Cuba recognizes FAO's support to the country

HAVANA, Cuba, October 14 (ACN) Speaking via videoconference this Monday to the World Food Forum on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recognized the work of that agency, together with the Cuban government, to make improvements in production, nutrition, the environment, and a better life while leaving no one behind.

Díaz-Canel remarked that FAO and Cuba share strong and historic ties of cooperation and common goals in the battle against hunger and in favor of agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development and praised FAO's valuable contribution to improving the lives of millions of people around the world and its support for countries that need and seek to establish sustainable food systems.

He recalled that FAO’s Cuba office was established in 1978 and noted that the agency has been a pillar of support for the island through the provision of technical assistance and resources for agricultural development, food production, and the consolidation of high-level scientific institutions in the agricultural sector.

Likewise, the Cuban leader pointed out that FAO stands out as a key player in the transformation of Cuba’s agri-food systems, the fight against climate change, and the conservation of biodiversity, and condemned the use of hunger as a tool to control and subjugate peoples, as well as the use of unilateral coercive measures such as the ever-growing 60-plus years old U.S. blockade, intended to make the Cuban people surrender to hardship.

“Together with the FAO, we keep consolidating our prime goals in the country in order to advance toward more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems”, he concluded.