Newly elected FAO Director General visits KWS

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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva is taken through KWS fact sheets by the Director, Julius Kipng’etich, during a courtesy call he paid to KWS on February 3, 2012.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) seeks to enter into a partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to address food security which is a direct threat to wildlife management in the country.  This was said by the KWS Director Julius Kipng’etich during a courtesy visit by an FAO delegation led by the new Director General José Graziano da Silva. The delegation was in Kenya to discuss food security issues in the country including the Horn Africa.  KWS has encountered challenges in tackling poaching and bush meat trade as a result of increasing population in the country. There is therefore a need for this collaboration to put policies in place in an effort to secure enough food for the growing population.  In addition, the pact would address issues of Invasive Alien Species that have negatively affected wetlands especially Lake Victoria where water hyacinth has hampered fishing in the lake basin. The FAO Director General said that poverty is a major issue in food security and would be eager to partner with KWS in safeguarding both food security and wildlife species in the country as he has a soft spot for wildlife. The Nairobi National Park Senior Warden, Mr Mark Cheruiyot, later led the delegation on a tour of the park.

FACTS
The new Director-General is the eighth in the directorship of FAO and succeeds Jacques Diouf of Senegal, who held the post from 1994 to 2011.Graziano da Silva's term runs from January 2012 through 31 July 2015.

Graziano da Silva was responsible for leading the design and implementation of Brazil's highly-successful "Zero Hunger" programme in 2003. Prior to being elected to FAO's top post, Graziano da Silva was FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean between 2006 and 2011.

Graziano da Silva was born on 17 November 1949. Brazilian and Italian by nationality, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Agronomy and a Master's Degree in Rural Economics and Sociology from the University of São Paulo as well as a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences from the State University of Campinas. In addition, he has two post-Doctorate degrees in Latin American Studies (University College of London) and Environmental Studies (University of California, Santa Cruz).