Colleagues,
friends,
participants,

First, let me welcome you to the Second Global AgriKnowledge Share Fair.

Many of you have come a long way to bring us your ideas, your plans, your projects. From across the world, in fact. This year there are over 160 presenters from more than 70 countries, addressing every aspect of rural agricultural development. Some initiatives you will have heard about; others will surprise you; and some will even challenge you.

But you don’t have to be a presenter to share knowledge. As soon as you open your mouth and your mind, you begin the process of exchange that leads to knowledge. You can think of it this way: a book on a shelf that is never read is a parcel of information, and an opportunity lost. Because knowledge sharing is about interaction, through which people build their knowledge and build relationships at the same time.

Remember that we ourselves are the conduits for knowledge, as well as its reservoirs.

I am glad to note that we have farmer participants this year from Latin America, Asia and Africa, bringing us perspectives that are profound, local, and highly informed. This offers a golden opportunity to globalize knowledge and to replicate successes in the future.  One indicator of the Share Fair’s achievement will be whether we follow through on these knowledge exchanges and apply what we’ve learned. We may change our minds about some things, but it is when we change our behaviour that we have an impact on the ground.

I remember well the first Share Fair in 2009, and how much I enjoyed talking with and learning from the people I met there. It provided me with much food for thought, and I am hungry to learn more this year.  

We should remember that knowledge starts with an open mind, so that ideas can flow freely between people. What you already know is important, but what you want to know and what you are ready to consider are important as well.

It has often been said that the sustainable agricultural practices of the future will be knowledge-intensive. Fortunately, information technology and social media are helping level the playing field so that the researcher and the farmer with a cell phone are on the same wavelength.

We have already seen amazing results, some of which you will hear about in the coming days.  Farmers can now use mobile phones to access databases; scientists are using “cloud” systems to build communities of practice; and modern technology is helping to deliver cash- and voucher-based food assistance. We must continue to ensure that the farmer is at the centre of these efforts, for example by considering the forms and languages that we use in knowledge transfer to make sure we reach our audience. Not only does knowledge need to be disseminated; our knowledge networks need to be enriched, democratized, and expanded.

We live in a world of changing values, changing expectations, and changing threats. One of our most important challenges in agricultural development is to engage with young people, and to ensure that their hopes can be fulfilled in rural communities, which deeply need their energy and creativity if they are to survive. The survival of those communities, which produce a large part of our food, may determine the survival of us all.  

The Share Fair  is a living example of innovation in action. We know that it would be impossible to attend all the sessions that are happening simultaneously, so  there will be blogs, tweets, interviews and highlights so that you can share and learn even from the sessions you missed. Through webcasting our virtual audience can participate as well.

Knowledge-sharing isn’t an academic exercise, but a strategy for survival.

We aren’t sharing our ideas in the library, but in the world, a world with a billion hungry people, a shrinking resource base, rising food prices, and numerous unsustainable practices. All of us here are aware of the pressures of climate change, population growth, and threats to food security. What we learn today must be translated into policy, where successes are shared, lessons learned and policy-makers are motivated to act. This is especially important if we are to scale up and expand solutions to the challenges of agricultural development.

I would like to thank our colleagues in FAO, WFP, Bioversity International, CTA, CGIAR, and of course here at IFAD. The planning of the Share Fair has itself been a collaborative process that has deepened our bonds and shown what we can achieve when we are genuinely committed to knowledge sharing. We have learned so much already!

I hope that over the course of the next few days you will reflect on the precious opportunity that events such as this offer—and that you  will share your reflections, ideas and insights using the “knowledge tree” that has been set up in the tent. The tree is symbolic, but within it are several important truths. Knowledge is living; for every branch that withers, another grows; and though the process is organic, it must be nurtured and fed. We have a great opportunity to do just that, and I am looking forward to it.

I can’t think of a better way to leave you than with a question.  I have told you my expectations, but what are yours? What are the concrete outcomes you hope to achieve, translating knowledge into action? I am looking forward to hearing all of your ideas, and even more to seeing how you apply them and develop them in the future. 

 Thank you.

Rome, 27 September 2011