REGIONAL AND

INTERNATIONAL
GOVERNANCE SYSTEM
– FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION (FAO)

Presenter: JUAN F. PUJOL, JR. | PA 808 | Regional & Int’l. Governance

System
March 14, 2020
Professor: COMMODORE ARMANDO S. RODRIGUEZ AFP (RET), LLB,
Contents

I Introduction
Governance System, United Nations and
II Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

III Food and Agriculture Organization

(FAO)

IV FAO: Need for Regionalism

Contents

V FAO: Opportunities in Regionalism

VI
FAO: Dangers of Regionalism
VII
VII
Conclusion
VII
VII References
I
Introduction

Discussion Questions

Do we need regionalism in Southeast Asia?

What are the opportunities and dangers of

the developing regionalism between
Southeast Asian countries?
Introduction

A leading international academic publisher

named IGI Global defines Governance System
as the set of institutional actors with capacity to
decide on territorial region, have a central role
in the innovation process, through the projects
that it defines regional policies and also
organization and regulation of the local
activities.
Introduction

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Region

as:
REGION - a part of a country, of the world, etc.,
that is different or separate from other parts in
some way.
Introduction
 Regionalism Vs. Regionalization

Regionalism refers to an intentional political

process, typically led by governments with
similar goals and values in pursuit of the overall
development within a region.
Regionalization, however, is simply the natural
tendency to form regions, or the process of
forming regions due to similarities between
states in a given geographical space.
Introduction

United Nations (UN) has specialized agencies

which are international organizations that
coordinate their work with the United Nations
through negotiated agreements. One of these
agencies is the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
UN funds and programmes are distinctly
different from specialized agencies. In general,
the funds and programmes are established by a
resolution of the UN General Assembly and
have a focused mandate.
Introduction

UN funds and programmes are funded either

mainly or entirely through voluntary
contributions and have a governing body that
reviews their activities.
Coordination is facilitated through The United
Nations Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) and the Chief Executives
Board (CEB).
Introduction

Specialized agencies like Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) is legally independent of
the United Nations and have separate budgets,
members, rules, and personnel. 
Introduction

The bulk of specialized agencies’

funding comes from voluntary contributions
from governments, institutions, and individuals.
Some specialized agencies, such as the
International Labor Organization (ILO), have
been in existence longer than the United
Nations.
Introduction

The Food and

Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
being one of the
specialized agencies
of the United Nations,
leads international
efforts to defeat
hunger.
FAO Membership/Organization
FAO’s members are the countries of the world,
it has 191 Member Nations, 1 Member
organization (European Union) and 2
Associate Members (Faroe Islands and
Tokelau).Azerbaijan Bosnia and Cameroon
Afghanistan Bahamas Herzegovina Canada
Albania Bahrain Botswana Central
Algeria Bangladesh Brazil African
Andorra Barbados Brunei Republic
Angola Belarus Darussalam Chad
Antigua and Belgium Bulgaria Chile
Barbuda Belize Burkina Faso China
Argentina Benin Burundi Colombia
Armenia Bhutan Cabo Verde Comoros
Australia Bolivia Cambodia Congo
FAO Membership/Organization

FAO’s members:
Cook Islands Ecuador Gabon
Costa Rica Egypt Gambia
Côte d'Ivoire El Salvador Georgia
Croatia Equatorial Germany
Cuba Guinea Ghana
Cyprus Eritrea Greece
Czech Republic Estonia Grenada
Democratic People's Eswatini Guatemala
Republic of Korea Ethiopia Guinea
Democratic Republic of Faroe Islands Guinea-Bissau
the Congo (Associate Guyana
Denmark Member) Haiti
Djibouti Fiji Honduras
Dominica Finland Hungary
Dominican Republic France Iceland
FAO Membership/Organization

FAO’s members:
India Lao Mauritania Nicaragua
Indonesia Latvia Mauritius Niger
Iran Lebanon Mexico Nigeria
Iraq Lesotho Micronesia Niue
Ireland Liberia Monaco North
Israel Libya Mongolia Macedonia
Italy Lithuania Montenegro Norway
Jamaica Luxembourg Morocco Oman
Japan Madagascar Mozambique Pakistan
Jordan Malawi Myanmar Palau
Kazakhstan Malaysia Namibia Panama
Kenya Maldives Nauru Papua New
Kiribati Mali Nepal Guinea
Kuwait Malta Netherlands Paraguay
Kyrgyzstan Marshall Islands New Zealand Peru
FAO Membership/Organization

FAO’s members:
Philippines Saint Vincent Solomon Islands Togo
Poland and the Somalia Tokelau
Portugal Grenadines South Africa (Associate
Qatar Samoa South Sudan Member)
Republic of San Marino Spain Tonga
Korea Saudi Arabia Sri Lanka Trinidad and
Republic of Sao Tome and Sudan Tobago
Moldova Principe Suriname Tunisia
Romania Senegal Sweden Turkey
Russian Serbia Switzerland Turkmenistan
Federation Seychelles Syria Tuvalu
Rwanda Sierra Leone Tajikistan Uganda
Saint Kitts Singapore Tanzania Ukraine
and Nevis Slovakia Thailand United Arab
Saint Lucia Slovenia Timor-Leste Emirates
FAO Membership/Organization

FAO’s members:
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

191 Member Nations

FAO Membership/Organization

FAO is an inter-governmental organization,

Member Nations are represented by officials
from their governments who serve as delegates
on FAO’s governing bodies.
FAO is a United Nations specialized agency,
accountable to the FAO Conference of member
governments.
FAO participates in the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
which coordinates economic, social and
related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies
as well as regional commissions.
FAO’s Mandate and Objectives
 FAO’s mandate is to build a world without hunger
through technical cooperation and assistance and its
Members have agreed on three main objectives:

A. Eliminating hunger: FAO is working to build a

world where everyone has access to safe,
nutritious food. With almost one billion people
living in chronic hunger, the need for
coordinated action is acute and immediate.
FAO’s Mandate and Objectives
 FAO’s mandate is to build a world without hunger
through technical cooperation and assistance and its
Members have agreed on three main objectives:
B. Fighting poverty: FAO is working to eliminate poverty,
particularly in rural communities to:
boost agricultural production,
fight plant, animal and aquatic pests and diseases
support the development of sustainable agricultural
industries that can help communities store, process
and deliver safe nutritious foods to the consumer
build rural institutions so that impoverished farmers
can make their needs known and have their rights
respected.
FAO’s Mandate and Objectives
 FAO’s mandate is to build a world without hunger
through technical cooperation and assistance and its
Members have agreed on three main objectives:

C. Caring for the Earth: FAO’s Member Nations

are working together to ensure that global and
national food and agriculture systems are
environmentally sustainable. This involves:
intensifying production to keep pace with
population growth and ensuring that these
systems do not put an unsustainable strain on
the planet’s finite natural resources;
FAO’s Mandate and Objectives
 FAO’s mandate is to build a world without hunger
through technical cooperation and assistance and its
Members have agreed on three main objectives:
C. Caring for the Earth: FAO’s Member Nations are
working together to ensure that global and national food
and agriculture systems are environmentally
sustainable. This involves:
reducing the use of chemical inputs, such as chemical
pesticides and fertilizers that can pollute soil and water;
working with countries to adopt ‘climate smart
agricultural practices; practices that can help mitigate
climate change and help farming communities adapt to
changing climatic conditions.
 FAO’s Focus
 To achieve its mission, the Organization focuses its
activities in four main areas.
1. Putting information within reach (Without
sound data on food and agricultural production,
eliminating hunger and making food and
agricultural systems sustainable is impossible)
2. Sharing policy expertise (Because FAO
believes that right policies create lasting
solutions, it assists countries to design and
implement policies that improve their food and
agricultural production and reduce hunger and
poverty)
 FAO’s Focus
 To achieve its mission, the Organization focuses its
activities in four main areas.
3. Bringing knowledge to the field (This work covers
many different areas including agricultural
development, forestry planning, land tenure systems,
agricultural investments and revenues, social safety
nets and rural services)
4. Providing a meeting place for nations (FAO provides
a forum where Member Nations can negotiate
international legal frameworks for determining
national responsibilities and obligations in matters
related to global food and agricultural production)
FAO’s Purpose
FAO provides an umbrella under which
countries can identify strategic priorities and
coordinate their efforts to find solutions and
plans of actions to pressing problems affecting
food and agricultural production.
FAO organizes high-level summits to mobilize
political action and establish specific targets to
be met in the fight to eliminate hunger.
FAO works in partnership with governments
and other development actors at global,
regional and national levels to develop
supportive policy and institutional
FAO’s Purpose
About 736 million people continue to live in
extreme poverty and inequalities are still
pervasive. By 2030, UN member countries
have committed to eradicating extreme poverty
and hunger for people everywhere.
FAO is helping countries develop and
implement evidence-based pro-poor policies,
strategies and programmes that promote
inclusive growth and sustainable livelihoods,
income diversification, decent employment,
access to social protection and empowerment of
women and men in agriculture and in rural
 FAO’s Purpose

o s e h it
nt o f th
0 p e r ce m i l i e s
8 fa
Up to s are rural r e f o r
se lt u
by cri y on agricu
el
who r rvival.
u
the ir s
driving up
extensive
human
suffering and
threatening
food insecurity malnutrition
causing years of
progress in
fighting
poverty

