Address by the FAO Director-General
on the occasion of World Food Day Ceremony

Rome, FAO Headquarters, Plenary Hall, 16 October 2005

Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

The theme chosen for this year’s World Food Day, which is now 25 years old, is "Agriculture and intercultural dialogue: our common heritage". There was good reason to recognize the important contribution of civilisations to the development of agriculture and to the goal of eliminating hunger from the world.

The way agriculture and civilizations have evolved and their interactions are reflected in genes, seeds, plants and animals. This evolution translates as knowledge, value systems and technologies. But it is also transmitted by stories, languages, arts, rituals and culinary traditions. All these elements are present in living agricultural systems and constitute a significant part of the human heritage.

Through their intelligent action and persistent efforts, our forebears succeeded in bequeathing us an immense legacy that enables us to produce enough food. They experimented and tested, then refined and disseminated products and ingenious techniques. FAO has already identified some 150 distinct agricultural systems that represent an outstanding heritage and hold solutions to the world’s problems of food security and sustainability.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

Allow me to cite a striking example of a traditional agricultural system developed by a past culture that is still in use today. I refer to the Ifugao rice terraces of the Philippines which have been functioning for 2 000 years.

Throughout history, the exchange of knowledge, cultivated plants and livestock breeds have helped revolutionize diets and reduce poverty. The people of the Middle East without doubt brought their tools and technologies to Europe. Africa gave the world coffee, now a universal beverage and a mainstay of agriculture in Latin America. Asia domesticated rice ­ the staple food for over half the world’s population ­ and sugar cane, a major cash crop in many regions. The introduction of the camel from Arabia to Africa allowed its people to live and travel in particularly harsh environments. It also enriched their diets by providing meat and milk.

For thousands of years, farmers, especially in the developing countries, have conserved and enhanced crop and animal genetic diversity. Dialogue between rich and poor countries in the negotiations on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture led to the recognition of farmers’ rights and the establishment of a multilateral system of access and benefit sharing.

South-South cooperation, with hundreds of experts already in the field, and soon thousands, helps transfer solutions adapted to different local conditions. An example is the treadle pump for irrigation, which originated in Bangladesh, and is now widely used in Africa.

But modern science can and must build on indigenous knowledge systems to develop agriculture while at the same time safeguarding an embattled environment and enabling fragile and threatened ecosystems to survive.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

Scientists have always drawn lessons from the past to develop more effective methods. Partnerships and dialogue across cultures and regions make it possible to adopt and adapt new knowledge. Thus the world now has the resources and the technology potential needed to produce enough food not only to meet the growth of effective demand but also to eliminate the hunger of the poor.

I venture to hope that wisdom will inspire the political leaders who determine the destiny of our planetary city to listen to reason; reason that eschews the short-term choices that fuel injustice and revolt and, instead, concentrates on the social harmony of a world living in solidarity and peace.

Back to 2005 statements