High-Level Ministerial Conference on Generational Renewal in Rural Areas Statement

Your Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of the Republic of Croatia,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

Good morning!

I am so delighted to be here with you again after 10 years – 10 years ago I first visited Croatia to explore cooperation with China.

And I wish to thank His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister, for organizing this important High-Level Ministerial Conference.

The theme of this conference reminds me of when I was young, and my father told me that to be a qualified adult, you should learn how to plough with buffalo in the rice paddy field. I know how to plough, and what it means for agriculture and farmers.

China has more than 2000 years of history of ploughing, usually by draft animals like buffalo. But with just 20 years, ploughing in China has now become highly mechanized.

Ploughing is a way to address climate related challenges. We have all felt the harsh weather this summer in Europe, extremely hot and with less rainfall - the vineyards especially suffered a lot.

It is not only climate change, it is a climate crisis! I was the first group of scientists using the term “climate crisis”.

Based on China’s experience, ploughing is one of the solutions for adapting to the impacts of the climate crisis. We adopted a deep ploughing approach to maintain soil moisture and nutrients, mitigating negative climate effects. I encourage European counterparts to learn from China’s experience and adopt deep ploughing techniques.

Which brings us together around a critical issue for the future of agriculture, our agrifood systems and our rural communities – Generational Renewal!

I commend Croatia for recognizing that this is not only an agricultural issue, but one that concerns rural development, demographic change, economic opportunities, and the future vitality of rural communities.

Generational renewal is not new. Japan was one of the first countries to address this issue; and China also prepared itself to handle the issue very early on by developing agricultural robots to replace human laborers.

We need a holistic approach to address the issue of generation renewal in rural areas.

First, we need to transform traditional agriculture into modern agriculture, by closing the gap of digital based solutions in the agriculture sector. Digital gaps are the common challenge we all face and need to resolve.

Second, we need to create hope for the farmers. Good facilities and infrastructure should be provided to make rural areas places of opportunity, and good living.

Third, by making rural areas green and clean - this is not difficult, and suitable solutions can be found and tailored in each country.

Fourth, by keeping the vocational education system ongoing. The European Union (EU) has a lot of experience in this, but a stable enabling policy is missing. I encourage the EU to keep developing enabling polies for the young generations to endow them with practical skills for a good life.

When I took office as FAO Director-General in 2019, one of the first initiatives I established was the FAO Youth Committee, because I have always believed that young people are not simply our leaders of tomorrow – they are important partners and agents of change today.

I wanted young colleagues at FAO to have greater opportunities, a stronger voice and the space to bring their ideas and energy into the Organization.

And I learned something important from this experience: when we give young people the space to participate, they deliver.

The discussions among these young colleagues helped give birth to the World Food Forum, which we launched in 2021 and which has since developed into a global platform bringing together youth, science and innovation, and investment for the transformation of our agrifood systems.

The World Food Forum demonstrates what can happen when we do not simply develop policies for young people, but work with them and give them the opportunity to lead.

This same principle must guide us when we discuss generational renewal in agriculture and rural areas.

Globally, 44 percent of working youth depend on agrifood systems for employment, and 46 percent of young people live in rural areas.

Yet, many continue to face difficulties in accessing land, finance, knowledge, skills and technology, as well as decent employment and opportunities for entrepreneurship.

The fundamental question is: do young people see a future for themselves in agriculture and in rural areas?

If we want the answer to be yes, we must look beyond agriculture alone.

A young farmer may receive financial support to establish a farm, but if there is no affordable housing, reliable connectivity, childcare, education and health services, or opportunities to build a family and a good life, financial support alone will not be enough.

This is why generational renewal requires a systemic approach, bringing together agricultural and rural development policies together with investment.

If young people do not want to live in rural areas, or if they do not see agriculture as an attractive profession, this is not a problem of young people – it is our collective challenge and our collective responsibility.

Dear Colleagues,

This is especially relevant in Europe and Central Asia, where agriculture continues to be strongly based on family farming.

Family farms are essential for food security and rural economies, and they play an important role in building agrifood systems that are more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.

But we must ask a very practical question: who will be the next generation of family farmers?

The United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019–2028 provides an important framework for addressing this question.

Croatia has also taken important steps through the legal recognition and protection of family farming and through its efforts to connect agricultural, demographic, regional and rural development policies.

This integrated approach is important because generational renewal cannot be delivered by one ministry, one policy or one financial instrument.

We need to create an enabling environment in which young people can succeed.

And we must listen to them.

Young people are among the first to embrace new technologies, new business models and new ways of working, and they can connect agriculture with digital innovation, entrepreneurship, science and new solutions to climate and environmental challenges.

But for this to happen, they need access not only to technology, but also to knowledge, finance, markets and be part of decision-making.

My message to governments, local authorities and all our partners is clear: bring young people to the decision-making table – not after policies have been designed, but from the beginning as partners in designing the solutions.

This is one of the key lessons we learned through the World Food Forum.

The Forum has shown that youth engagement is not simply about listening to young people – it is about connecting their ideas with science and innovation, investment and concrete action.

That is how ideas become solutions, and solutions become actions leading to impact.

Generational renewal is about choice.

Our responsibility is to create the conditions in which young people can choose agriculture; they can choose to live in rural areas; and they can choose to invest their talent, knowledge and energy in transforming our agrifood systems.

FAO stands ready to continue working with Croatia and all our Members to create these conditions through better policies, stronger family farming, science and innovation, investment, rural development and meaningful participation of young people.

This is also fundamental to achieving the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life – leaving no one behind.

Generational renewal should therefore not simply be about replacing one generation of farmers with another; it must be about creating a new generation of opportunities.

I invite all of you to join us in Rome in October for the World Food Forum – and if you cannot participate physically, please join us virtually - to engage directly with young people from around the world, listen to their ideas and work with them.

The future of agriculture depends on them, but the choices we make today will determine whether they choose agriculture for their future.

Thank you.