Elizabeth Atangana was elevated on May 29 during FAO Cooperatives Meeting in Rome.
A Cameroonian woman is now Special Ambassador for Cooperatives with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Mrs. Elizabeth Atangana was elevated to the high office during the 2012 FAO Cooperatives Meeting at its headquarters in Rome, Italy on May 29. The Cameroonian, who is also the President of the Pan-African Farmers Forum, was selected alongside Roberto Rodriques, President of the Superior Council of Agribusiness of the Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
According to an appointment letter addressed to Mrs. Atangana by FAO’s Director General, José Graziano da Silva, 2O12 has been adopted by the UN General Assembly as an international year of cooperatives. This he said, is acknowledgment by the international community of the role cooperatives play in driving the economy, responding to social change as well as being resilient to the global economic crisis.
“You have always shown deep concern about the problems of the underprivileged and a personal commitment to international efforts aimed at integrating health and sustainability in the development process. Through your active involvement as President of the Pan-African Farmers Forum, you have made significant contributions to the formulation and implementation of continental agricultural policies that support sustainable development of family farming working closely with cooperatives,” Mr. José Graziano da Silva said.
When Cameroon Tribune met the visibly elated and robust FAO Special Ambassador in Yaounde over the weekend, she said living up to the billing of the high office is a daunting task that she is prayerfully working to surmount. She is expected to use her influence to support FAO in raising awareness on the contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, job creation and social integration as well as work to encourage measures that strengthen the cooperative model as an alternative to doing business and facilitating socio-economic development.
“You would also encourage the growth and establishment of cooperatives all over the world and inspire individuals, communities and governments to recognise the role of cooperatives in helping to achieve a world without hunger,” she was urged. In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Atangana said it was an honour to serve the world at the time global action is focused on curbing hunger and poverty.
