It took a while, but I am in Rome, Italy, on a trade mission for Dutch businesswomen. The logo of the mission is a high heel and “of course there will be time for shopping too”, according to the program.

It is for a good cause, I remind myself. I met the Italian Minister of Agriculture and I gave a lecture at the ministry for the focus group about “The role of women in sustainable development of the agriculture sector”. A minister is called Presidente here. What a beautiful country!

How to feed the world
Agnes van Aardenne is the permanent representative at the FAO in Rome, on behalf of the Netherlands. Agnes is originally from Maasland, so we share our Westland values and our love of cooking local dishes. Agnes is a slow food fan and I would be one too, if I had enough time.
Together with Agnes I visit the FAO. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations aims to combat hunger in the world. In 2009, the FAO held an expert forum entitled “How to feed the world in 2050”. The conclusion of this forum is that the world’s food production and distribution can and must change significantly. Otherwise future generations will be left with nothing.

Irrigation in open field
There are opportunities for my company. We are convinced that our solutions can contribute to solving the food problem. After all, the food problem is inextricably linked with water issues. Irrigation, especially in open field farming, is very inefficient and the technology for reducing this wastage is what my business deals with. Education, training for local farmers and growers and the development of local research institutes, is an integral part of the realization of this, because we believe in the local for local approach.

At the FAO I have a meeting with Annika Soder, the Special Advisor to the Director-General for Communication and External Relations at the FAO. Topic of discussion: Investment in sustainability worldwide. I wonder if we could manage to get our ideas on the agenda of the FAO!