1.UN food agency deputy resigns over leader's 'culture of silence'
2.FAO accused of persecuting farmers in Asian countries

EXCERPT: In 2004, Diouf attracted huge protests from campaigners in more than 80 countries for an FAO report on biotechnology... They said the study failed to point out that it would disadvantage the world's poorest farmers, and that one major company, Monsanto, dominated the market in genetically modified seeds.

One UN insider, who asked not to be named, said: 'There is a general perception that Diouf has done very little to work closely with other UN bodies. He seems keener to spend time with the US guys running multinational companies than he does to sort out problems on the ground.'
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1.UN food agency deputy resigns over leader's 'culture of silence'
Jo Revill
The Observer, May 14, 2006
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1774642,00.html?gusrc=rss

The United Nations body which combats world hunger was in turmoil last night after one of its most senior officials resigned, claiming that her boss ruled through 'silence, rumour and fear'.

Louise Fresco, assistant director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), handed in her notice last week, angered at the way the agency was being run by its Senegalese director-general, Dr Jacques Diouf. In a scathing letter of resignation, which has been leaked to The Observer, she criticises him for the direction of the agency and its inability to offer the poorest countries proper advice on agriculture.

She writes to Diouf: 'I am sad that you have isolated yourself so much from most senior managers. Combined with a lack of transparency in decision-making, you have stimulated a culture of silence, rumours and even fear.

'FAO deserves a reform, but a fundamental reform which does not limit itself to hastily moving units across departments or dispatching generalist decentralised teams. FAO needs visionary leadership to move itself out of its bureaucratic paralysis. But such leadership can only flourish if it builds on the commitment of all staff.

'We need to become an exemplary body, not only technically but also in our mode of operation: committed, compassionate and critical.'

The FAO was set up after the Second World War to help developing nations overcome food shortages by offering agriculture support and technical expertise, as well as framing policies which would allow them to compete against wealthier countries.

With a budget of $765m this year, it aims to help improve the production, processing, marketing and distribution of food and agricultural products, and also to promote rural development. But there has been criticism that it replies too heavily on involvement from agribusiness, and does little to encourage independence and projects that would boost the nutritional levels of the poorest countries.

In January, Diouf was elected for a third term of office which upset many officials, according to one insider. In 2004, Diouf attracted huge protests from campaigners in more than 80 countries for an FAO report on biotechnology, which, his critics said, was a thinly-veiled attempt to support genetically engineered crops. They said the study failed to point out that it would disadvantage the world's poorest farmers, and that one major company, Monsanto, dominated the market in genetically modified seeds.

One UN insider, who asked not to be named, said: 'There is a general perception that Diouf has done very little to work closely with other UN bodies. He seems keener to spend time with the US guys running multinational companies than he does to sort out problems on the ground. There have been tensions brewing over its lack of any clear strategy and they are coming to the surface now.'

According to Fresco's letter, 'there is no single cause that explains the crisis that has affected FAO for several years. The role of agriculture is changing, demands on our specialised expertise are growing and there is no doubt that we have a unique global role. But the organisation has been unable to adapt.'

She writes that the FAO is 'caught in a vicious circle' in which most countries appreciate its work for specific projects but do not like it as a whole. She adds that it has not been able to build coalitions and that its reputation is in decline. 'Unfortunately, its leadership has not proposed bold options to overcome this crisis.'

Fresco, who is leaving to take up a professorship at the University of Amsterdam after nine years at the FAO, said there had been no serious questioning of the organisation's direction and in particular the balance between the work it does in the field - working with the poorest countries to overcome their problems - and the more centralised research.

'Whatever is done now is too little and too late,' she writes. 'The current intent at reform does hardly anything to alleviate these problems.. '

A spokesman for the FAO said last night that it could not comment on the contents of a private letter. The spokesman said: 'I understand that Louise Fresco has written a private letter to the D-G explaining her reasons for resigning but it was a private letter which has not been published.

'My understanding is that she does not intend to make a public comment on this, and neither does Dr Diouf.'
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2.FAO accused of persecuting farmers in Asian countries
The Jakarta Post, May 17, 2006
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20060517.J01

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is supporting the liberal economic and production policies that persecute farmers, an Asian non-governmental organization alleges.

The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), a grouping of agricultural organizations across Asia, claimed Tuesday in Jakarta that the FAO had failed to meet its target of combating hunger in the region.

"Poor Asian farmers were further weakened and subjected to increasing exploitation. It leads to the worsening of hunger, poverty and landlessness," the APC said on a statement handed out on the sidelines of the 28th FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific here Tuesday.

The APC -- which boasts 14 million members from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines -- said that more and more farmers had no access to land, which was increasingly taken over by transnational corporations.

Taking Philippines as an example, APC Research Coordinator Carl Anthony said that more than 35 percent of Filipinos were going hungry. This is because of landlessness, trade liberalization and monopolistic practice by transnational corporations.

"Farmers are forced to plant mangoes, pineapple and asparagus -- instead of rice or corn -- simply to fulfill the needs of the wealthy countries," Carl told The Jakarta Post.

More than 7 out of 10 farmers in the Philippines, he said, do not own the land they toil. Nearly 60 percent of agricultural land is owned by 13 percent of landowners.

Carl demanded that the FAO discard all of its policies that are detrimental to the people, especially farmers. According to him, in 2004 the FAO promoted the development of genetically modified products.

"We reject this. For us, the way to improve the condition of farmers in Asia is to give them access to land so that they can toil it," he said.

If the farmers get access to land, they will improve their lives and eventually strengthen the economy of the nation.

Carl said that governments should not depend on genetically modified products because it would only benefit transnational corporations.

David Dawe, a senior food system economist at FAO in Bangkok, separately said that farmers and fishermen in the region found difficulties due to inflation.

Speaking at the FAO forum Tuesday, David said that farmers could solve their problems through intensification and diversification of activities outside agriculture.

"Many farmers, however, will not make it due to limited access to resources," he said.

David said that per capita production of fisheries and wood declined as a result of shrinking bases, increased population and, in some cases, over-exploitation in the past.