INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL CONGRESS Plenary Lecture

Distinguished Guests,

Dear Fellow Scientists, Colleagues, Partners and Friends,

Good morning.

I am so happy to see after so many years that I have been debating, encouraging and discussing the issue of productivity that finally this year, FAO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for the first time in history, have focused on productivity in their joint Agricultural Outlook for the next 20 years.

Here in Asia, where we have a high intensity population, we need to improve productivity, mostly because we have limited resources. Working the land has become increasingly costly, even in Africa, where the population is projected to reach between 1.5 and 1.6 billion by 2040-2050. There is a limit to the available resources we have.

Future growth must increasingly come from producing more with less: less agriculture inputs, less environmental impact and less consequences - not only environmental consequences.

That is part of the whole strategy. We must drive high productivity, and we must speak loudly and clearly.

I know some people are influenced by environmental issues, and that is why FAO is endorsed by all Ministers, and also why when I arrived in 2019, I proposed the four betters.

You know who was the first to support it? The United States, through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Because better production is the foundation, and then better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. By focusing on only one better does not have an overall value for agrifood systems.

We are facing many changes and challenges – so how do we improve productivity? Let me provide some thoughts:

First, Science and Innovation. Not only for varieties and agronomic practices, but also for post-harvest treatment. And now with the new business model and with a whole new mindset, we are innovating from the producers to the consumers.

Second, to improve productivity we should also focus on investment in agrifood systems, as well as in infrastructure, from the soil to irrigation, and agricultural machinery, including AI-assisted production and management systems.

Finally, to improve productivity we also need to explore genetic potential.

To address the impact of the climate crisis, we need genetic improvements, and not focus only on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

North America has experienced declining harvested areas and lower production – and even at these larger scales, it is good to apply data and technology.

Different regions have different requirements, but they also have a lot in common.

Future growth cannot depend primarily on cultivating more land. It must come from producing more from the land we already have, including through:

• Harvesting, with less losses;
• investing in improved seed and planting material;
• healthier soils;
• more efficient irrigation and water management;
• mechanization and digital technologies;
• extension services;
• modern post-harvest systems; and
• stronger links between producers and markets.

That is what FAO promotes through various conferences and guidelines.

We have not yet reached FAO’s original recommendation of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per person per day.

In Asia, it is much better, especially in countries like Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Although most countries, even OECD countries, have not yet reached it. Not because they do not have purchasing power, but due to lack of availability and quality.

I always say availability is linked to accessibility.

Yesterday, I spoke about food diversity. You may have the big items, but the vegetables are not sufficient.

In Asia, particularly East Asia, ten years ago there were already more than one thousand vegetable types available per day. In Europe, all year round there are approximately 25.  How can you have availability without diversity and variety? That is the big challenge, but also the big potential – there is a big market potential, and investment potential.

Of course, different regions, again, have different scenarios.

Availability is the bridge between what farmers produce and what consumers are able to eat. If that bridge is weak, higher production alone cannot achieve better nutrition.

But availability does not tell the whole story – it only tells us what food is present within a country, it does not tell us whether families actually consume it.

We need more food and vegetables. Availability is the real challenge.

Less investment, less land and more demand. That is the economic balance. And that is why you have some economists here asking how to promote innovation.

This points to a deeper structural challenge within our agrifood systems in many countries. Nutritious foods - including fruits, vegetables, pulses and roots and tubers - remain available in quantities below those required for healthy diets, while cheaper, calorie-rich foods are often easier to access.

This is not simply a question of individual consumer choice. It is a reflection of how our agrifood systems function.

And this also brings us to the third issue: affordability.

Affordability is related to income generation.

Horticulture used to be a problem in China many years ago, and back then I told the local government that it was a cash problem, and it needed to be given sufficient attention and investment. 

But local governments do not do this. They only see the standard activity impact: not so many perishables in the stores, not so many perishables in the markets. Because once they are rotten, it becomes garbage. It is not like rice, wheat or rye that can be stored for up to three years or even more.

For many families, the question is whether they can afford fruits and vegetables.

When nutritious foods become unavailable or unaffordable, households consume fewer fruits and vegetables, rely more heavily on cheaper staple foods and highly processed foods, and dietary diversity declines.

In the Small Islands, they consume more processed foods, which leads to a lot of non-communicable diseases.

The consequences extend well beyond nutrition to health, productivity and long-term economic development.

The good news is that we already know many of the solutions.

Solutions have no value if they are only on paper. Solutions should bring all partners together for impact on the ground, for the benefit of consumers and producers.

Many experts complain about politicians and investors, but rather than complaining it is more important to take action. You cannot listen to all the people who ask you to take action, but maybe just to one percent, and then you can focus on just one commodity.

That is why I promoted the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative in FAO among all 194 Members, no matter whether big or small countries.

They can start with one and aim for more, depending on political willingness, commitment, and availability of resources.

Dear Colleagues,

My third message is that unlocking horticulture’s full potential will require transformation – not simply expansion.

That transformation is based on three pillars: innovation, enabling policies, and sustained investment in people, or human capital, human resources.

That is why Professor Tao Ryutaro and I fully support this new initiative. Because we need to get the younger generations and consumers interested in agrifood systems, not only in food systems.

Twenty years ago, I asked a lot of people in the big cities, and they thought the food came from supermarkets. And now, I asked my grandson “where is food coming from” and he said, “from the computer”.

You know why? Because they deliver all your foods at your doorstep – no matter which country it is coming from, whether from China, Japan, Australia, or Europe. There is a real generational gap, which can be closed only if the young generations are well educated, and they become powerful politicians and investors in the future to influence the next generations.

That is why at FAO we always say agrifood systems. For the next 20 years, I think that 95 percent of our food will come from soil and water.

