Jack Wilkinson speaking at the UN General Assembly launching the International Year of Cooperatives
Channel: NZdotCoop
Date: 2012-03-14

Jack Wilkinson was one of three farmers worldwide who was appointed to the UN Year of Cooperatives committee to give advice to the Under-Secretary of the UN.

A farmer from Northern Ontario, Jack has been involved with farming at different levels for many years. He recently retired from being President of IFAP, International Federation of Agricultural Producers, after a six-year term. Prior to that, he served as President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture as well as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

The experience that Jack has acquired over the years covers a wide range of topics. Within Canada, he has worked on farm policy, environmental risk management, food safety, and trade, chairing several committees and serving on several federal task forces.  Internationally, he has represented and advocated on behalf of farmers at the United Nations, FAO, IFAD and other institutions, and twice participated on panels at the World Economic Forum in Davos.    

Jack also recently retired as Vice Chair of the Global Forum on Agriculture Research (GFAR), the main objective of which is to direct research topics which will help to alleviate poverty through agricultural research and development, and technology transfer.

He also has a keen interest in development work and has helped integrate the agricultural development activities of numerous aid agencies to approach issues in a coordinated fashion. Much of the work he oversaw at both IFAP and GFAR was to organize producers so they could produce and market more affectively.

Within Canada he is a director of the Co-operators Insurance Company, a multi-line national insurance company, and serves as a director on a regional agriculture and consumer cooperative. Recently he was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame for his work to improve the economic situation within rural Canada. In February of 2009 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Guelph for his contribution within Canadian agriculture.