13 June 2015: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Conference ended its 39th session with an agreement to prioritize raising nutrition levels and addressing climate change, in addition to its work on eradicating hunger.

The FAO biennial conference governs the FAO’s programme of work and budget. Member States at the conference, which took place from 6-13 June in Rome, Italy, approved a budget of US$1,035.7 million for the Organization’s 2016-2017 programme of work. Delegates also re-elected FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva to a second term in office, through to July 2019. A total of 1,700 delegates attended the conference, including 16 Heads of State and government and 116 ministers.

In his closing statement, da Silva said the organization must support the sustainable management of natural resources, support social protection efforts to reduce rural poverty, improve family farmers’ access to markets and build resilience in rural populations. As part of FAO’s decentralization process, he pledged to reinforce FAO’s sub-regional presence in West Africa, Central Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Caribbean.

Pope Francis held an audience with conference participants at the Vatican during the week, where he spoke against land grabbing, food waste and speculation in agricultural commodities, which creates food price volatility and adversely affects the poor. He highlighted the contribution of family farms to world food production, and called on States to fairly regulate the use and ownership of land.

At a ceremony on 12 June, Queen Letizia of Spain was named FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition. She called on all concerned to get involved in the effort to produce healthy food in sufficient quantities for all, ensuring, especially, the provision of good nutrition for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children under five.

Addressing the closing plenary, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto described Mexico’s ‘National Crusade Against Hunger,’ highlighting the importance of prioritizing action on hunger, supporting this with sufficient resources, and targeting those who will benefit the most. President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia stated that ending the civil conflict in Colombia will promote rural agriculture, and outlined national action to improve access to credit for expanding production chains, provide technical assistance and boost agricultural research.

Finally, at an award ceremony on 7 June, 72 countries were recognized for having achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halve the proportion of hungry people by 2015. Da Silva noted that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will seek to end world hunger, not only reduce it. He called on everyone to do their part to achieve “zero hunger within our lifetimes.” [FAO Closing Press Release] [Pope Francis’ Remarks] [Press Release on Mexico and Colombia Statements] [Press Release on Queen Letizia] [Press Release on Award Ceremony] [Meeting Documents]