FAO and EU join forces to fight hunger

Brussels - Some 870 million people in the world are undernourished, and more than 2.5 million children die each year of malnutrition. Tackling this horrifying situation is a priority for the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Today, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso met in Brussels with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, José Graziano da Silva. They agreed that the EU is a key strategic partner for the FAO and should play a full role in it. They discussed food security including development, resilience and nutrition policies, as well as global governance issues. On Wednesday, Mr Graziano da Silva also met Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Dacian Cioloș and Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki.

President Barroso said: "I am very happy to receive Director-General Graziano da Silva here in Brussels today. We are partners in the fight against under-nutrition amongst the world's poorest and in the promotion of global food security. The EU is consistently the largest single source of voluntary funding to the FAO. For the European Commission, food security is a key priority: worldwide, the EU is already the largest donor of aid to fight food and nutrition insecurity and we will step up our efforts in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The EU remains fully committed to the Millennium Development Goals and to achieving the development aid target of 0,7 % of gross national income by 2015. The European Union will continue to support the on-going FAO reform politically, operationally and financially."

Read more on the EU - FAO partnership and background

Additional links:

• Video statement of Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and FAO Director-General Graziano da Silva
• More info on the EU's food security policy
• Read more on the EU's policy on resilience

Source: FAO | European Commission