The 32nd session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) took place from 29 November – 10 December 2003 in Rome, Italy.

Delegates decided to limit the terms of office of future Directors-General to six years, renewable only once for a further term of four years. This new policy will apply from the 2005 elections onward. The Conference further passed the organization’s two-year budget of $749 million, a $51 million reduction according to a FAO news report. The organization’s budget was frozen from 1994 through 2001 at $650 million and increased in 2002-2003 to $651.8 million. According to the report, FAO would have needed a budget of $800.3 million for the next biennium to maintain the same purchasing power.
The Conference re-elected Aziz Mekouar (Morocco) as Chair of the FAO Council – the intersessional governing body – for the next two-years. During the meeting, delegates also heard several progress reports, and considered FAO’s calls for increased action to address illegal fishing and enhanced support for SIDS. Ministerial Round Tables took place during the session to examine topics such as: the role of water and infrastructure in ensuring sustainable food security; developments in international trade negotiations on agriculture and their implication for food security; and the dimension of food safety in food security. Conference documents are available at: http://www.fao.org/unfao/bodies/conf/c2003/c2003-e.htm