FAO seeks to strengthen the resilience of agriculture-

based livelihoods against multiple hazards.
 FAO Organizational Chart

FAO
FAO Deputy Assistant
Director- Director Director-
General General General
Deputy Director General Operations & Deputy Director – General
Dept/Division Heads Programmes Deputy Director-General Climate and Natural Resources (DDN)
FAO Director General
 FAO Org Chart
FAO Deputy Director-General
 Back to Org. Chart
FAO Assistant Director-General
 Back to FAO Org. Chart
FAO Deputy Director General Operations &
Dept/Division Heads
 Back to
Org.
Chart
 FAO Deputy Director – General
Programmes & Dept/Division Heads
 Back to
Org.
Chart
FAO Deputy Director-General Climate and Natural
Resources (DDN) & Dept/Division Heads

 Back to
Org.
Chart

Next
Slide
FAO Departments

FAO is composed of six departments: 

1. Agriculture and Consumer Protection
Department; 
2. Economic and Social Development
Department; 
3. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department; 
4. Forestry Department;
5. Programme Support and Technical
Cooperation Department
6. Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water
Department
FAO Departments

1. Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department (AG)  

The FAO Agriculture and Consumer Protection
Department (AG) strives to strengthen the role
of agriculture in reducing hunger and poverty
while safeguarding the natural resource base
and the environment.
FAO Departments

2. Economic and Social Development Department 

FAO’s Economic and Social Development Department
analyses trends and emerging issues related to food and
agriculture. It maintains a variety of statistical
databases to keep FAO member countries abreast of the
latest global developments in food and agriculture
FAO Departments

3. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
supports all efforts to promote Blue Growth - with
its emphasis on reconciling social and economic
development with environmental performance - to
all fisheries and aquaculture policies.
FAO Departments

4. Forestry Department
The FAO Forestry Department helps nations manage
their forests in a sustainable way. The Organization's
approach balances social, economic and environmental
objectives so that present generations can reap the
benefits of the earth's forest resources while conserving
them to meet the needs of future generations.
FAO Departments
5. Programme Support and Technical Cooperation
Department (PS)
The Programme Support and Technical Cooperation
Department (PS) coordinates FAO’s efforts towards
the fulfilment of the Strategic Objectives through its
Technical Cooperation Programme aiming at
achieving the Agenda 2030.
FAO Departments
6. Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department
The Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department
acts as the focal unit in FAO for addressing natural
resources issues related to agriculture, crops, livestock,
forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, under a cross-
sectoral approach. It also provides the necessary
technical support to operational field activities.
Need for Regionalism: FAO

The motivations for countries to participate in

regional integration initiatives are political and
economic.
From a political point of view, countries may
wish to group or unite in order to:
Assure peace;
Stabilize their region or their country;
Foster security; and
Seek possible benefits from political
cooperation.
Need for Regionalism: FAO

From the economic point of view, the motive is

essentially to reap the trade benefits.
The world economy of today is dominated by
a small number of large national economies
and a large number of economic groups, a
good number of which are groups among large
national economies.
Within this economic environment, smaller
countries are finding it difficult to compete and
harness adequate resources for their
development.
Need for Regionalism: FAO

Regional economic cooperation among developing

countries became a must to:
Complement national initiatives, which, in
isolation, cannot realize their full potential, and
improve their effective integration with the
world economy;
Gain from synergies (teamwork, harmony)
based upon political, geo-climatic and
ecological similarities;
Need for Regionalism: FAO

Regional economic cooperation among

developing countries became a must to:
Benefit from economies of scale;

Economies of scale are cost advantages reaped

by countries when production becomes
efficient. Countries can achieve economies of
scale by increasing production and lowering
costs. This happens because costs are spread
over a larger number of goods. 
Need for Regionalism: FAO

