Chief Executives Board (CEB) meeting last week, I said that after 22 years of support, mainly from the United States, it is now time for other Members to step up, no matter how big or small your contribution. Of course, this does not mean that the historic donors like the United States should not contribute.  

In preparation for the 179th Session of the FAO Council in December, we are designing how the new mechanism of this new global programme on transboundary animal diseases will work, so that all partners - governments, private sector, academia, farmers’ organizations, and others – can work together to address this common challenge.

These are strategic safeguards for food safety, safe trade, animal health and plant health – critical to ensuring an effective One Health approach.

Now, we are getting a more common understanding of One Health, which is not only about zoonotic diseases and the environment, but also comprises soil health, plant health, and animal health.

Next year we will hold the Global Conference on One Health. I am so delighted that President Macron will also organize the Summit on One Health; FAO will offer all the technical support needed to France.

We need politicians and scientists to interface and dialogue. Based on my observations in Europe over the past 35 years, I can say that you have first class politicians, and you have first class scientists, but you need more dialogue between these two groups.

If you look at other big countries like the United States, Japan, China, Brazil or India, politicians have very intense discussions with scientists, and with the entrepreneurs who have the high technology.

In China, I know that the President, the Prime Minister, and the Ministers all have regular dialogue with scientists and entrepreneurs to learn from them, to learn about the real business on the ground.

At FAO, it is our role to bring politicians and scientists together.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have once again reaffirmed our commitment to value‑for-money and operational efficiency, and I wish to thank Members for their acknowledgement and recognition that the work of FAO is indispensable, now more than ever.

This was also echoed by the high-level dignitaries who attended the World Food Day - FAO80 - celebrations, held during the 2025 World Food Forum last month.

The world needs a sustainable and professional FAO that continues to lead in technical expertise based on science and innovation.

Six years ago, people here did not talk about science and innovation, they did not talk about biotechnology, they did not talk about gene editing, nor about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Now, FAO is not just the first Organization talking about AI and supporting AI, but we are implementing AI, now we have FAO CertusCare and Ms FAO AI!

In our Human Resources function, we are applying AI to implement change management. Other divisions are using AI only for professional publications, but you need to use it to manage the change, that is why the Chinese established a Digital Society. We use mobile phones not only for telecommunications, but we are also changing the way of life and work – we are changing the business model.

That is why I established a Digital FAO; we have saved 79 percent of paper. If we consider headquarters and the subregions, we have saved more than 90 percent of paper. That is the biggest contribution to the green economy and sustainable development. We walked the talk!

I am encouraging CSG (Governing Bodies Servicing Division) and OCC (Office of Corporate Communications) to take a leading role in how to use AI to manage and improve efficiency.

For example, AI can improve the efficiency of interpretation. In many Asian countries, they use AI machine interpretation which is much more precise.

We need to work together to make FAO a truly modern organization!

A FAO that can shape a Better World through the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life - leaving no one behind –

For the first time, I got most of the UN principals saying, “your Four Betters are so easy to remember”. I said “yes, I am a simple person. I come from the farmer”. You are so complicated in your narratives. Ninety-nine percent of our audience are farmers – non-English speaking farmers – so we need to make it easy to remember the Four Betters. In China, there are 400 million farmers to remember the simple slogan.

Our communication should be accessible to farmers, to ordinary people.

I know that some diplomats here do not like my Four Betters, but I received strong recognition from the UN University during the Four Betters Course event during the World Food Forum – and that is one of the highest recognitions, coming from a University Professor.

Whether you like or dislike the Four Betters, this is your personal view, and it should not influence us working together because they are the foundation of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31.

The Adjustments to the PWB follow the FAO Ministerial Conference guidance on programmatic direction and the need to identify further efficiency gains and savings of USD 13.8 million, which we have done.

On the one hand we need to save. I come from a poor family, and I understand the need to never waste money. But when Minister Salvini came and saw the front garden, he was so happy, so I asked him for another EUR 4 million to support the renovation of the bathrooms and lifts.

We have also reallocated USD 5 million to high priority areas, which means a total cost saving of USD 18.8 million.  

Assistant Director-General Beth Crawford, Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina and others helped me to build a new adjustment in much more detail than me. I trust them, I depend on them.

We achieve efficiency gains and savings from three angles: cost savings, time savings, and improvements in effectiveness.

I am proposing adjustments that will support a strengthened and even more impactful Organization.

On high priority allocations we have increased the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) by USD 2 million. You see, even at this critical time, for the first time we still have USD 2 million increase in TCP. That shows how important it is for FAO to support the vulnerable Members, especially SIDS, LDCs, LLDCs, about 92 Members in total.

And then we move to support the middle-income countries. That is the big FAO family. If you want to improve achievement of the SDGs, you need to first support the vulnerable countries as a step towards Members’ ambition to reach the objective of TCP at 17 percent of the net appropriation. To ensure it remains a priority instrument to respond quickly, efficiently and effectively to country needs.

And together with Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol, we changed how to improve the effectiveness of TCP. Previously, it was only focused on training. But we changed to also support capacity building for the preparation of proposals to apply for investments – both small and big. That is why the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) appreciate the quality of our proposals, not only from headquarters but also from our country teams.

