Prof Qu Dongyu appointed as FAO Director General; ICFA looks forward to his contribution

NEW DELHI - June 26, 2019 - PRLog -- Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) welcomes the appointment of Prof Qu Dongyu as the new Director General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. The organisation is looking forward to his contribution in development of coordinated policies that address the segment's requirements. Prof Qu currently holds the position of Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China.

Prof Qu Dongyu was elected as the Ninth Director General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations on June 23, 2019. Prof Qu will assume charge on August 1, 2019 at FAO headquarters in Rome and will serve as its DG for four years till July 31, 2023.

Commenting on Prof Qu's appointment as FAO DG, ICFA Chairman Dr MJ Khan said: "Congratulations for a big role at the world body, FAO. You truly deserved this role given your contributions to the cause of Chinese and global food & agriculture sector."

On this occasion, Dr Khan also recalled his interaction with Prof Qu during the International Tea Expo in Hangzhou in 2017 and FAO Ministerial Meet at Changsha in November 2018. They later traveled together to Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Centre (HHRRC) and Shaoshan village of Mao Tse Tung on the outskirts of Changsha.

The major points of discussion between Prof Qu and Dr Khan were cooperation in agriculture for global food security, technology sharing and agribusiness models for farmers. They agreed on the issue that South-South cooperation within third world countries could help developing nations. Further they discussed about Africa partnership programmes that can help African population in food and nutrition security and tapping the food and agri-businesses potential of their countries.

The two leaders also discussed about the training programmes to share successful models among the member countries of FAO so as to help farmers. Prof Qu stressed that post harvest management can reduce 15-25 per cent losses in agri-food chain. They were in unison while agreeing on the point that focus on dairy and poultry would yield better income to small farmers.