José Graziano da Silva

Who is José Graziano da Silva?

José Graziano da Silva is an American-born Brazilian agronomist and writer. As a scholar, he has authored several books about the problems of agriculture in Brazil. Between 2003 and 2004, Graziano served in the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cabinet as Extraordinary Minister for Food Security, being responsible for implementing the Fome Zero program, which took 28 million people out of the national poverty line during the 8 years of the Lula administration. On June 26, 2011, Graziano was elected Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, becoming the first Latin American ever to hold the position. He assumed his role as the Director General on January 1, 2012 and his term will last till July 2015.