Photo courtesy of FAO.
On the sidelines of the One Planet summit in Paris, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, signed the new framework agreement guiding the two parties’ cooperation through 2021.
“Ending hunger is a basic requirement for achieving global sustainable development goals, and that can only be done if we address the challenges climate change poses for agriculture and food security,” Graziano da Silva said. “Protecting biodiversity, reducing food loss and waste, conserving and restoring soil health, creating decent employment opportunities in developing countries — all of these are part of what we need do and all will require coherent and integrated partners and above all strong partners.”
The FAO’s new framework agreement with France emphasizes the common goal of supporting a shift to sustainable agriculture and food systems as central to facing the challenges of hunger, climate change and decent employment for all.
In it, the French government pledges to strengthen its partnership in areas of common concern, in coordination with the other Rome-based agencies.
Efforts to address climate change, nutrition, agroecology or migration are cited as priority areas for the partnership, as is Africa — especially the Sahel area — and the Middle East.
Graziano da Silva will meet on Dec. 13 with Stéphane Travert, France’s Minister for Agriculture and Food and, separately, meet with the heads of CIRAD, INRA and Agreenium, some of the country’s main research institutions for agriculture and international cooperation, to forge ways to strengthen cooperation.
