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These follow those approved by the Council in December 2019, aimed at making FAO more agile, efficient and accountable. Qu also outlined the current and future challenges facing food security and agriculture at large, and his vision to respond to them.
A fundamental element is the proposal to implement a modular and more flexible organizational structure, thereby ensuring agility, optimal cross-sectoral collaboration and better responses to emerging needs and priorities. This includes grouping at the centre of the Organization the core leadership team, consisting of the three Deputy Directors-General, the Chief Economist, the Chief Scientist and the Director of Cabinet, who will support the Director-General in all areas of FAO's mandate.
The directors of Divisions, Centres and Offices, as experts in their respective subjects, would report directly to members of the core leadership team, in a dual reporting setup, thereby strengthening internal consensus and synergy and minimizing bureaucracy.
Other proposals include the creation of a new Office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a new Division on Food Systems and Food Safety, which would provide strategic leadership in the development of more sustainable food systems, an independent Ombudsperson's Office, and the strengthening of the Organization's centres of cooperation.
These are the Investment Centre that collaborates with the International Financial Institutions; the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, which reflects the longstanding strategic partnership in sustainable agriculture development and food security using nuclear science and technology; as well as the Joint FAO/WHO Centre that will house the Codex Alimentarius Commission and address issues related to zoonotic diseases.
The Director-General also intends to strengthen the capacities of FAO country and regional offices. "Our country offices are the backbone of FAO's delivery. We will ensure that they receive adequate support and service on the ground. This empowering will be accompanied with a clear push for more tangible deliverables and by a 360 degree evaluation," he added.
The new measures would come into effect once approved by the Council, composed of 49 member countries. The Council is the executive organ of the FAO Conference - the organization's highest decision-making body which meets every two years.
6 July 2020/ FAO.
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