Mozambican Helder Muteia named FAO sub-regional coordinator for Central Africa

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Mozambican Helder Muteia named FAO sub-regional coordinator for Central Africa

12:05 CAT | 29 Nov 2016

Voa / Helder Muteia

The Director-General of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), José Graziano da Silva, has appointed Helder Muteia to the post of FAO sub-regional coordinator for Central Africa with effect from 1 December 2016.

Headquartered in Libreville, Gabon, this sub-regional office coordinates the activities of the Central African countries, including Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe.

Muteia joined the FAO in 2005, and served as FAO representative in Nigeria. In 2010 he was transferred to Brazil, and has since 2013 headed the FAO office in Portugal and with the Portuguese-Speaking Countries Community (CPLP).

The Director-General’s appointment also reflects Hélder Muteia’s long career in Mozambique, which began in 1982 as Co-Director of Poultry Projects in Gaza Province and Maputo. He was Head of the Poultry Technical Department, also in Maputo, between 1989 and 1990; Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Regional Development, Public Administration and Local Authorities of the Assembly of the Republic between 1994 and 1998; National Director of the Center for Agrarian Training from 1997 to 1998; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries between 1998 and 2000; and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development between 2000 and 2005.

Muteia has received several distinctions and decorations throughout his career, among them the Golden Ark Award in recognition of his dedication to nature conservation, particularly his contribution to the creation and development of the Gaza Kruger Gonarezhou (GKG) Trans-frontier Park and Conservation Area, and a Diploma of Honour (2005) awarded by the President of the Republic of Mozambique in recognition of his contribution to peace, democracy, economy, social and cultural development during his tenure as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Muteia also has a substantial literary career, having published four books and appeared in several anthologies and written technical and opinion articles in several newspapers and magazines in Portugal, Mozambique, Angola and Brazil. As a writer, Hélder Muteia also served as Secretary General of the Association of Mozambican Writers between 1992 and 1996.

Source: O País