Spurned FAO partner CropLife among lobbyists pushing for US takeover of agency

 ROME - Pesticide lobby giant CropLife and dozens of industry groups representing U.S. Big Agriculture have signed a letter urging President Trump to back current FAO deputy chief Beth Bechdol in the organisation's leadership election next year, challenging a decades-long convention of non-Americans heading the UN agency.   

 CropLife's role in the push could also lead to renewed scrutiny of Bechdol’s ties to the pesticide industry and the FAO’s highly controversial decision in 2020 to partner with the lobbying group, which she reportedly championed.   

 In the letter, the U.S. affiliate of Croplife International and other industry lobbyists called on Trump to use “the full weight of U.S. diplomatic and political resources” to secure Bechdol’s election, lamenting that an American had not led the Rome-based UN agency for more than 70 years, “even as the United States remains its largest financial contributor.”  

 FAO Director-Generals in recent decades have come from outside the U.S. as part of an informal convention that has seen uninterrupted American leadership of global humanitarian food distributor the World Food Program (WFP) since 1992 — a position Washington sees as strategically important as it creates a market for surplus U.S. agricultural production.  

 WFP leadership is also set to be replaced in the coming months after current executive director Cindy McCain announced her departure due to illness, with any attempt by the U.S. to break convention and install American leaders at both organisations likely to be met with fierce opposition from other FAO member states.  

 CropLife’s support for Bechdol and her reported role in midwifing the FAO’s controversial former partnership with the lobby group means her potential candidacy could also face resistance from groups concerned about the growing influence of the pesticide industry at the UN agency.  

 The FAO’s 2020 announcement that it would partner with CropLife led to immense global backlash from civil society organisations, indigenous peoples’ groups, and scientists, who framed the partnership as incompatible with the FAO’s mandate and its obligations to protect human health and the environment from the impact of toxic pesticides.  

 At the time, civil society organisations criticised ties between FAO senior management and CropLife member companies, highlighting Bechdol’s close financial ties to pesticide giant Corteva, another signatory to the Trump letter.  

 “Unfortunately, since Mr. Qu’s arrival at FAO, the institution appears to be opening up to deeper collaboration with pesticide companies, which are likely to exploit such a relationship for bluewashing, influencing policy development, and enhancing access to global markets,” said a representative of Pesticide Action Network after the partnership was announced. “It is no surprise that FAO’s recently appointed Deputy Director General, Beth Bechdol, comes to FAO with a history of close financial ties to Corteva (formerly Dow/DuPont), a Croplife member headquartered in Bechdol’s home state of Indiana, USA.”  

 The FAO reportedly dropped the partnership in 2023 following this public outcry.  

 If the U.S. Big Agriculture lobby are successful in pressuring Trump to back Bechdol, she will face competition from Ireland and Italy, who have both fielded their own candidates to contest the election.   

 The prospect of Bechdol’s possible convention-busting entry into the race, which would be unlikely to gather support from EU member states disgruntled by the move, would add pressure on Brussels to converge on a single European candidate to prevent a split in the EU support before the 2027 vote.  A U.S.-EU contest could also prove awkward for Italian Prime Minister Meloni, since she values her personal rapport with Trump, her ideological ally.

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