Taipei City-based International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) and Rome-headquartered World Farmers’ Organization concluded a cooperative memorandum of understanding May 20 in Luxembourg.
 
Signed by TaiwanICDF Secretary-General Timothy T. Y. Hsiang and WFO President Theo De Jager on the sidelines of the WFO General Assembly, the pact calls for the two sides to jointly support farmers’ organizations via capacity building activities.
 
Under the agreement, which runs until year-end 2021, the two sides will prioritize promotional efforts utilizing respective experience, know-how and skill sets. Taiwan’s successful track record in advancing smart-climate agriculture and small-plot farming is expected to prove extremely beneficial.
 
One of the short-term objectives is strengthening farmers’ engagement in the global dialogue on agriculture and climate change. This is in line with the goal of the Farmers Driven Climate Change Agenda, an initiative launched by the WFO in late 2018 during the 24th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in Poland.
 
According to Hsiang, around 60 percent of the nearly 100 projects under implementation by its technical missions abroad deal with issues covered by the pact. Outstanding results achieved over many years can be shared with the WFO and its member organizations so as to better address the impact and threat of climate change, he said.
 
In response, De Jager praised Taiwan as a role model when it comes to the development of farmers’ organizations, and said the WFO looks forward to working with TaiwanICDF across a broad spectrum of agriculture-related areas.
 
Established in 1996 under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TaiwanICDF is the nation’s foremost foreign assistance and cooperation organization. (SFC-E)
 
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw