Closing Message from FAO PH

Ms. Marlene Ramirez, Secretary General of the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA),  

Ms. Margarita de la Cruz, PhilDHRRA Chairperson 

Ms. Kaori Abe, Regional Programme Officer for Partnership and Resource Mobilization, FAO Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific,  

Distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, 

Good afternoon. Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat. 

I hope that today’s consultation meeting has been productive and we would like to thank you for your active participation and valuable insights. For FAO, this meeting represents a milestone as we continue to expand and broaden our partnerships to help ensure food security and nutrition and alleviate hunger in the Philippines.  

As stated by the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations “To meet the Zero Hunger Challenge, political commitment and major alliances with key stakeholders are crucial. Only through effective collaboration with governments, civil society, private sector, academia, research centres and cooperatives, and making use of each other’s knowledge and comparative advantages, can food insecurity be defeated.”  

In the Philippines, FAO has been collaborating with non-government organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), academe and research universities, private sector and parliamentarians to effectively contribute to efforts in improving food and nutrition security, enhancing agricultural production and productivity, sustainable management of natural resources and improving agricultural adaptation from climate change and disaster risks. 

Partnerships, including with NGOs and CSOs have made it possible for FAO Philippines to mobilize the best available knowledge and capacities and provide the most effective services to assist the Philippine Government achieve its development priorities and respond to humanitarian needs. 

I believe this meeting helped accomplish our primary objective to promote dialogue and enhance coordination in the country, by understanding our global, regional and country initiatives and priorities, and exploring a common agenda for convergence.  

We hope that this meeting will lead to catalyzing and opening up new synergies which may contribute in attaining our shared goals of eradicating food insecurity and malnutrition, while supporting sustainable rural development and management of the country’s environment and natural resources.  

We would like to thank our implementing partner, AsiaDHRRA for organizing this event, and all of you who joined us today. Maraming salamat at mabuhay!