Regional economic cooperation among

developing countries became a must to:
Achieve full and efficient utilization of shared
natural resources and effectively combat trans-
boundary threats;
Enhance national food security and promote
agricultural and socioeconomic development;
Attract foreign investment and investment
from within countries of the group;
Reap the trade benefits of improved resource
allocation and greater competition;
Need for Regionalism: FAO
Regional economic cooperation among
developing countries became a must to:
Enhance national food security and promote
agricultural and socioeconomic development;
Attract foreign investment and investment
from within countries of the group;
Reap the trade benefits of improved resource
allocation and greater competition;
Raise visibility in attracting external assistance
and investment; and
Facilitate 'deep' integration, i.e. policy
coordination.
Opportunities in Regionalism: FAO

Regional economic cooperation among

developing countries became a must to:
Enhance national food security and promote
agricultural and socioeconomic development;
Attract foreign investment and investment
from within countries of the group;
Reap the trade benefits of improved resource
allocation and greater competition;
Raise visibility in attracting external assistance
and investment; and
Facilitate 'deep' integration, i.e. policy
coordination.
Opportunities in Regionalism: FAO

Regional economic cooperation among

developing countries became a must to:
Enhance national food security and promote
agricultural and socioeconomic development;
Attract foreign investment and investment
from within countries of the group;
Reap the trade benefits of improved resource
allocation and greater competition;
Raise visibility in attracting external assistance
and investment; and
Facilitate 'deep' integration, i.e. policy
coordination.
Dangers of Regionalism: FAO

A region that becomes more economically

integrated will necessarily become politically
integrated as well.
Regionalism can result to growing dependence
(interdependence) between different countries and
their integration into a single unit.
There is an individual commitment of integration
member to reduce barriers against both members
and non-members of the regional grouping. So,
the country moves identically to all its trading
partners; not hold against them differentiated
(preferenced) approaches and discriminate against
non-members of the grouping. 
Dangers of Regionalism: FAO

Lowers the country’s sovereignty (authority of

a nation to govern itself) in order to maintain
its existence and authority.
Shift of employment
Small nations face severe disadvantages in
dealing with the rest of the world because of
their low bargaining power and high
negotiation costs.
A country with a highest economic rate will
have more power and authority than other
country members.
Conclusion

Food insecurity can lead to crime when people

are driven to steal or sell drugs to avoid hunger
or homelessness. Food insecurity can lead to
feeling that the neighborhood is not a safe,
healthy or comfortable place to live.
Drought and conflict are the main factors that
have exacerbated the problem of food
production, distribution and access. High rates
of population growth and poverty have also
played a part, within an already difficult
environment of fragile ecosystems.
Conclusion

With an ever increasing population, it is

essential that everyone has access to the food
and drink they need to survive, while at the
same time ensuring that the planet earth
remains healthy. Food security exists when all
people have physical and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets
their dietary needs for an active and healthy
life.
Conclusion

It is therefore FAO's mandate to build a world

without hunger through technical cooperation and
assistance where everyone has access to safe,
nutritious food; eliminate poverty, particularly in
rural communities to boost agricultural
production, fight plant, animal and aquatic pests
and diseases, support the development of
sustainable agricultural industries that can help
communities store, process and deliver safe
nutritious foods to the consumer and to build rural
institutions so that impoverished farmers can
make their needs known and have their rights
respected.
Conclusion

FAO’s Member Nations are also working together to

ensure that global and national food and agriculture
systems are environmentally sustainable which
involves intensifying production to keep pace with
population growth and ensuring that these systems do
not put an unsustainable strain on the planet’s finite
natural resources; reducing the use of chemical inputs,
such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers that can
pollute soil and water; working with countries to adopt
‘climate smart agricultural practices; practices that can
help mitigate climate change and help farming
communities adapt to changing climatic conditions.
References

Cihelkova, E. & Frolova, E. D. (2017). “The Impact of Regionalism on Regional

Development under the Conditions of a Globalized Economy”. Available at:
https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/the-impact-of-regionalism-on-regional-
development-under-the-conditions-of-a-globalized-economy/viewer
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020). “Offcial
Website”. Available at: http://www.fao.org/themes/en/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020). “Regional
Integration: Concepts and Experiences in Developing Countries”. Available
at: http://www.fao.org/3/AD386E/ad386e02.htm
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2020). “Regionalism
and Food Security”. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/y4793e/y4793e09.htm
Katz, Bruce (19 September 2011). “Reflections on Regionalism”. Available at:
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2016/07/reflections_chapter.pdf
United Nations Library (21 November, 2019). “What are UN specialized
agencies, and how many are there?”. Available at:
https://ask.un.org/friendly.php?slug=faq/140935
Thank
You
!