President Micheal D Higgins has been presented with a prestigious UN medal in recognition of his work advancing global food security and poverty alleviation.
The President is the first Irish recipient of the Agricola medal from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Agricola is the Latin for farmer, and the medal was presented by FAO Director-General Dr Qu Dongyu at an event in Áras an Uachtaráin.
Past recipients of the medal include presidents, popes and prime ministers.
Dr Dongyu said President Higgins was receiving the medal because he was a flaming torch on the world stage who leadership has gone beyond Ireland, raising the importance of food security on the world stage and linking it to global farming, migration and the climate crisis.
Speaking after accepting the medal, President Higgins said food insecurity is still growing in the world, along with acute malnutrition.
He said significant work remains throughout the world to end hunger, achieve improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
President Higgins said conflict is now the main driver of food insecurity, followed by economic shocks and climate change-related weather extremes.
He said we are all challenged by multiple interconnected crises which require us to arrive at a new consciousness and agreement on managing and sustaining our means of survival, agreement that aspires toward global peaceful coexistence and making war unnecessary.
He added that we have an opportunity to make this century the century in which we rid the planet once and for all of global hunger and he thanked the FAO for honouring him with the Agricola medal.
