World Soil Day 2025 “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities” Opening Remarks

Your Royal Highness the Princess of Jordan

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

After the Council, I expected today would be relaxing, but instead here we are joining the world in celebrating World Soil Day 2025!

I always say that the soil is the mother of everything: it gives us food, sustains agriculture, forestry, fisheries.

You might think fisheries exist only in water, but what lies beneath the water? It is soil or rock.

So, when people talk about promoting fisheries and aquaculture, do not separate it from FAO.

Some say, “Oh, well you work the land, we work the water". But without land, how can you have water for yourself?

I say this because through soil and land, we are all connected in this one world.

Welcome to this year’s World Soil Day celebration with the theme “Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities.”

I really appreciate Her Royal Highness the Princess of Jordan, and all the colleagues who came to support us in Rome and around the world, especially the initial countries from the Royal family of Thailand and also the Minister of Agricultural Cooperation from Thailand, and the Russian Ambassador. These are your children, your sons, your daughters.

I truly appreciate the historical contribution from your countries. Today, World Soil Day has become one of the most impactful World Days, not only as a celebration. It is not just for individual scientists, but for the whole programme. This is what makes World Soil Day a little different from the others.

We talk about Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin C, but sometimes Vitamin M (Money) works better.

You need to give people recognition, with a small bonus of money.

That is something we have learned from you, and we encourage other World Days to do the same. Not necessarily with money, but with some kind of recognition.

For instance, we are going to celebrate International Coffee Day. This brings together all sectors from scientists to smallholder farmers to industry. And the industry is very developed in Europe, in America, and now also in China.

The coffee industry is one of the biggest industries for the soft-drink sector. So, we should not think of it as only a one-hour celebration.

Let’s learn from the previous World Soil Day celebrations over the past years.

This year also marks FAO’s 80th anniversary and eight decades of working together for food security, sustainable agriculture, and better lives. 

It is a moment to reflect and to look ahead to a future in which healthy soils are the foundation of efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, healthier people, greener cities and a more prosperous planet.

“Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities” is more than a theme.  It highlights that soil matters everywhere: not only in the rural areas, but also in cities where they regulate temperature, filter and store water, support biodiversity, increase food security, improve air quality and ensure a better life for all.

Just look in front of FAO building A: we transformed what was once a dusty, dirty and fragmented piece of land into a sponge park.

This is why soil is essential also in cities. It helps regulate temperature, reduces noise, and filters and stores water. So, they truly walked the talk.

Our division was not involved in the design, but fortunately the Forestry Division and the Plant Production and Protection Division were.

So, it is not only plants, but also trees, flowers and bushes.

However, our soil scientists and divisions were not involved. I forced them to change the design because I wanted to demonstrate a real sponge city - a real sponge park- right in front of FAO.

And now, it works.

Yet, urban soils are under growing pressure - from sealing, contamination, and rapid expansion.

By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities.  Urban growth is already consuming fertile land and threatens up to 3 percent of global food production.

When I was Director-General of the Chinese Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, I was always arguing with the mayor and the city’s urban designer, because each time cities expanded in China, they occupied fertile vegetable land- extremely fertile land.

You cannot achieve the same productivity even with three times the field land, because field crops - like wheat or corn - are not the same as the vegetable plots and areas around the city. It is the same here, especially in older cities like Rome.

This so-called peri-urban agriculture, in Europe, in Asia relies on really fertile soil, which has been taken over by construction and buildings. It is a major loss.

So, we also encourage urban designers; that is why I was involved in so many urban designs projects in China. I wanted to protect fertile land for vegetables.

We need green cities, not endlessly expanding cities one ringway after another.

Healthy soils can turn today’s urban challenges into resilient solutions. 

FAO is helping drive this transformation.

Through our Green Cities Initiative, more than 300 cities worldwide are restoring soils, and promoting sustainable urban and peri-urban agriculture.

To be honest, my very first activity in cooperation with FAO was in China in 1997. I served as Co-Chairperson for peri-urban agriculture alongside a specialist in China; and I still remember it as my first official engagement with FAO.

Our goal is to reach 1000 cities by 2030.

Healthy soils are central to the One Health approach, linking soil, plant health, animal health, the environment and people – which ultimately leads to stronger communities. 

Through the Global Soil Partnership, FAO supports countries in protecting and restoring soils - from farms to city landscapes - turning knowledge into action and measurable impact.

Key initiatives such as RECSOIL (for recarbonizing agricultural soils) and the “Global Soil Doctors Programme” build capacity worldwide using science and evidence-based approaches.

But no country – and no city – can meet these challenges alone. 

FAO remains committed to working with governments and all partners to scale up solutions to restore soil health and integrate ecosystem-based approaches into agriculture, urban planning and decision-making.

This is especially important during the rapid urbanization and industrialization in Africa, Latin America, the Near East and Asia. We need to rethink and redesign what a new type of city can be, how to restore soil, and how to maintain the biodiversity within the city.

Cities - not necessarily like London or Rome, also all the industrial cities. If you go downtown, there are no trees, no grass. What is the city of the future? We have to think about it ourselves.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

World Soil Day is also a moment to honour excellence and those who are driving progress in sustainable soil management around the world.

Today, we present two prestigious prizes: the Glinka World Soil Prize and the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award.

I warmly congratulate this year’s winners for their achievements in advancing soil knowledge, promoting sustainable management, and raising awareness.

I also thank the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Thailand for their generous support for these awards.

The responsibility of each of us is clear: protect soils, restore soils and build cities that can thrive for future generations.

The work ahead demands commitment, innovation and action from all of us.

Thank you.