FAO and Agri-Ministry host National Dialogue

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, February 21, 2018

The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to host a National Dialogue on the 35^th Regional Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean and Accountability of the FAO’s stewardship workshop.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO/UN) will be hosting its 35th Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean from March 5-8, 2018, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

According to the subject minister, Noel Holder, the consultation being held at the Regency Suites today, seeks to promote and create an awareness of the FAO’s 35th LAC Conference, the work of the FAO in the region and more specifically, the work being done here in Guyana.

Further, Minister Holder said “the FAO conference engages Ministers of Agriculture as the lead sector together with other stakeholder Ministers (Foreign Affairs, Education, Public Health, Communities, Indigenous Peoples Affairs and Social Protection). The Conference will also focus on three regional initiatives which shape the work of the FAO in the Latin America and Caribbean region, Regional Initiative One – Food and Nutrition security; Regional Initiative Two – Family Farming and Territorial development and Regional Initiative Three — Building resilience, climate change and sustainable development.”

The meeting will also include an annual evaluation of FAO’s delivery of its work programme and discussions about its four-year Country Programming Framework for the period 2016 – 2019.

Reuben Robertson, FAO’s regional representative explained the importance of this aspect of the day’s proceedings.

“It also seeks to provide an account of FAO’s stewardship in the Caribbean and more specifically FAO’s work here in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. Most importantly to provide our partners – you, with the opportunity to contribute to the streamlining of FAO’s programmes and approaches; thereby ensuring that the organization, the FAO is fit for purpose, is responsive to the needs of the government’s national goals and contributing to the achievement of the sustainable development goals 2030 agenda.”

The FAO is a major partner in the planning and implementation of programmes and projects aimed at the development of the country’s agricultural sector. It functions under five strategic cooperative objectives – to contribute to food and nutrition security, to make agriculture forestry and fisheries more productive and efficient, to reduce rural poverty, enable more inclusive and efficient food systems and increase the resilience to livelihoods and adaptation to climate change.

An overview of the one-day conference was delivered by Trudy Abrahams, Communication Consultant. Among the topics to be covered are FAO’s work in the sub-region, Country Planning Framework and Priority areas, Budget allocation, Results and achievements in 2016 – 2017 and Proposals, and Projects 2018 -2019 Biennium.

 

By: Kidackie Amsterdam