President Michael D Higgins honoured with UN medal

President Michael D Higgins speaking at Áras an Uachtaráin after he was presented with the United Nations Agricola Medal by FAO director general Qu Dongyu. Picture: Maxwells 

President Michael D Higgins was described as a “flaming torch” amongst world dignitaries as he was honoured with a UN medal for his services to furthering global food sustainability.

Michael D Higgins received the prestigious Agricola medal from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin, and described in a lengthy speech his dismay at the ongoing famines seen around the world and the problem of food waste in Western countries.

In his introduction, the director general of the FAO Dr Qu Dongyu, himself the son of a Chinese rice farmer, said that President “is not just a guiding light but a flaming torch on the world stage”.

Dr Dongyu said that Ireland itself has “not forgotten how difficult the past has been” and had shown “what can be achieved by a collective effort working towards common goals”.

Regarding the President, he said that “his leadership goes far beyond the borders of Ireland”.

“That’s real soft power from not a big country,” he said.

In a lengthy hour-long speech accepting the award, President Higgins said that the goal of the FAO, of eliminating hunger and improving nutrition and standards of living, “remains as urgently demanding of action now” as was the case when the agency was founded in 1945.

He addressed what he described as “some sobering facts” in that half of the world’s population of 8 billion people are malnourished, while 2.4bn people experience moderate or severe food insecurity.

“Yet 1.6bn tons of primary food production are wasted each year in what are described as developed countries where obesity levels continue to spiral,” the President said.

He discussed the famines in Sudan and Gaza at length, noting that the latter is “exceptional” for its source is “entirely manmade". 

Asked if it is reasonable to suggest that the words of wealthy nations mean less in the context of the Gaza famine given little has been done by those countries to stop it, the President agreed.

“Hunger and famine are preventable. Of all the challenges that we face in our contemporary world, surely responding to global hunger and the vindication of the right to food security is one that is of paramount importance,” he said.

Regarding what Ireland can do in terms of being more sustainable agriculturally, the President said: “I think it is very important to take the issue and work with it."

He said that Ireland is doing well in terms of the transparency and traceability of food products, but said he would like to see the country “producing far more different dairy products”.