FAO GOVERNING CONFERENCE TO HOLD TWENTY-NINTH SESSION IN ROME, 7 - 18 NOVEMBER
Press Release
FAO/3653
FAO GOVERNING CONFERENCE TO HOLD TWENTY-NINTH SESSION IN ROME, 7 - 18 NOVEMBER
19971105 ROME, 5 November (FAO) -- The Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) begins its twenty-ninth session on 7 November in Rome, as first estimates of world crop and livestock production in 1997 point to an increase of only 1.1 per cent after 1996 showed a rise of 3.6 per cent over 1995. The biennial FAO Conference brings together agriculture ministers and senior officials from FAO's 175 members. They will decide FAO's programme of work and budget for the next two years, examine the global state of food and agriculture, and receive the annual report on The State of Food and Agriculture 1997. The Conference will also review follow-up activities to the 1996 World Food Summit, and discuss various issues related to sustainable agricultural development.FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf will open the Conference on 7 November, when the meeting will elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairmen and vote on Kazakhstan's application for FAO membership. It will also award three FAO prizes: the A.H. Boerma Award for journalists, the B.R. Sen Award for outstanding field experts, and the Edouard Saouma Award for field projects. On 11 November, President Omar Bongo of Gabon will deliver the twentieth McDougall Lecture, instituted to commemorate the late F.L. McDougall, who played a leading role in the foundation of FAO.
In his introduction to the proposed programme of work and budget, Mr. Diouf writes: "The next biennium should see FAO being fully active, together with a broad range of partners, in assisting member nations in the achievement of the World Food Summit commitments. Summit follow-up and the goal of sustainable food security for all were clearly among the prime movers in the design of the programme of work for 1998-1999."
The State of Food and Agriculture 1997, an annual report detailing global developments in food and agriculture issues, will be released during the Conference with a special chapter on the Agro-processing Industry and Economic Development.
A supplementary document to be issued during the Conference gives FAO's latest revised estimates for total crop and livestock production. The current estimates now point to an increase in total production at the global level of 3.6 per cent in 1996 over 1995, up from an earlier estimate of 2.6 per cent.
- 2 - Press Release FAO/3653 5 November 1997
FAO's tentative first estimates for production this year put the expansion in global agricultural production in 1997 at only 1.1 per cent, a significant slowdown in production growth compared to the relatively buoyant 1996 performance in both the developed and developing countries.
At the same time, the latest information on food aid in 1996-1997 shows a sharp drop of 37 per cent to 4.9 million tons, the lowest level since the start of food aid programmes in the mid-1950s, while official development assistance to agriculture continued to decline for the eleventh year, according to FAO's figures.
As well as examining the state of food and agriculture in the world, the Conference will examine FAO's programme of work and budget for the years 1998 and 1999 submitted by the Director-General. It outlines two funding levels. A zero real growth proposal of $675.3 million and a zero nominal growth budget of $650 million, which would result in programme cuts to offset increased costs.
The FAO has made efforts to protect, as much as possible, the priority areas in its programme which include the following: International Plant Protection Convention; Code of Conduct for Pesticides; Codex Alimentarius; Conservation and management of genetic resources; Responsible fisheries; Forest resources assessment; Adjustment to the post-Uruguay Round international trade regime; Special Programme for Food Security; Early-warning and emergency response programmes, including the Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases (EMPRES); and Women and Population Programmes.
Mr. Diouf said that efficiency savings would be continuing within the Organization, but he warned: "There is a limit to the extent and speed of progress that can be made following the major reduction exercise still under way in the current biennium."
The Conference will be preceded and followed by sessions of the FAO Council, the organization's interim governing body.
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