India Nominates NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand for Post of UN's FAO Director General

United Nations: India has nominated NITI Aayog member and agricultural economics and policy expert Ramesh Chand to lead a specialised agency of the United Nations focussed on achieving food security for all.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in a statement Monday, said that five candidates have been presented by FAO member countries for the post of Director-General to be elected in June 2019.

Election for the agency's top leadership post with a four-year term of office starting on August 2019 will take place in Rome between June 22-29 at the 41st Session of FAO's Conference in Rome, the highest governing body of the Organisation said.

The deadline for nominations was February 28.

The other candidates, each nominated by his/her government, in fray are Mdi Moungui of Cameroon, Qu Dongyu of China, Catherine Geslain-Lanelle of France and Davit Kirvalidze of Georgia.

Members will cast their vote on a one country-one vote basis in a secret ballot which requires a simple majority for a valid outcome.

The next Director-General of FAO will be appointed for the period August 1, 2019 to July 31, 2023 and will be eligible for only one additional mandate of four years.

The new Director-General will succeed Jos Graziano da Silva, who was first elected in 2011 and has served two consecutive terms.

Since the establishment of FAO in 1945, there have been eight Directors-General, including Binay Ranjan Sen of India from 1956-1967.

Currently a member of NITI Aayog, Chand has a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.

He is Fellow, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Indian Society of Agricultural Economics, according to his profile on the NITI Aayog website.

He has experience of 33 years in research and teaching in the field of agricultural economics and policy and has been involved in policy formulation for agriculture sector for the last 15 years.

Prior to joining NITI Aayog, he was the Director of National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, New Delhi