ABSTRACT
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) council is composed of representatives of 49 member nations, elected by the conference for rotating three-year terms. It is the interim governing body of FAO between sessions of the conference, and normally holds at least five sessions in each biennium. In late March 2020 the FAO Director-General urged the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies to take measures to ensure the continued operation of global food chains and systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on maintaining access to food for the poorest communities worldwide. During 2020 FAO undertook to roll out a new flagship initiative, hand-in-hand, to support the efforts of member countries to eradicate poverty and end hunger (SDGs 1 and 2). With a focus on data and evidence and the use of new technologies, the initiative aimed to accelerate agricultural transformations and sustainable rural development in countries with limited national capacities or with the greatest operational challenges.
