Speech by President of the Republic at the General assembly of the Central Union of Agricultural producers and Forest owners (MTK) in Joensuu, November 9, 2001

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The opening words of Here Under the North Star by our great national writer Väinö Linna are known to every Finn: "In the beginning there was the bog, the hoe - and Jussi." Linna's trilogy is a celebration of the history of Finnish labour. Respect for work and good workers is still deeply rooted in both town and country. But the nature of work itself has changed and there have been structural developments that cause problems both in areas suffering depopulation and in growth centres. Balanced development is in everyone's interests.

We should all work for a dynamic countryside. We share a genuine desire to ensure that people in rural areas have a good life now and in the future, and that the entire countryside is viable. We also want to ensure that the food we eat is unpolluted and safe, and that it is produced on ethical principles. We need to safeguard a good environment and sustainable use and good management of our forests. For my own part, I wish to help to promote the building of a secure society offering equality to all. This issue is a particularly current one here in northern Karelia, which is seeking new ways to offset a heavy loss of population.

The question of sufficient food resources is increasingly timely, too, and affects the whole globe. In Finland, as in Europe in general, food quality is a more important political issue than food quantity. Recent food scares have strongly highlighted consumer demands, although these may often seem contradictory to food producers.

People demand products offering ever higher quality and greater safety, which also meet the criteria for animal welfare and ethical production methods. Production must be environmentally sustainable. There must also be readiness for advances in biotechnology and genetic modification, while noting both the benefits and the dangers they may bring. And of course, all this should be done cost-effectively.

It seems to me that Finnish producers have a good basis to work from. Our reputation is basically sound. Long years of work done all along the food chain guarantee the safety of Finnish foods; this is acknowledged both at home and abroad. Our unpolluted fields, good livestock management and the high professional principles of our farmers provide the wherewithal for building the future. Decades of open and effective cooperation among all those involved in the food chain - producers, industry and government - will also contribute here. We have every opportunity to further strengthen consumer confidence in quality Finnish products throughout the open EU market. Organic production will expand, increasing consumer choice and producer potential for responding to a wide variety of challenges

Food production, too, embodies the secret of Finnish export competitiveness; we can compete only with quality, and not with quantity. The national quality strategy for foods is a good example of the efforts being made by the whole industry to achieve its common goals. I know that the aim set is to complete quality training by 2006 on all farms continuing production. This is a tough challenge for the whole food chain.

Enlargement of the European Union is an important objective. It will increase stability on our continent, and also provide a better foundation amid global competition. The enlargement process is a major challenge for both the candidate countries and for the present Member States. It is also a challenge for the EU's common agricultural policy.

I know you have been discussing these pressures for change within your organization, and I was involved as Foreign Minister in the process of negotiating the present Agenda 2000. The situation will certainly be no easier in the future. In the previous negotiating round, Finland managed to defend its interests well, partly because both the Government and the producer organizations agreed about what were the most important problems.

I am pleased to find that formulation of a common position on the new challenges is already well underway within the agricultural strategy project. The result will provide a good basis for further negotiations with the Member States and the Commission. A strong shared intent makes an excellent negotiating asset.

Sustainable development is not merely ecological; economic and social development are also an integral part of it.

Ultimately, Finnish food production is only possible if agricultural production is profitable. I know that you have another key goal for the next few years: to ensure the farming population a fair income level compared with other population groups. This means having an effective market in which the price of products reflects their quality and production costs. Taking a longer-term view of the farmer's role, it is understandable that agricultural support systems must be as predictable as possible.

The position of Finnish agricultural producers is influenced both in Finland and in Brussels. Changing the common agricultural policy is a long-term process. However, Finland's own rural development policy has an important role to play in keeping the countryside populated and sustaining agricultural production even in remote areas. Taking the EU's common agricultural policy in a direction that will support its own rural development policy is important for Finland. Though agriculture alone will not keep the countryside alive, a living countryside cannot be sustained without agriculture.

I have sought to act in the spirit of the Finnish Constitution as President of the whole nation. To this end, I have been in constant contact with representatives of various population groups. My husband and I have followed the pattern set by our predecessors in visiting different parts of Finland to learn as much as possible about the entire country and nation.

We have frequently observed the diverse and versatile forms that rural enterprise already takes. It is certainly more important than it used to be in keeping the countryside alive. Statistics show that over a quarter of all farms already engage in some kind of business outside traditional agriculture and forestry. Without at all underestimating the importance of smooth changes of generation in agricultural enterprises, I would venture to predict that it will be specifically in the area outside traditional farming and forestry that we will find the extra spark needed to persuade the younger generation not only to stay on the land but also to return there.

Everything possible must be done to overcome the caution found among Finns in general, and women in particular, about starting up in business. The feedback I have received indicates it is not so much that people feel they lack the skills needed to run a business as that they shy away from all the red tape and bureaucracy involved.

Every effort must be made to combine the good sides of town and country life and to set up networks between those with a wide range of skills. We have universities, colleges, polytechnics and other educational institutions at various levels. They all have a much keener interest than before in working with the business world and society around them. Skills are growing fast.

Nordic tradition requires society to guarantee people the most equal starting points possible for building their lives. That means first and foremost investing in lifelong learning. Young people must be guaranteed the broadest and most diversified education possible to use as a foundation for building up the know-how they will need to meet new challenges. But there should also be sufficient interest in continuous education and training for older generations. This is important to the labour market, but also to ensure that people have every opportunity to contribute to society.

Equality is an important goal in today's dynamic but harsh market economy. The new Constitution underlines the importance of equality among citizens. But people must be willing to make their own contribution to achieving equality.

I greatly appreciate being invited to speak to you here today, at the general assembly of one of Finland's oldest unions. I sincerely value the work you do.

I should also like to express my encouragement to you all. Believe in yourselves and the valuable work that you do so unsparingly. For my own part, I promise to work to ensure that this is a good country to live in, whether in town or country.