FAO REGIONAL CONFERENCE FOR EUROPE SET FOR 5 - 7 MAY 2004 AT MONTPELLIER, FRANCE

Note to Correspondents

FAO REGIONAL CONFERENCE FOR EUROPE Set for 5 - 7 MAY 2004 at MONTPELLIER, france

(Reissued as received.)

ROME/MONTPELLIER, 20 April (FAO) -- The twenty-fourth Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Europe will be held at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure agronomique de Montpellier (ENSAM) in France between 5 and 7 May 2004.

FAO Director-General Dr. Jacques Diouf will address the opening session of the conference on Tuesday, 5 May at 10 a.m. Some 44 member States from the region, European Union representatives and other specialized agencies and observers will take part in the meeting.

The agenda includes:

-- Food safety and quality in Europe:  Aspects concerning quality, nutritional balance, the importance of agricultural land and cultural heritage (“terroirs”);

-- Agricultural research:  its role and contribution to sustainable rural development;

-- Review of the state of food and agriculture in the region:  focus on rural poverty; and

-- Follow-up to the World Food Summit.

The regional conference will follow a non-governmental organization forum which will take place on 3 and 4 May 2004 at ENSAM.

Conference documents are available online:  http://www.fao.org/Unfao/Bodies/RegConferences/erc24/erc24_en.htm.

For more information, contact:  Gilles Hirzel, FAO Regional Information Officer, e-mail: gilles.hirzel@fao.org, tel.: (+33) 680754543.

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