Representatives at the Food and Agriculture Organisation vote this weekend to give the largest UN agency its first new chief in almost two decades an election that comes at a time of critically high food prices and malnutrition across the world.
Six candidates from as many nations are vying for the top job at the Rome-based agency, but the race is likely to come down to a battle between two men: a Brazilian who had a leading role in his country's campaign against poverty and hunger and a Spaniard who has served as his nation's top diplomat. The new chief will succeed Jacques Diouf of Senegal, who was first elected in 1993, a long tenure that sparked reforms limiting the mandates of the secretary-general.
Any new chief will have a tough challenge trying to eradicate world hunger at a time when food prices remain high, putting the lives of millions at further risk and raising fears of a repeat of the high-price-driven social unrest of 2007-2008.
The FAO's food price index hit an all-time high in February. It has since decreased slightly, though experts warn the prices remain far too high for many poor communities. The agency put the number of hungry people in 2010 at 925 million, the overwhelming majority living in developing countries. Aid agency Oxfam said the election of a new chief at FAO "must kick start a new era for the organisation if it is to play a leading role in the fight against high and volatile food prices and growing hunger."
But the new leader will also be under pressure including from the agency's largest contributor, the United States to enact ongoing reform to streamline the FAO's centralised bureaucracy, reduce its budget and better define its priorities.
"Only if we complete the reform process in a very real and vigorous manner will we eliminate the bureaucracy in FAO," said Ertharin Cousin, the US ambassador to UN agencies in Rome. It's necessary "to ensure that the reforms are not simply a box-checking exercise for FAO but truly a transformative implementation program."
Cousin did not say in an interview with The Associated Press this week which candidate the United States had picked, citing US policy at UN bodies' elections. But she singled out commitment to fiscal responsibility, a leaner budget and an effort to increase the voluntary contributions at FAO as key factors. The United States has long advocated reform at the agency. The FAO regular budget for 2010-2011 is US $1 billion. Voluntary contributions are expected to total $1.2 billion in the same period. The agency opens a weeklong conference Saturday with final pitches from all candidates. On Sunday, each of the agency's 191 member states will cast a vote, secretly, to elect the new secretary-general.