ROME, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Friday concluded five days of talks with an agreement on a strategic framework that includes a new two-year budget and a consensus on the role of innovation for major problems such as world hunger and climate change.
The 42nd edition of the FAO Conference, a major administrative event that takes place every two years, also focused on administrative issues, such as the election of a new leader for the FAO Council, the executive wing of the Rome-based organization that focused on improving food security and safety, especially in the developing world.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said it was essential to improve and modernize the world's food systems.
"We have to produce more with less," Qu said at one of the plenaries. "We need more quantity, more quality, and more diversity. We need to move from biodiversity to food diversity."
Among the highlights of this year's meeting: an address by billionaire businessman Bill Gates, who discussed the role of technology in facing the world's biggest problems, including the plight of small farmers in poor countries.
"Smallholder farmers are accustomed to overcoming incredible adversity and are constantly innovating based on changing weather and market demands," but they can't solve the problems alone, said Gates, the co-founder of software giant Microsoft.
Gates, who gave the McDougall Memorial Lecture, a keynote address that takes place at each FAO Conference, said the countries suffering the most from global impacts need the most help.
The FAO budget, which will cover the 2022-2023 fiscal years, is the first to be passed since the election of Qu as FAO's director-general two years ago. Qu, a former vice-minister at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, was elected at the previous session of the FAO Conference. Since the 2020-2021 budget was passed in the same session that elected Qu to the post, it could not reflect Qu's priorities.
In a statement released via social media, Qu said he was "delighted" by the FAO Strategic Framework, the Medium-Term Plan, and the Program of Work and Budget, which he said represented a "new, agile, efficient, and effective" version of the venerable institution. "Our motivation is fueled by the hope we bring to those counting on us," Qu said.
The talks also saw the election of Hans Hoogeveen, the Dutch ambassador to FAO, as the new Independent Chairperson of the FAO Council. Enditem
