FAO

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

1. Facts and figures

Type of organisation: UN specialised agency

Established in: 1945

Headquarters: Rome

Number of country offices: 5 regional, 10 sub-regional, 88 country offices

Head of organisation: Director-General José Graziano da Silva (Brazil)

Dates of Council meetings in 2013: 22–26 April, 15–22 June (conference), 24–25 June and 2–6 December

Norway’s representation in Council: Norway was last represented from 2009 to 2011

Number of Norwegian staff: 5

Competent ministry: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs

Website: www.fao.org

Mandate and areas of activity

FAO is primarily a normative agency with a focus on food security, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The agency’s mandate is to improve nutrition, reduce hunger, increase productivity in primary industries, raise the standard of living in rural populations, and contribute to global economic growth. FAO’s goals are directly relevant for UN Millennium Development Goal 1 on poverty reduction and Goal 7 on environmentally sustainable development. FAO collects, analyses and disseminates data, assists Member States by providing guidance and promoting capacity development, preparing conventions, norms and guidelines, providing expert advice in development programmes and helping to rebuild food production in disaster and conflict areas.

FAO has a Medium-Term Plan for 2014–2017 and a programme of work and a budget for 2014–2015. FAO is revising its strategic framework and strategy, and as from 2014 will have five overarching goals:

■ Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition

■ Increase and improve the supply of agricultural, forestry and fishery goods and services in a sustainable manner

■ Reduce rural poverty

■ Ensure inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems

■ Increase resilience to crises

José Graziano da Silva was elected as new Director-General at the FAO Conference in 2011 and took over on 1 January 2012.

Results achieved in 2012

According to UN prognoses, there will be over nine billion people in the world by 2050. To ensure that everyone has enough food, FAO has calculated that food production must increase by up to around 70 per cent in the same period. Cooperation through the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), in particular, which is the central political platform for food security and the right to food and nutrition, aims to promote increased prioritisation and better global coordination of efforts to reduce the number of starving, undernourished people in the world. FAO’s report on the State of Food and Agriculture 2013 provides an overview of the global food situation with special focus on nutrition. The food situation is still characterised by unpredictable global food prices and persistent hunger and malnutrition. An estimated 870 million people are undernourished worldwide. It is still possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on reducing hunger.

The FAO report for 2102 focused on investing in agriculture for a better future, and in the course of the year negotiations culminated in the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. The 2011 publication dealt with the role of women in food security and primary industries, and the FAO drew up a strategy to promote gender equality and strengthen the role of women, which was presented on 8 March 2012. The 2011 MOPAN survey showed that FAO’s efforts to promote gender equality, the gender perspective and rights-based development have improved, but FAO’s implementation of the new strategy is making slow progress and it is therefore uncertain whether this improvement will continue.

After many years of negotiation, the global community has taken a major step forward in efforts to combat illegal fishing. Consensus has been reached on guidelines for the registration of fishing vessels and flag state obligations. The guidelines that it has taken more than five years to agree on are to be submitted to the FAO Committee on Fisheries for endorsement in June 2014. The Nansen programme, which is carried out in partnership with Norway, has been commended by FAO as a successful project. A positive, measurable effect can be documented at both the local and regional level on the development of an ecosystem-based approach to fishery management in Africa. The research vessel that has been used in the programme is now almost 20 years old, and Norway has decided to build a new, modern vessel. FAO is currently negotiating international guidelines for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries. These are examples of results of FAO’s normative work.

Through its work on genetic resources and livestock, FAO could in 2012 document its contribution to reversing the trend towards a loss of genetic resources through the extinction of livestock breeds. In 2012, Brazil and FAO entered into cooperation on support for transfers of Brazilian experience of cotton farming to Haiti, an example of support for South–South cooperation. FAO is still one of the few organisations with access to southern Somalia, and is commended for the work it is doing there under difficult conditions. FAO plans to draw up a reconstruction plan for the country’s agricultural sector. FAO is heading coordination of food security responses in humanitarian crises (Food Security Cluster) in partnership with the World Food Programme.

2. Assessments: Results, effectiveness and monitoring

The organisation’s results-related work

FAO is in the process of completing a comprehensive reform process that includes the introduction of a new strategic framework and increased focus on achievement of results, improvement of evaluation and oversight mechanisms, increased delegation to country offices and changes in the governance structure. This results framework was reported on in its entirety for the first time at the FAO Conference in June 2013. This year’s report is the first to be based on the FAO’s new results-based programme planning, monitoring and reporting system. Information is provided on results measured against the adopted programme of work and budget. It covers both fixed and voluntary contributions. A progress report is also presented on the Immediate Plan of Action (IPA) for the reform of FAO. The status reports on the implementation of the reforms show that significant progress has been made, but a number of challenges remain to be resolved, particularly in relation to decentralisation and the lack of interdepartmental cooperation.

Planning and budgeting systems

Priorities are determined and funds are allocated through FAO’s two-year programme of work and budget. In addition to Member States’ mandatory contributions, the budget also includes anticipated voluntary contributions to each focus area. The four-year plan and the two-year budget have been combined in a coherent policy document that makes it possible to verify the results achieved.

Oversight and anti-corruption

As part of the reforms, oversight procedures and the focus on anti-corruption are being strengthened. The oversight bodies consist of an external auditor and an internal audit unit, as well as an audit committee comprising external members who supervise and advise on the follow-up of the audits. External audits are carried out by the supreme audit institution of one of the Member States, which reports to the Council. Internal audits are conducted by the FAO’s Office of the Inspector General, which reports in parallel to the FAO’s Director-General and the Finance Committee. The reports are posted on the FAO website.