The ongoing review of the Country Office structures will be a key enabler for achieving a more efficient network and strengthen the capacity to work as ONE FAO for higher impact on the ground.

But efficiency measures alone will not be sufficient to sustain these core capacities into the coming biennium.

To maintain institutional capacity and meet Members’ expectations for future needs, we will require both renewed investment and more creative ways of working — including new instruments, shared models of delivery, and redesigned approaches.

We need to further enhance our new business model.

For example, our colleagues in Afghanistan work very hard and very professionally, supported by the headquarters and others, and recently, we got USD 100 million from the Asian Development Bank. My colleagues in the CEB are so jealous, especially those dealing with refugees and humanitarian matters.

I said we deliver, and they realize that USD 100 million for FAO can deliver even more. Especially, just in the last two months. It is really a recognition of the FAO business model change and way of working together.

Through our programme of work, we continue to use technical innovation, including AI, for increased efficiency, effectiveness and coherency.

Since the last Programme Committee session in March 2025, the Office of Evaluation has completed 13 evaluations, providing critical learning to help improve FAO’s work and decision-making.

The Office of Evaluation only evaluated projects and programmes which are under FAO, not the other programmes and projects that should have followed the donor’s requirements.

Internal evaluation should not be mistaken with the Office of Evaluation: they are not a third partner, do not mislead them. They are not a service provider – it is part of FAO’s internal evaluation function.

Even the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is part of FAO. That is why Mika Tapio, who is highly recognized within the UN system, has now taken up the role of Executive Secretary of the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU). We now need an acting FAO Inspector General for six months, and we will issue the vacancy announcement immediately. The matter will then be brought to the Committee, as per the established practice.

I know some Members at the beginning may have said that the Director-General maybe does not like the JIU. That is not true. I like the JIU, but the JIU has its own mandate – you should not cross the line. Within the UN system it is an internal consultative body; it is not part of our Governing Bodies.  

In the FAO Strategic Framework, the Four Betters are designed to encourage a strategic and system-oriented approach.

Transforming agrifood systems requires massive investment, far beyond what public finance alone can provide. That’s why FAO is working to scale up both public and private investment.

One suggestion I made to the CEB, and the UN Secretary General, was that the UN should have general guidelines on how to engage with the private sector for the benefit of all the agencies and programmes. 

Eight to seventy percent of funding comes from private sector investments. Such guidelines can facilitate increased engagement and can open doors for private sector buy-ins.

I know that some of the diplomats here with us are very influential and they can get their colleagues in New York to help FAO obtain funding to the benefit of developing countries. Guidelines would provide the norms for this type of engagement.

As of September, FAO has mobilized USD 1.13 billion in donor funding.  This is slightly ahead of the same period last year.

I really appreciate all the efforts from colleagues across the Organization, and there is still a lot of potential to do even more, such as in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI) as it is highly recognized for its professional capacity and services.

The same also applies to the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment (OCB), as well as the FAO Investment Centre, who can reach out to donors as well, apart from the GCF and GEF.

We have to be realistic and pragmatic, because we also have many operational costs to cover. Let’s continue to work together!

Traditional donors are, however, down sharply. That is why FAO started to depend more on the GCF, GEF, the World Bank or even the Asian Development Bank.

With our traditional donors, we expect to finish the year about 15 percent below last year’s total.

Donors will need to be re-engaged in a different way, knowing that future support may not return to historical levels.

Over 40 percent of our current resources now come from vertical funds. This has helped us absorb the decline. But it also means less flexibility and greater competition entering 2026.

We are also advancing reforms to increase predictability — such as portfolio-level planning, umbrella programmes, pooled and trust fund options, and deeper engagement with the private sector.

We are at an advantage because other agencies are struggling to remain at their capacity with 16-20 percent cuts. I urge colleagues, from P3 to D2 to travel and to go meet with potentials investors – that is the most effective travel cost.

Do not stay in Rome. Rome is a good place, but we have to go out of Rome. That is why on Wednesday I am going to the COP30 in Brazil, and then to others. You cannot know what the potential is out there unless you move and go see and talk directly with potential investors. In Chinese there is a saying that says, “The pathway leads you to where you are going once you step out of your door.”

Some say that everything is so expensive so you should stay in Rome. But we increased travel by USD 10 million and got USD 1 billion or even more in return! This is the mentality of development, not a conservative mentality of survival. I am not a survival person; I have always been a development person.

For example, the FAO Museum - how many people does it attract? Italy invested several millions, and they will get higher returns. This would not have happened if we had just modernized the library. The library is past history, but the Museum and Network with a digital library is our future. It attracts everyone, from the children to retirees.

I want to salute Members like Liberia. The Minister of Agriculture came with the President and supported establishing in FAO the Liberia Situation Room – a very professional room with a global database: a real knowledge-based, evidence-based, database. No other organization can replace that function of FAO and is highly appreciated by Members.

I recently met the President of the Dominican Republic, and he told me that he follows FAO and that they want us to support them with our data because their area, region and subregion is very unpredictable and alone they cannot deal with it.  

