New Crop Trust chief outlines plans to advance a food secure agenda

CANBERRA — Australia is set to play a bigger role in the future of food security now that Tim Fischer, a former deputy prime minister, will take the reins as the new executive board chair of Crop Trust. After taking over from Walter Fust in January 2018, Fischer aims to use his role at Crop Trust — an international nonprofit organization working to safeguard crop diversity — to advocate for greater awareness and political support for long-term food diversity and security. Fischer brings to Crop Trust his experience in grasping tough agricultural issues and understanding plant biodiversity and food security challenges, as well as a long history of engaging and negotiating with governments. His political resume includes time as leader of the The Nationals, a rural-focused political party. Within Australia’s Parliament, Fischer’s positions included trade minister and deputy prime minister. Following retirement from Australian politics in 2001, he continued to work in roles supporting charities and advancing Australia’s international interests as chairman of Tourism Australia and as Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See. His long and varied career allows him to bring a diverse network of connections to the table, he told Devex. “My networking skills have been helped by a raft of contacts from both trade minister days but also three years as an ambassador based in Rome, just five years ago,” Fischer said. The connections he will call upon aren’t limited to OECD countries, Fischer explained, but span many developing countries, from Bhutan to South Sudan. At 71, accepting the role and responsibility of executive board chair was not a decision Fischer took lightly. But witnessing the impact of environmental change in his own country informed his choice. “Drought and crop loss in the Riverina in Australia has spurred me on over recent decades,” Fischer said. “Globally, the number of natural disasters has quadrupled since 1970, which challenge our agricultural crops and demonstrate the urgency of this work.” It was important, Fischer said, for him to personally play a part in advocating and advancing the work of the Crop Trust and its role in building a global system of crop conservation. “The fight to achieve food security and end hunger is by far one of the greatest challenges the world is currently facing, and changing environmental conditions and civil conflicts are only raising the stakes,” he said. “With greater seed diversity, conserved in gene banks and utilized in breeding, we can better secure our food supply in the midst of these challenges and in the face of whatever the future may hold. Plant diversity presents a world of untapped possibilities, and the Crop Trust is ensuring its protection and use.” Crop Trust is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, but Fischer will continue to be based in Australia. The distance won’t impact his “personal, strong commitment to the work of the Crop Trust,” he said. “From a base in Australia, I will do my best, helped by the Bonn HQ team and modern communications, to make a difference in building momentum for plant diversity around the world,” Fisher said. His aims in the new role, Fischer explained, include encouraging politicians globally to start thinking about long-term goals rather than short-term, election-driven objectives. “The new campaign, the Food Forever Initiative, says it all,” he said. “It is go, go, go to encourage everyone — politicians, consumers, retailers, and farmers alike — to act now in order to maintain nutritional security and ensure adequate quantities of food — forever.” The core objective of the Food Forever Initiative is to raise awareness of the importance of achieving target 2.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals: maintaining agricultural genetic diversity. “To effect real change, all who have a stake in the food system need to be involved, particularly governments as those specifically tasked to ensure the SDGs are achieved,” Fisher said. Fischer plans to boost momentum for the initiative by spreading the message of the importance of agricultural biodiversity to audiences beyond the scientific community. But he also has personal motives and goals for Australia. “Making sure that diversity does not go extinct is a global obligation, but it is also personal,” he said. “Biodiversity preservation means food security for our future and our children’s children.” Within Australasia, Fischer hopes to build understanding and momentum for the Crop Trust and national seed banks. “Worldwide there are more than 1,700 national seed banks which protect valuable plant diversity, and this stewardship needs to be better understood and supported,” he said. “The clock is ticking, and these are crucial times. The Crop Trust, with its ethical approach, is doing great work and is needed more than ever before.” Read more international development news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive the latest from the world’s leading donors and decision-makers — emailed to you free every business day.