26 June 2011
Commenting on the election of Jose Graziano da Silva as the new Director General of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said:
"I welcome Professor Graziano into his new role and look forward to working closely with him to revitalise the organisation.
"The UK's own review highlighted that while it has a vital role to play in the fight against hunger and poverty, the FAO must improve its performance in the countries it works in.
"A reform programme is already underway. Strong leadership is now required to drive through the ambitious and comprehensive changes needed to make it the high-performing organisation the world so urgently needs."
FAO's mandate is key to achieving global food security and addressing the challenges of climate change. The UK's Multilateral Aid Review found that while FAO performs well in its normative role and in responding to emergencies, its performance overall is patchy, particularly at country level. FAO came out as a poor performer and is on special measures. Management, strategic planning and prioritisation need to be strengthened to effectively and efficiently deliver maximum results.
FAO's reforms, based on an independent external evaluation, are at a crucial point. Effective leadership will be key in ensuring urgent implementation of reform to modernise FAO so that it can successfully fulfil its mandate.
The UK will review FAO's progress in reform in two years.
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