The same in the Middle East. Meteorological data only focuses on dust or drought; they do not have linkages with agriculture. At FAO we can integrate all the data from the different technical divisions to support the Situation Room.

All these linkages are to the benefit of smallholder farmers. I think that is one area where FAO will upgrade its services.

Dear Colleagues,

Following the launch of the HR Strategy and Action Plan endorsed by the Finance Committee in March this year, notable progress has been made over the first three quarters in implementing the key initiatives that are driving the transformation of the HR function in FAO.

Talent acquisition continues to be a focus and the Outreach Strategy, endorsed by the Finance Committee in November last year, was applied for D2, D1 and P5 positions. There are many good candidates out there, and we need more and more talent to support FAO’s mission. We also have to increase the budget. The vacancy rate is now down to 10 percent - three years ago Members were requesting that it be decreased to 15 percent, and now it is down to 10 percent. You have to do the right thing at the right time.

Three years ago, we asked for a 5.6 percent increase, and we were supported by the United States, China, Japan, Europe and others, but now is not the right time to ask for an increase.

That is why I say you should trust us, do not micromanage.

Regarding the timeframe, I know people were worried, before it was 230 days, now it is less than 140 days. Of course, we still need to improve, but sometimes too much efficiency is not good either. For some key positions, like the Chief Scientist – it took me one and a half years to find the right candidate. It takes time to find the most suitable candidate - speed should not replace quality.

Committees like the Programme Committee and the Finance Committee cannot control everything. The world is changing so quickly. How can you design two years ahead of time? You can provide guidance of course, but you need to keep in mind that everything is evolving so quickly. 

Therefore, now it takes less than 100 days; it is good, but of course, we still have some room for improvement.

In March 2025, FAO issued a new unified policy on harassment, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination, consolidating previous frameworks and, for the first time, treating discrimination as a distinct form of misconduct. This policy reinforces our zero-tolerance approach and introduces clearer definitions, responsibilities and resolution mechanisms.

Therefore, we are very serious about it, because we work with so many different backgrounds of culture and religion. Of course, on the other hand our staff and employees should understand what their real rights are. However, from Management’s point of view, we should be more critical. These would be two ways of improving the work environment. 

In 2025, FAO marked a major milestone in digital transformation with the launch of HR CertusCare. In my first consultations with Members, and with FAOR retirees, I understood that there are so many regulations, and nobody could remember them. Now, through the AI CertusCare - the Organization’s first AI-powered HR chatbot and the first in the UN system – we can simplify matters.

Unbelievable. When I participated in the CED, I mentioned this and even the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)Secretary-General was shocked to hear of how we were providing AI support as part of the HR chatbot, and of the preparations for the first Avatar Virtual HR Colleague – which will be launched officially tomorrow. I will name her the first Ms FAO AI.

I wish to thank the HR Director, Serge Nakouzi, who through his experience and lessons learned in the Country and Regional Offices, came back with new ideas for innovation.  

FAO has consolidated its role as the UN system technical leader on agrifood systems transformation, ensuring that food security, nutrition and rural development are embedded across the UN’s development, humanitarian, climate and peacebuilding agendas.

We continue to advocate that the right to food is a basic human right and that peace is a prerequisite for food security.

FAO’s collaboration across the UN system has produced tangible results, including UN-wide initiatives on One Health, climate action, fisheries, forestry and trade, to stronger engagement in pooled financing mechanisms such as the Joint SDG Fund, the Peacebuilding Fund, and the Pandemic Fund. Thanks to the Pandemic Fund, we have some level of overlapping and continuity for animal disease control. 

These partnerships demonstrate how FAO’s normative work and country presence translate global commitments into national action for more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems.

We are united by a fundamental, non-negotiable goal: a world where every person, in every country, no matter how big or how small, has enough safe and nutritious food to live a healthy and active life.

This is not a distant dream; it is a basic human right. Yet, for millions of people, it remains tragically out of reach.

The path to securing this right is paved with three essential and interlinked pillars: food availability, food accessibility, and food affordability. Adequate and strategic resources are the absolute bedrock upon which all three of these pillars stand.

The question before us is not if we should allocate resources, but how strategically and how courageously we can do so.

This is the most critical investment we can make in global stability, economic prosperity, and human dignity.

The resources we commit today are the seeds from which a foods‑secure tomorrow will grow.

Let us provide not just the means to survive, but the foundation to thrive.

I am confident that, through our collaborative spirit and constructive dialogue, we will make significant strides in further strengthening FAO's ability to deliver on this mission.

I look forward to a productive and insightful discussion.

Thank you – I know I took a bit of a longer time because after the summer break and the Ministerial Conference, the CEB and the FAO 80th anniversary celebrations, I wanted you to be well informed, directly by me.

There is so much information from the World Food Week and World Food Forum. It is really a global movement. Of course, every year we need some improvement. I say always be better than previous, and be better than yourself.

I wish all the members of the PC and FC - some new and some old, some junior and some senior – that you will become an even better PC and FC, and an even better ICC! 

Thank you so much.