Ronan Keating appointed UN goodwill ambassador

SINGER Ronan Keating was yesterday appointed a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation at a ceremony in Rome to mark World Food Day.

He is the first Irish man to be accorded the honour by the FAO, which was founded 60 years ago with a mandate to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, improve agricultural productivity and better the conditions of rural populations.

The former Boyzone star made a trip in June of last year that was to change his life. He visited farmers and families in Ghana and other developing countries and was shocked at the sight of poverty and observed that unfair trade laws were destroying livelihoods.