* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
2 December 2013, Rome - FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva lauded the People's Republic of China for its "impressive" gains against hunger and poverty in 40 years of collaboration with the UN's lead agency on food security and sustainable agriculture. He also thanked China - one of the countries that founded FAO - for sharing its successes and expertise to tackle food insecurity in other countries, during a gathering at FAO headquarters in Rome attended by Qu Sixi, Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture of China and Xia Jingyuan, Permanent Representative of the PRC. Graziano da Silva said China had registered some of the world's sharpest reductions in poverty and chronic hunger in the past 20 years and had already satisfied the hunger-reduction target specified by Millennium Development Goal number one, namely, to reduce by half the proportion of chronically hungry people between 1990 and 2015. "Throughout our collaboration, FAO is proud to have witnessed and contributed to China's tremendous feat of feeding 20 percent of the world's population with only 9 percent of its arable land and 6 percent of its freshwater," Graziano da Silva said. "According to FAO's latest figures, China has rescued 114 million from hunger since 1990. This represents nearly two-thirds of the total 173 million people lifted from food insecurity worldwide," he added. Graziano da Silva, who has visited China twice since taking the helm of FAO, said the country´s work and centers of excellence, such as the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, had been key in the country's advances in agriculture and food security. Since the PRC became a member state in 1973, FAO has provided technical support to more than 400 field projects in priority agriculture development areas, targeting tens of millions of beneficiaries. FAO has assisted with the approval of nearly fifty investment projects totalling more than 8.3 billion dollars, and preparation and implementation of Global Environment Facility projects worth 27 million dollars, including the project on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. Graziano da Silva said he said he was "delighted" that the Chinese government was working on continuing its agricultural and rural reform, and pledged FAO's continued support in reaching out to millions of families that remained vulnerable. In China, 158 million people still suffered from chronic hunger in 2011-2013. Worldwide, an estimated 842 million people still live with hunger lasting for at least one year, while another 2 billion suffer serious nutrition-related problems. Cooperation at home and abroad
'
Since 1996, nearly 1,000 Chinese experts have provided support to about 25 other countries through FAO's South-South Cooperation initiative, in areas like irrigation, livestock, fisheries, crop production and agroforestry. This effort was backed up in 2008 with the establishment of a $30 million trust fund. "It is gratifying for FAO to witness China transforming itself from a recipient to a major provider of technical assistance, development solutions and funding to other nations of the global South," the Director-General noted. Graziano da Silva noted a new five-year FAO-China Cooperation Programme was being developed to cover five priority areas of collaboration, with potential investments of some $100 million. The plan, still to be formalized, would call for:
'
Upscaling the impact of South-South Cooperation on food security and nutrition Quality assured production of veterinary vaccines for Africa Strengthening and networking agricultural research and training centers Development of aquaculture Renewable energy development and agri-ecosystems protection."Looking back at what we have done makes me believe there are many good things ahead of us," Graziano da Silva said. "The collaboration between FAO and the People's Republic of China offers tremendous potential to address future challenges, including the promotion of food security and sustainable development."
'
