China and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have signed a 50 million dollar agreement to support developing countries in building sustainable food systems and inclusive agricultural value chains, FAO Director-General, José da Silva, said on the sidelines of the FAO Conference
According to the FAO, the agreement recognises the growing importance of collaboration between Southern countries in the fight against extreme hunger and poverty.
China’s new contribution to the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund would support the exchange of Chinese agricultural experts with countries in the global South.
FAO said particularly in low-income food-deficit areas of Central Asia, the Pacific Islands, Africa and Latin America, over a period of five
years.
”China has made strides in decreasing hunger and has used its own experience to support other countries in doing the same.”
”It has become clear that while we have the power to end hunger in our lifetime, we will only succeed if we work together.”
”Southern countries empowering one another by exchanging knowledge and tools is a key part of this,’’ da Silva said.
Since 1990, China has successfully lifted 138 million of its people out of chronic hunger and reached the Millennium Development Goal of halving the prevalence of hunger ahead of the 2015 deadline.
According to the Vice Premier of China, Mr Wang Yang, who attended the event, China is the leading agricultural producer among the developing countries.
”FAO is the world’s top agricultural organisation.”
”We are ready to enhance our cooperation with FAO, which will not only benefit agricultural development and progress toward hunger reduction targets, but also the poor and hungry people of the world,’’ Yang said.
However, Mr Han Changuf, Minister for Agriculture of China, signed the MoU on behalf of his country.
Since FAO’s South-South Cooperation initiative was established in 1996, China has been a front runner in sharing its agricultural expertise worldwide, deploying so far 1,023 experts and technicians to 25 countries.
This partnership was galvanized by China’s establishment of a South-South Cooperation Trust Fund with an initial contribution of 30 million dollars in 2008.
In October, while visiting FAO, Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of China, announced his nation’s intention to continue that support with the additional U.S.
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