Toespraak bij het zestig jarig jubileum van de HAS hogeschool

Toespraak | 27-11-2008

Ladies and Gentlemen,
First I would like to congratulate the HAS on its 60th anniversary.
You have chosen to celebrate this happy event with a theme that is both appealing and serious. It is also a theme that is close to my heart and extremely topical.
I am most honoured that I have been asked to speak to you here today.

We are living in an era of great technological progress.
With increased welfare is increasing and cultures are flourishing. But still, even today, 950 million people around the world are hungry. And this should not be the case.

We shouldn't take poverty for granted, says Nelson Mandela. In his words: "It is man-made, and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life."

Ladies and Gentlemen,
You will understand that I share Mandela's view and admire his fighting spirit.
This is where I stand when it comes to improving agricultural production in other parts of the world. As long as there are still people in this world who, every minute of the day, are worried about water and where their next meal will come from, as long as people still fight over a bag of rice or a sack of flour, as long as people are in fear of their lives because of lack of food, we must invest in favourable conditions for food production in countries where it is so much needed.

As long as this is the case we must also refrain from encouraging farmers in developing countries to grow energy crops in place of food crops. Even though it may seem more attractive in the short term. For them and for us. If there are competing production claims, then I choose production that will fill mouths, not engines.
I must add though, that this may seem easy, but there are no simple solutions. I don't need to tell you that to find solutions for the world's food problems we have to properly understand the causes.
And there are many causes, just as there are many ways of looking at food supply and the inequality of incomes in the world. I have already mentioned the increasing demand for biofuels.

We could fill many hours of study in attempting to unravel the other causes. This afternoon I will just limit myself to six developments that have an impact on the market.

• 1. In the international political arena agriculture has tended to be overlooked recently. This means that over the past twenty years too little has been invested in agriculture.
• 2. Governments have introduced special programmes to limit supply. We only have to think of the dismantling of intervention stocks. A side effect of this is that the acreage of agricultural has decreased.
• 3. The economic development of agricultural production is directly related to the price of oil.
• 4. In China, India and other countries people's standard of living is improving. Dietary patterns are changing because of this. The Indian diet is changing from vegetarian to one that more resembles our own, to include meat, dairy products and cereals.
• 5. There are the unexpected setbacks too. In this last year we saw harvests in Australia failing because of drought.
• 6. And then there are the traders and investors who speculate on just such eventualities.

So what can I do with these diverse developments? Firstly, I can make it my priority to get agriculture placed high on the agenda of international development.

Because I am convinced that that is where the opportunities lie. Then we can really start to get the ball rolling in the other direction. And make a break with the present trends. That is where we will find the impetus to move towards a better economic balance. We are seeing it in practice, and can read about it in the most recent publications of the World Bank and the IMF.

For agriculture also offers a potentially speedy route to achieving the millennium targets for development policy.

As you know, eight years ago, the Netherlands, as member of the UN, committed itself to these targets.

The most important being that we will halve the number of people, one thousand million, who live on just one dollar a day.

That is why, together with Minister Koenders of Development Cooperation, I have reserved 50 million euros for structural agricultural investments in Africa.
This is in addition to the 350 million euros that are already being spent there.

You can only spend your money once. But you can share your knowledge. And if you do that, something very special happens. Knowledge has the habit of growing.
At first, knowledge itself grows, but then societies also grow because of it. People. The economy.
Developing knowledge, transferring it and applying it to local situations is, I am convinced, very important.

As far as knowledge is concerned, we can consider ourselves very fortunate in this country.
Partly thanks to our excellent education system, of which you in Den Bosch are an important part.
We possess the knowledge which is so very valuable to small-scale agriculture in developing countries.
And we know a lot about how to increase production.
And how to ensure that that production brings greater returns.
And how this can be done sustainably.
This is the practical knowledge which many farmers in rural Africa unfortunately lack, but which they could use to arm themselves against poverty and unequal incomes.

Our present government policy assigns an important role to practical knowledge. At various levels and on different fronts. Let me share with you the five lines of my approach, together wit Mr Koenders.

• 1. To improve productivity I am concentrating on project investment in research and innovation that can be applied at local level. And this involves not looking to governments, but to the people, and the places where people live.
• 2. Enabling environment, as it is known. This means strengthening the private sector by providing public frameworks, services and institutions, and supplementing them where necessary.
• 3. At the same time I will also ensure that there is cohesion between the various elements. And then I refer to the production chains that are being created all over the world. If farmers and entrepreneurs get together and collaborate in production, trade, processing and sales, they should look beyond the desire to just make a quick profit. And this is what I want to see, because this will result in sustainability. A lot can be done in this area, if we employ innovative techniques, frequently and on a broad front. Because that will be the unseen force behind the production chains which will serve us well in the future too. For people, for planet and for profit. All over the world.
• 4. If food prices rise, so that producing food means greater returns, farmers in developing countries should benefit too. I am working to remove obstacles on the world market and promote trade liberalisation. Locally, regionally and internationally.
• 5. But even when you believe you've thought of everything, there are still people who risk losing out. And these are often the very poorest people of all. They too have to be included for the long haul. And they must have something to fall back on in times of need. Like guaranteed incomes, health insurance and school meals. The Dutch Government actively contributes to putting these sorts of mechanisms in place. And one way to do so is by transferring our knowledge.

I would like to appeal to you, HAS Den Bosch, and other large knowledge institutes to help me realise these goals. Providing education to the international community and equipping people with the skills they need is an enormously important task of great value to society.

I would certainly like to make agreements on this matter with agricultural institutes which have a particularly important role to play. I will soon be presenting the Policy framework on international agricultural education 2008-2011, which will include funding.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I see opportunities. The dilemmas caused by world food issues call for sensible political choices and international cooperation at a high level. But what is really needed is practical knowledge.
So I am incredibly proud of the knowledge capital that you have built up here over the past sixty years.
It has lead to a unique educational infrastructure that is also accessible to students from developing countries.
Dutch agricultural education teaches people how they can help their own country to progress. Whether that country is the Netherlands, Ethiopia, China or Peru.
And this, I believe, is the way to make giant strides towards a better world.

Dear Students, dear teachers, dear members of the board, I count on you all. And you can count on me!

Thank you.