A separate ethics committee has been established, as well as several whistle-blowing channels that can be used anonymously to report suspected corruption. Special guidelines have also been drawn up for the protection of whistle-blowers. The independence of the Inspector General would have been strengthened if the Inspector General had reported directly or in parallel to the Council instead of to the Director-General. The FAO Office of Evaluation’s mandate and function were revised in 2010; the Office reports in parallel to the Director-General and to the FAO Council, in addition to submitting a report to the FAO Conference every other year. A separate report on evaluation activities was presented at the Conference in June 2013. The report points out that FAO, together with UNDP and IFAD, are among the UN organisations that have the most functionally independent evaluation offices. Nevertheless, further measures are being discussed to render the function even more independent.

Institution-building and national ownership

The 2011 Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) assessment of FAO pointed out that FAO had made progress, but it was critical of FAO’s failure to use national systems, its weak focus on results and its management of human resources. FAO points out that since the organisation primarily offers policy advisory services and is not a major operational actor, the use of national systems is not as relevant. Nevertheless, FAO will strengthen its cooperation with governments and provide technical assistance to support national plans for food safety, agriculture, fisheries and forestry.

There is seldom a conflict between FAO’s normative work and the policies of its Member States, but issues such as rights of use may be controversial. Action has been taken to improve FAO’s efforts at country level. This includes guidelines for the recruitment of FAO representatives, improved planning and implementation, and integration of emergency relief and reconstruction into country strategies. FAO aligns its activities with national plans, but also needs to cooperate more closely with civil society and the private sector at its decentralised offices. As far as South–South cooperation is concerned, FAO is increasingly engaged in cooperation with middle-income countries.

Willingness to learn and change

The comprehensive reform processes following the external evaluation in 2006 were forced on FAO by its Member States after the organisation had long showed a reluctance to change. The reform programme adopted in 2008 has promoted change, and FAO’s willingness to change has gathered momentum since the current Director-General assumed office in 2012.

In the year in which Graziano da Silva has been in office, already adopted reforms have been accelerated and he has initiated several new reforms, particularly in connection with decentralisation and organisational changes. As a result, changes in the past year have been more extensive than in preceding years. However, a challenge is posed by the fact that the reform measures launched by the new Director-General are being carried out without sufficient consultation with Member States and FAO’s own employees, thereby creating a some uncertainty as to direction and purpose.

3. Norway’s policy towards FAO

FAO is important for Norway because the organisation has a unique mandate for promoting global cooperation and plays a key role in efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. Norway also considers it important that FAO strengthen its activities relating to climate change and climate adaptation and their impact on global food security.

In Norway’s view, FAO’s Committee on World Food Security (CFS) should be the central political platform for global food security, nutrition and the right to food. CFS serves as a unifying forum for all stakeholders working to ensure food security and promotes greater cooperation and improved strategic coordination of activities at all levels. In addition to FAO, the CFS Secretariat comprises members from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which have complementary food security mandates. In Norway’s opinion, FAO should be the normative, specialised organisation for food security and national resource management.

FAO is a key arena for several Norwegian ministries for negotiating normative guidelines within their areas of expertise. Given Norway’s national interests, sustainable management of fishery resources is particularly important, as well as focus on FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, agreements on flag state and port state controls and guidelines for deep-sea fishing and for by-catch management and reduction of discards. Norway plays a proactive role in this work and chaired FAO’s Committee on Fisheries in 2012. FAO is the main institution for forestry issues in the UN system. Norway wishes these efforts to be further developed. FAO’s expertise on forest monitoring will provide an essential foundation for efforts to combat deforestation. Norway attaches importance to the key role played by FAO in creating a coherent understanding of sustainable management of land and forest resources, which is also essential to addressing climate-related challenges.

FAO heads global efforts to safeguard genetic diversity in agriculture and food production. Norway is strongly committed to this work and participates actively in forums under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Norway is also an active participant in the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In Norway’s view, FAO should emphasise the necessity of improved nutrition as part of its food security work and in connection with activities relating to food production. FAO also has important functions in terms of promoting food security, among other things through the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which develops global food standards.

Norway has called for quicker follow-up and better management with greater focus on achievement of results. Consequently, in 2009 Norway decided to reduce its voluntary contributions to FAO and not to enter into a new partnership agreement. Norway provides earmarked support for a small number of selected programme areas where FAO can demonstrate results and where it has special qualifications and capabilities for contributing in accordance with Norwegian priorities. This applies in particular to FAO’s work on the impact of climate change on agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and its efforts to ensure the right to food. The increase in FAO’s willingness to adopt internal changes since the new Director-General took up office in 2012 is positive, and Norway will consider the future level and form of its partnership with FAO in the light of the results of these changes.

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In the 2012 evaluation of FAO’s support for the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, reference is made to the very central role played by FAO in the preparations for and implementation of negotiations up until their conclusion in 1995. By the end of 2011, eight legally binding instruments, four plans of action, two strategies, a legally binding agreement and 31 expert guides had been drawn up. The Code of Conduct itself has become the FAO document that has been translated into the most languages. However, it has been difficult to measure the progress made in implementation, particularly in Africa and Asia. The evaluation points out that FAO’s role has probably been too narrow, with focus on developing new rules and instruments rather than on monitoring implementation and supporting capacity-building. When the Code of Conduct was drawn up, aquaculture had not yet acquired its present significance. The evaluation recommends that more resources be invested in inland fisheries and aquaculture. In the light of climate change, more weight should also be given to crisis management.

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Visiting address: 7. juni plassen 1 / Victoria terasse 5, Oslo, P.O.Box 8114 Dep, NO-0032 Oslo, Norway.

For more information, contact the Section for Budget and Administration by e-mail at: sbf-fn@mfa.no. This document can be found on our website:

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/selected-topics/un.

Publication code: E-919 E

ISBN: 978-82-7177-835-4

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