ICA-FAO Memorandum of Understanding (1999)

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ICA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was signed in Rome by ICA President Roberto Rodrigues and FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf on 16 November 1999. The MoU constituted the first international agreement signed by Jacques Diouf following his re-election to a second term as FAO Director-General. The MoU outlines specific areas for strengthened ICA-FAO technical collaboration and includes commitments to new initiatives in agricultural marketing and rural credit, the promotion of co-op agribusiness development and co-op capacity-building through participatory approaches and methods. ICA President, Roberto Rodrigues took the opportunity of congratulating Mr. Diouf on his re-election and thanked him for taking time out of his busy schedule to sign the MoU. He noted that he was confident that the excellent co-operation between ICA and FAO in the area of co-operative management training in Africa and Asia could be expanded to include other important areas of common interest and looked forward to find ways of working together. The Director-General of FAO mentioned his own experience with co-operatives and noted that importance of the co-operative form of enterprise. He hoped the MoU would open new avenues for co-operation in the fight against hunger and promotion of food security. He hoped that the ICA and its members would become involved in the food security programmes which were presently in their initial phases. He assured the ICA of the FAO's full support and expressed his confidence that the signing of the MoU would provide further impetus to closer co-operation between FAO and ICA in new technical fields and in other regions.

FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf and ICA President, Roberto Rodrigues sign the ICA-FAO MoU