WORLD FOOD FORUM 2024 Launch event of the FAO Four Betters Courses Initiative Opening Remarks

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this launch event where we bring together higher education - not only high, I am from low education, we need to start from primary education also, with FAO’s Four Betters.

FAO has a long history of partnering and collaboration with academia and research institutions. Actually, FAO is the best standard institute. People forget the roots; 120 years ago, the David Lubin founded International Institute of Agriculture then had most staff coming from the OIE, OIV and other European professional people in 1951. And then one third moved to Rome from Washington D.C.

The first Director-General was a famous scientist on nutrition. I am the second scientist I should say. The work on science should take first place, so we should bring the science back. But science should be based on the scientific way of thinking, and design. That is what I started discussing with all the Members and staff, which finally led to the endorsement of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, to guide our work for ten years. That is a real strategic framework, it is not a task force.

What makes the difference from the strategic thinking to the task force thinking, or even tactical thinking? Strategy should be shared by all the relevant partners and stakeholders, relevant people and Members. If they do not take ownership, it means it is not a real Strategy, it is maybe a small task force. So, that is what I am proud to say. With all the support, the debate, among the Members first, and then our colleagues from down-up, from up-to-down, so many from headquarters to the regional and the country offices. Finally, we came up with consensus, real consensus. Now it is becoming the solidarity of FAO: the Four Betters.

So, today’s launch, the Four Betters, we should also let people understand it correctly and deeply. Not only as a slogan. Four Betters, I said, is part of our overarching, integrated principle.

If you look at each Better, that is why I asked my Core Leaders to lead the Value-added Initiative, about three years ago. I let the DDGs, and the Core Leaders understand more, better and deeper. How to get the linkages together.

Among the four or five Core Leader members, they needed to start the linkages, interconnections. That is the process, and they came up with the value-added action.

Now, internally, when I visited the Country Offices (only one Country Office had not changed in line with the Four Betters and I fired the FAO Representative – because if you do not change, then I change you) It is key that the FAO Representatives understand the Four Betters because they are our Strategic Framework.

So, the Four Betters should be implemented and integrated, but we also need outreach. Not only within the FAO network and our staff. That is why I am happy to talk with several universities, such as I did with the University of Naples.

I saw the University of Naples presentation slides – they were even more detailed than our own staff’s! That is the power of higher education.

At FAO, in principle, we are not educators. We are government officials or professional staff. But you, through the university, you are professional educators. So, you will make it simple and precise for the students.

As I tell my core leaders, that it is not only a Strategic Framework, it is a philosophy, not only for FAO, but for the university itself.

Maybe the context is specifically different. What does ‘better production’ mean?  What is your products’ education? You are higher quality educated students. No matter bachelor’s, MSc or PhD. That is your product.

So, what is your Better Production? What is your Better Nutrition? What are the nutrients you offer to the students? To the education system?

You also have in your career Better Nutrition, not only textbooks under the nutritional good flavour course.

And a better environment, not only talking about the natural environment at your campus: good green flowers, good facility, modern digital and beautiful paintings and design - that is what we call the natural environment.

But also, we need the human environment, right? For students, and not only for students but also for staff, for teachers, even for supporting staff who work in the kitchen for the kids, for the cafeteria. So, that is the better environment for education, for university. I do not want to expand too much but want to show how it is when you think philosophically.

Then, there is better life for the university, not only healthy students, but also healthy teachers and staff or you need higher salaries, of course, everyone needs a higher salary, and students need to pay less for good food and good lodging, good room, good dormitory, even, good sports facilities. Ideally with no payment, at less cost. That is a better life for students;  for university staff it is different.

What is better quality of life in 365 days for students? You have to teach them, train them for exercises, regular training courses for sports, for entertainment, for culture show, whatever, you name it. That helps them build a better quality of life.

I just take this example even if you had thought that it is only Four Betters for FAO. That is why I really wanted to share with you - that is the way of philosophy. Four Betters is for all of you too.

Any village, any town, Rome, you can simply say “we need to build a sustainable Rome”. That is the slogan, but when zooming down on the Four Betters for Rome. What is the Roman better production. Not only for the economy, for food, there are different production activities, good transportation is also a way of production.

Therefore, you can follow this philosophy of thinking. That is the real value that I want to share with you. The other things, maybe, my colleague will give you later, but please take the ownership and partnership and use it, that is the shared economy.

I did not ask you to pay any dollars for me and for FAO, no. It is free for you. If you are willing to - even your family needs the Four Betters.

Thank you. Thank you so much.