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13th Plenary of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP)

28 May 2025, Video Message by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General for the 13th Plenary of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP) and Celebration of FAO Members’ Impactful Solutions on Land and Soils at FAO’s 80th Anniversary

Language English

Duration 5m49s

Edit Version Full Mix

Video Type Video Message

Date 06/03/2025

File size 630.22 MB

Unique ID UF1A09V

Production details and shotlist

Script Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. The 13th Plenary Assembly of the Global Soil Partnership is a milestone event that recognizes the contributions to land and soils in this special year 2025 as we celebrate FAO’s 80th Anniversary.

2. Eighty years ago, FAO was founded with a clear and urgent mission: to build a world free from hunger and malnutrition.

3. Since then, we have worked hand in hand with our Members to address food insecurity and the many complex challenges that have faced humanity over the decades - from climate-related shocks and economic instability to pandemics and conflicts.

4. It is through strong alliances like the Global Soil Partnership that we have turned challenges into opportunities, and vision into action to improve agricultural production and sustainability.

5. From the early days of global soil mapping in the 1960s, to combating desertification across the Sahel, Latin America and Asia, and more recently pioneering next-generation soil mapping with cutting-edge technology, FAO has consistently been a champion of soil health as a foundation of global food security.

6. The launch of the Global Soil Partnership in 2012 - 13 years ago - together with the participation of 165 FAO Members, reflects FAO’s global leadership role in this domain.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

7. This session is not just about looking back. It is about confronting the urgent realities we face today, and into the future.

8. The reality is daunting: over 733 million people face hunger.

9. More than one-third of the world’s soils are degraded, with over 60% of human-induced land degradation occurring on agricultural lands.

10. As we approach 2050, we must feed nearly 10 billion people, requiring a 50% increase in agricultural production.

11. But this cannot be achieved if we continue business as usual.

12. We must produce more with less.

13. To achieve this, we must transform global agrifood systems to become more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.

14. This transformation requires two urgent and critical actions on soil:

15. First: we must protect the healthy and productive lands and soils that sustain our agrifood systems.

16. This means strengthening monitoring, mapping and climate-smart technologies.

17. It also means ensuring equitable access to land for women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and vulnerable communities.

18. Second: we need to restore degraded lands and soils, bringing them back to life.

19. This requires comprehensive use of land and water resources, sustainable management and large-scale land restoration.

Dear Colleagues,

20. Over 95% of the food we eat is produced from soils and land.

21. We need a collective responsibility.

22. I am inspired by the solutions you, our Members, have already identified and are committed to scaling.

23. But none of this can be achieved alone. We need strong, coherent, sustained partnerships – across governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and local communities.

24. We must also not forget our shared responsibility to empower the next generation to bring innovations and new ideas forward.

25. Young people are inheriting many of the planet’s challenges and we need their solutions to turn them into opportunities for them.

26. As we celebrate 80 years of FAO, let us reaffirm our shared commitment:

• To protect the soils that give life;
• To restore the lands that nourish our future; and
• To transform our agrifood systems for a more resilient and sustainable world.

27. We grow hope, stability and opportunity.

28. FAO will continue to lead and convene global action – providing technical expertise, supporting Members, and strengthening collaboration through the Global Soil Partnership.

29. Agrifood systems transformation is already underway, but we must accelerate progress together for the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life for all – leaving no one behind.

30. Thank you.

QU Dongyu, FAO Director General - Video

Video messages - Qu Dongyu, FAO Director General

2025 DG Video messages - ALL

06 - June

13th Plenary of the Global Soil Partnership (GSP)

(Standard Video)

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