Agrifood systems should be very well documented and taught to the younger generations.

That is why FAO is promoting GIAHS - Global Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. I really appreciate the Japanese Government and the Chinese Government, together with others like Italy among others, for their support for GIAHS.

For 22 years, we have been promoting GIAHS. On the one hand, we have to promote innovation, on the other hand we have to appreciate our ancestors, and the indigenous knowledge gathered over the past 10 000 years. We have to find a balance.

I do not want to give you a lecture because you are scientists, and I was also a scientist in China, and was the Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. If you are a good scientist, you should not only look for your fellow scientists, but you should also appeal to new actors, financial scientists or horticultural scientists. That is the foundation of being a scientist.

Second, you should reach out to farmers. We need farmers, and we need farmers to be willing.

Third, you need to include the private sector – and they are always willing to collaborate.

I remember one of my past professors invested in a type of flower 30 years ago – the Alstroemeria - which originated in Chile. Yesterday, I saw a bunch of flowers here and it was Alstroemeria, with different varieties and colours. You need to bring new varieties of flowers to interest consumers, businesspeople, and politicians. It is a way of promoting the city and facilitating engagement between local businesses and international companies.

It is a good opportunity, but you must not play karaoke.

A lot of scientists play karaoke and sing, “we are the best, we are number one in the world”, but nobody is listening to the real number one. I always challenge them. You say number one, then you should mention who is number two and number three, otherwise you will not know who the real number one is.

We need to integrate societies more. We need more players: farmers, farmer organizations, investors, private sector, bureaucrats, ministers, local foundations, private individuals and of course private companies.

In China they have so many different types of cucumber for fresh consumption - as a fruit, for pickles, and preserves. Cucumber is therefore not only a vegetable for cooking or making soups, yet in many developed countries, including in Europe, they still have a limited variety of cucumbers. For the past 30 years, I have not seen any change. You should diversify the objectives of your breeding with different products and then expand what you are providing. This applies to other products as well.

In FAO, we see these advances translating into practical results through the joint FAO/ IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Centre. I encourage all the developing countries to come to Vienna – actually just outside of Vienna, about 50 kilometers away – where we have the Joint Centre with the IAEA which includes a joint laboratory and facility.

To be honest, before 2022, that laboratory facility was outdated, but now it has been modernized. You are welcome to visit the facility, which is very important for developing innovation capacity, as well as technical innovation, AI, and all the fashionable new developments.

But, remember, you cannot eat AI, you have to eat fruit and vegetables!

AI, no matter how well developed, is only a tool; it is a way of improving our thinking, our way of doing research, and delivering.

In many countries, reducing food loss is one of the fastest and most cost‑effective ways to increase productivity. I encourage you to learn from Japan. Many years ago, I came to Japan and learned how to improve food safety and quality control.

I challenged some friends from other countries: when you cut fish and throw away the head and tail parts, then you are just left with fish fillets - with 40 to 60 percent of the fish thrown away.

However, in Japan, China and East Asia, we eat each part of the fish; some for soup, some for other dishes, some combined with other foods - that is a real overall, comprehensive, consumption package.

We need to establish a society that is environmentally friendly, based on the comprehensive use of products. That is a big potential.

I will stop here, I have a lot of questions to reply to, but I want to use one minute to inform you about what is new and happening at FAO. So that we do not only talk about the past.

Since I came, seven years ago, first I changed all the structures and logistics from headquarters to the Country Offices. Not just physically new, but we started to improve efficiency and effectiveness, and went on to the extraordinary and to excellence - all during my first four years.

Second, we started to reform, to recover, to rebuild, leading to a renaissance. Last year, we celebrated FAO’s 80th Anniversary, and we renamed, together with the Mayor of Rome, the Circo Maximo Metro Station, which is now called the “FAO-Circo Maximo Station”. It is a real landmark appreciation by our host country Italy.

Now, we have built a sponge garden where we harvest all natural rain showers, right in front of the main Building A. And we also have several new initiatives linked to the new FAO Museum and Network (MuNe), and we also transformed our business model to be more efficient, more effective, more inclusive and more sustainable.

FAO is increasingly focused on horticulture production, not only for food security and nutrition, but also for the environment. Because horticulture is a nice bridge between governments and the environment, between producers and consumers.

I encouraged my colleagues from the FAO Forestry Division to not only focus on preservation and conservation, but to also make use of forestry as part of governance in the food cycle: from production to the environment.

Horticulture is one of the main cycles, and I am willing to cooperate with all partners, including the International Society for Horticultural Science.

To encourage Members to strengthen collaboration, I established a dedicated division in 2020, which focuses on cooperation – I called it the Partnerships Division, working with international organizations, with the private sector, with academia, with non‑governmental organizations and partners around the world. 

Additionally, we started the World Food Forum during the pandemic. Now, it comprises more than 16 000 participants physically over five days, and more than 480 000 participants online during the week of the World Food Day on 16 October. Previously, the World Food Day event was only a one-hour ceremony, but I changed it to a week-long World Food Forum, made up of three pillars: the Science and Innovation Forum; the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum; and the Youth Forum, to empower the youth and women, and with the participation of more than 1 000 Indigenous Peoples coming to FAO headquarters in Rome. I hope that some of you can plan to be at this year’s World Food Forum. It is the most impactful forum in the UN System!

I wish you all the best, and I wish to congratulate Professor Tao Ryutaro on organizing such a big event. I look forward to the next two International Horticultural Congresses in Milan in 2030 and in Beijing in 2034.

You should use this opportunity to learn from each other, contributing together, learning together, working together, and making the world a much better place for today and tomorrow.

I will stop here. I wish you all the best.

Thank you.