GOVERNING CONFERENCE OF FAO CONCLUDES

Press Release
FAO/3655

GOVERNING CONFERENCE OF FAO CONCLUDES

Rome, 18 November (FAO) -- The governing Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today ended its twenty-ninth session. During the session, agriculture ministers and senior officials reviewed the state of food and agriculture, adopted the FAO's programme of work and budget for 1998-1999, and endorsed its TeleFood event aimed at increasing public awareness of food and agriculture issues and raising funds for the FAO's Special Programme for Food Security and other grass-roots development activities.

For 1998-1999, the Conference voted the FAO a budget of $650 million, the same as 1996-1997, effectively forcing the Organization to absorb almost 4 per cent in increased costs. It was adopted without opposition and with the abstention of only one member (Germany). In adopting the budget, the Conference recalled the importance of concrete action in the field and reiterated its support to the Technical Cooperation Programme and the Special Programme for Food Security.

During the Conference, many countries reported on actions taken or under way at national level to implement World Food Summit commitments, including the preparation of national reports and action plans.

The Conference adopted guidelines for surveillance and for export certification systems to harmonize plant quarantine standards, and strengthened the International Plant Protection Convention by taking into account the need for the development of International Phytosanitary Standards to protect plant health without creating unnecessary impediments to the international transportation of plants, as called for in the agreements reached as a result of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations.

The Conference welcomed the progress made towards finalizing the convention on prior informed consent, which would regulate international trade in hazardous pesticides.

It also endorsed the Programme Against African Trypanosomiasis, to combat a major outbreak of what is commonly known as sleeping sickness when it occurs in people. The disease, transmitted by the tsetse fly, affects about one third of Africa. It kills animals and people alike and contributes significantly to food insecurity and rural poverty.

- 2 - Press Release FAO/3655 18 November 1997

Kazakstan was admitted to the FAO during the Conference, bringing its membership to 175 countries and one member organization, the European Community. The Conference also elected the following countries to the FAO Council, its interim governing body between biennial Conferences: Cameroon, Eritrea, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Canada and the United States.

Sjarifudin Baharsjah of Indonesia was elected as Independent Chairman of the council for the next two years, replacing Ramon Lopez Portillo of Mexico.

The Conference also established the Margarita Lizarraga Award for the person or organization that best implements the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries over the next two years. Ms. Lizarraga, who died recently, worked in the FAO Fisheries Department promoting the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

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