FAO leader gives inspiring address at HAFL

On Tuesday 29 April, HAFL students and staff were challenged to consider their professional role in that mission during a presentation by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol.

Bridging local and global

In a compelling address to approximately 60 HAFL students and staff, DDG Bechdol gave a personal account of leaving her family’s seventh-generation farm in a midwestern American town of 12,000 people for the global stage of agricultural development.

She touched on the urgent challenge of feeding a growing global population by 2050, the value of youth engagement in shaping sustainable food systems, the disparities facing farming communities in crisis-affected regions, and the critical need for advocacy and local-global awareness in agricultural development.

“Here now is a hugely important opportunity for global interaction,” DDG Bechdol said. “It’s not just trade, it’s not just the support of people. I’m an eternal optimist, but I know this is getting to be a really difficult period in time. Food insecurity, poverty, health and nutrition … and then you layer the climate on top. We’re trying to make progress, but the crises just keep coming and we’re losing our focus on what’s happening … earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts and floods.

“And at the same time, a lot of people in a lot of countries are saying, ‘Why are we investing in all of them there, when we need to be investing in us here? Local priorities matter more to me as a business community and nation.’ But I implore you to focus on what is close to you and immediate and how you can make a local impact, but please don’t lose sight of the global view. Agricultural people think about the world differently.”

Current world situation

Reflecting on the first 100 days of the current US government, DDG Bechdol described a moment of reckoning within international institutions. “The 100-day milestone feels like three years already,” she said. “Whatever your belief or political view about what is happening, it’s forcing some real change-oriented conversations in our organisation and wider.”

So far, she has observed three reactions to the changes and challenges since January: “One third are morally offended and lash out with personal viewpoints and no solutions, just complaints ... one third are paralysed and plan to ‘wait it out’ ... then there is a third who are saying this is a new reality, and in a time like this it’s forcing us to change our value propositions. It’s a moment for critical thinking and self-awareness – to look in the mirror and see things you want to improve on.”

Student presentation

DDG Bechdol offered a call to action for youth to engage meaningfully with the global challenge of how to feed the world in 2050, one of FAO’s flagship projects.

Four MSc students presented outcomes from a workshop held the previous day on how youth can contribute. Their reflections were clear, challenging and deeply considered. Key insights included:

• Inequality, not scarcity, is a major driver of food insecurity.
• Trade agreements and funding structures must be fairer and give autonomy to all partners.
• Access to food, resilient supply chains and targeted nutrition efforts are all essential.
• 2050 is just 25 years away, and mid- and long-term strategies must start now.
• The rise of political instabilities and conflicts and disinterest in structural change threaten meaningful progress.
• Youth bring their own competencies, emotional intelligence and urgency to the debate but need recognition and remuneration to turn ideas into action. 

Praise for the findings

DDG Bechdol commended the students for their insight and clarity, noting the depth of their reflections on global food systems. “I was incredibly impressed by the thoughtfulness and the level of detail,” she said, “and the level of concrete, specific recommendations that these students put forward. One of my big takeaways was they really want to participate in finding solutions to these challenges and I think that concept of participation is something that many of us – including us at the FAO – have to take very seriously.

“It’s not just enough to have youth in a room sitting with us on the margins of a table where big topics are being discussed – they need a seat at that table, and then beyond the seat they need to be given the floor … and they need to be able to advocate and to offer their own unique perspectives to these global discussions.”

FAO will take the HAFL workshop findings further: the presentation and summary will be shared with the director of FAO’s Office of Youth and Women, to help emphasise how strengthening local action can lay the groundwork for lasting global impact.

And HAFL students will once again be involved in the Swiss youth delegation to attend the World Food Forum in Rome from 13-17 October 2025. Read reflections from the experiences in 2023 and 2024, below, and find out more about the WFF Global Youth Action Initiative.