IRELAND Ceremony to award the FAO Agricola Medal to H.E. President Michael Higgins Statement

Your Excellency President Higgins,

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am so honoured and delighted to be with you today –in your beautiful country, Ireland. 

And I feel privileged to be here in this historic setting to award the prestigious FAO Agricola Medal to my dear friend, President Michael Higgins. 

We have travelled many roads to reach this important moment in our journey. 

As you may know, I grew up as the son of a rice farmer in a small village in China, and I learned from an early age of the importance of food security. 

Later, as a young academic - as a biologist - I learned of the importance of plant science for food security,

And 45 years ago in my studies, I saw how the beginnings of the science of plant health started with the plant pathology of potato late blight that broke out in the 1840s in Ireland – one of the rootcauses to the Great Famine in the country.

Later, I went on to develop my expertise in the study of potato breeding and genetics, the potato industry for poverty eradication, and R&D policies, for 25 years before joining the government.

At that time, to me Ireland was a land very far away, but as my career took me to Europe, I had the fortune to observe close-up how Ireland had prospered, leaving behind the suffering of hunger.

I saw how, under a strong leadership and coordination, an enabling agriculture policy, innovation, preserving national extension services and using subsidies to build competitiveness had been successfully implemented in the country leading to fruitful results of agrifood systems transformation and rural development.

This is a journey that needs to still be undertaken by many of the poorer countries of the world today as they face the many challenges affecting their agrifood systems. And we need to guide them along this road.

Ireland has not forgotten how difficult the path has been, and it continues to be a guiding light globally. Ireland reflects what can be achieved by collective efforts, working towards a common goal.

And the key to this success is effective and consistent leadership.

President Higgins is not just a guiding light; he is a flaming torch on the world stage. His leadership goes far beyond the borders of Ireland. I remember the impact of his participation at the World Food Forum at FAO headquarters last year – his words impacted the participants and inspired the youth.

I know that his personal journey from rural Ireland is rooted in the agrifood system, and I know that those times in Ireland were not easy – they were tough times marked by a strong emigration.

His demands for social justice began in Ireland, but his campaigns for human rights and peace have been felt around the world - ever since his travels as a young man to Latin America. 

I recently read an article that he published in 1992 - a shocking chronicle of war, famine and the struggle for human dignity in Somalia, following his trip there that year. 

He is now warning us that history is repeating itself. We need to listen to his words of wisdom and take urgent action.

With unwavering commitment, strong courage and the quest for answers, President Higgins has passionately and consistently raised the importance of food security on the global stage. 

He continues to draw the world’s attention to the links between hunger and the global crises of poverty, migration, economic downturns and finance deficits, and the impacts of the climate crisis. 

He has pointed to the need for the urgent transformation of global agrifood systems, towards a model that is informed by science; ensures freedom from hunger; provides healthy and nutritious foods; is sustainable; and in harmony with our planet.

This is where our personal and professional experiences align once again. 

As a Vice Minister for Agriculture and a Vice-Chair of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in China, I was responsible for agrifood systems, rural development, digital marketing and trade, and agriculture policies, so I am strongly aware of what can go wrong when those policies are not focused on the most vulnerable and the smallholders. 

As FAO Director-General, I bring 35 years of experience to the global stage and I have focused my attention on the transformation of global agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable. This is at the core of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, which will guide the work of the Organization over the next decade, and beyond.

The Strategic Framework, together with a number of key strategies, initiatives and action plans, supports Members to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, under the overall aspiration of the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life - leaving no one behind.

The awarding of the FAO Agricola Medal to President Higgins reflects this joint conviction of the need to transform our agrifood systems for the SDGs, especially SDG2 and SDG1.

It is the highest recognition by FAO to a Head of State who has committed his life, his experience, his achievements, his influence and his political will and courage to better global agrifood systems, for a better future - with an active rather than passive approach.

He has questioned global agriculture policies, he continues asking hard questions about our current farming models and the necessary revisions to the use of subsidies, with deep thinking and passion.

He has addressed global leaders in a series of speeches which together form a reference on food and agriculture policy and are an instruction to the world on the need for urgent change.

We had the privilege of listening to his words when he addressed the World Food Day and the World Food Forum in Rome last year. 

The Member States of the United Nations have committed to the 2030 Agenda and to the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals – but we have less than six years to achieve our collective promise.

Agrifood systems hold the key and offer a package of solutions to realize these goals. 

President Higgins is a unique statesman who has played a leading role and given a lifelong commitment to these goals

In recognition of all of this, I would now like to officially present the FAO Agricola Medal to my dear friend, and I handover to him and invite him to share his thoughts and words of wisdom with us.

Thank you.