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174th Session of the Council Plenary Meeting: 'Commemoration of Josué De Castro'

6 December 2023, Video Message (Closing Remarks) by Dr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the 174th Session of the Council Plenary Meeting: 'Commemoration of Josué De Castro'.

Language English

Duration 4m42s

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Video Type Video Message

Date 12/06/2023

File size 515.76 MB

Unique ID UF16CTL

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UNFAO Source FAO Video

Script Plenary Meeting: Commemoration of Josué De Castro
Closing Remarks
(Video Message)
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
6 December 2023
It is indeed historical contributions like this that inspired me to embark on the project for a
Global Food and Agriculture Museum here at FAO.
While we need to look to the future, guided by innovative and forward-looking thinking, we
should also look back to our origins and to those dreams and aspirations of the women and
men who came before us who laid the foundations for the current Organization we have
today.
One of these men was Josué de Castro, an eminent Brazilian, a professor and academic
researcher on economy, and Chair of the FAO Council from 1951 to 1955,
Elected to that position only six years after the Organization was established as part of the
UN family in 1945.
As Chair of the FAO Council more than 70 years ago, De Castro guided Representatives of
FAO Members to discuss not only the availability of food, but also access to it.
Today, we continue to discuss issues related to food availability, food accessibility and food
affordability.
In one of the FAO sessions under De Castro’s chair, the Council voiced “disappointment with
the slow progress in drawing up national development plans for agriculture” and called on
the need to “narrow the gap”, while highlighting the adverse effects of “protective trade
practices”.
These same issues continue to be on the agenda of FAO’s governing bodies nowadays.
It is imperative that we urgently transform global agrifood systems for a different and better
future for generations to come.
This year, as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of this pioneer, let us be
reminded that the challenges of hunger and malnutrition he advocated for during his
lifetime, need to be addressed now during our lifetime, more than ever before in our
history.
Never has the world been faced with the complexity of so many overlapping challenges,
which can only be overcome through global solidarity and working together towards our
collective objectives as framed by the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
De Castro’s academic research was focused on the interlinked impacts of hunger on society,
the economy, and the environment – three key dimensions of the global challenges we
continue to face, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic, ongoing conflicts and the
climate crisis – all leading to increased and persistent food insecurity and poverty.
The Right to Food is a basic human right, and peace is a prerequisite for food security.
This affirmation was reflected many years ago in De Castro’s work where he emphasized
that ultimately the right to food was the right to a dignified life for all human beings.
Today, through the Four Betters we continue to strive for a Better Life for All, leaving no one
behind.
I wish to convey my appreciation to the Government of Brazil for this important book, as
shared history of Brazil and FAO together.
I look forward to including more historical memories and traditional agrifood systems from
the Members for the Global Food and Agriculture Museum here at FAO Headquarters in the
future.
Thank you.

QU Dongyu, FAO Director General - Video

Video messages - Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General

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20231207 DG Message Commemoration of Josué De Castro

174th Session of the Council Plenary Meeting: 'Commemoration of Josué De Castro'

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