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Address by President of the Republic of Estonia Mr. Arnold Rüütel on Receiving an Honorary Doctorate from Szent Istvan University on 6 April 200406.04.2004
Honourable President Mr. Arpad Göncz,
Excellencies,
Honourable Mr. Rector,
Members of Academic Council,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I feel deeply honoured and privileged to receive an Honorary Doctorate from your University. And I am particularly moved knowing that this manifestation of attentiveness comes from representatives of our kindred people. In addition, the today's event for me personally is very special, since this is the first time for me to speak abroad as head of state of a NATO member country.
In my present speech, at first, I would like to focus on issues connected with my scientific work. But, thereafter, I would also address issues connected with NATO and contemporary security risks.
My scientific work has mainly been connected with agriculture, notably with dairy farming. The need for this research direction is occasioned by Estonia's geographical location in the northwest of the Eurasian continent. We have established agricultural production in the northernmost region where it is possible to subsist on farming, where the weather is unstable and chilly, the vegetation period of plants short and the housing period of animals long. Conditions for crop farming are poor but yield of grassland is satisfactory. Therefore, as stored forage enables intensive production also during the housing period, dairy cattle rearing has long since been the main branch of farming. And thus, Estonian butter and cheese already in 1930s were sold on European markets, mostly in Great Britain and Germany. This development founded on the land reform of 1919, which over a short time enabled to significantly increase the number of relatively small family farms. In these farms, the traditional way of life was harmonically combined with high-quality agricultural production.
After Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union, land was nationalized. In 1947, forced collectivisation started in Estonia, which also destroyed our voluntary cooperative movement flourishing so far. Dairy cattle were concentrated in big cattle houses where nearly 45 % of animals were housed in so-called combined boxes throughout the year.
However, development of large-scale production weakened the relationship between man and animal, and as a result, the incidence of diseases increased, the production and its quality declined. The given situation required launch of complex research to work out automated technologies for dairy farms. As a result of this research, a system of automated monitoring of dairy cattle or AMD was worked out and implemented, which is successfully used and developed further also at present.
The purpose of implementing the AMD-system was to maximize production, to collect and process information needed for it, and based on that, to control technological devices.
Systems for automatic data processing in the field of cattle rearing have been developed in many countries. For example in Hungary, data banks and software to analyse productivity, status, and breeding of dairy cattle were created on the basis of research of T. Tot and A. Cinkock. The automated monitoring of dairy cattle has made notable headway also in the Northern Countries. For instance in Sweden, at Tumba near Stockholm, a fully automated cowshed for 100 head of cattle with robotic milking machines and individual feeding, where the man is only watching the process through a glass pane, is operating for a couple of years already.
The principal difference between the AMD and other solutions was that:
- The major part of data was entered into computer automatically;
- Data banks and current data received were used for immediate control of technological processes;
- The system itself became the foundation for its further development.
Next, I would list just a few physiological indicators of animals, which are subject to automated registration:
- Milk production;
- Animal weight;
- Body temperature;
- Data about heart and circulation - using a bio-radiotelemetric system;
- Physiological status of respiratory organs - through registration of variations in an electromagnetic field generated around animal;
- Functional data concerning digestive organs;
- Functioning of nervous system - by analysing rhythmograms of heart and frequency of self-feeder usage;
- Measurement of animal's motion activity with pedometers.
- Assessment of udder health status - by measuring conductivity and temperature of milk.
At modern times, thanks to the rapid progress of electronics, contact-free registration of many physiological indicators has become much easier. The AMD-system we developed can conditionally be divided into three parts:
- first, zootechnical checks,
- second, veterinary checks and
- third, control of technological devices.
The AMD-system along with automation of main technological devices has enabled to develop in terms of quality a new technology that has the following principal advantages:
- it is guaranteed that the individuality and welfare of each animal are taken into account, which enables to receive from them maximum production;
- forage can be used more economically;
- it helps increase productivity and simplify accounting.
The research carried out laid the foundations for the so-called conveyer belt technology of dairy farming created already in 1975 and, from 1982 on, keeping dairy cattle outdoors, which was accompanied by automated concentrate feeding. In parallel to finding technical solutions, a series of experiments to explore rumen contents were carried out, based on which, an original algorithm of interval programme for dividing concentrate was worked out.
Today, the whole world is moving towards the implementation of increasingly more sophisticated systems of automated monitoring of dairy cattle. Remarkable results have been received by using automated milking parlours and robotic milking. As proven by developments in dairy farming, the results of the AMD-system that was worked out at the beginning of 1980s can successfully be implemented also today.
The restoration of Estonian independence in 1991 brought about a necessity for agricultural reforms. The activities of big farms were terminated. Property was returned to legitimate owners and restoration of family farms got underway. However, big changes in agricultural sector also meant loss of jobs in rural areas and decline in agricultural production.
Yet, today we can note that an active discussion about development models for rural life has begun in Estonia; earlier research is being generalised and starting points for new directions are defined. It's good to see that Estonian farmers are ready to go along with the renewals. So, the Agricultural Public Limited Company of Põlva for the second year already operates a dairy farm with a cold cowshed for 1000 cows where the average milk yield in 2003 was 9460 kg. And there are already dozens of automatically controlled cold cowsheds housing up to 500 cows.
Estonia's accession to the European Union opens for our farmers under increasing competition new opportunities. Economizing labour, improvement of animal welfare, prevention of diseases, and more effective use of forage will increase the productivity of dairy cattle and ensure development of cattle farming also under the new conditions.
Estonia and Hungary are going to join the European Union at the same time. We worked closely together already during the accession talks. I am sure that both our peoples wish sincerely that the European Union's continuously developing economic and cultural basis would ensure a safe home for all of us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please let me address also issues directly associated with NATO for here, at Gödöllö, a representative NATO conference on pollution and disaster prevention is taking place.
Estonia's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance has become reality. I am convinced that the system of common security helps safeguard our sustainable development. Estonia is ready to plan and take part in joint action for the sake of enhancing security and peace in the world.
The world at the outset of the 21st century has become more uncertain and violent. However, threats to our security derive apart from damages caused by forces of nature also from human relations, and that - at all levels. In this respect, we think in the first place of terrorism but also fires and explosions, transport, radiation and chemical accidents, as well as their cross-border influences can have fatal consequences. Estonia has experience, for instance, in the field of liquidating ground water pollution and other damages caused by foreign troops. Also the spread of AIDS, SARS and other both human and animal infectious diseases as new threats should be addressed more seriously than so far.
In the Baltic Sea region, first of all, older type nuclear power plants pose a great threat. Danger of disasters is also associated with large enterprises transporting or processing dangerous chemicals and continuing traffic of single-hull tankers on the Baltic Sea.
It is crucial to lessen the vulnerability of energy sector, telecommunications and information technology in order to prevent crises that may arise due to their existing vulnerability.
Protection of essential infrastructure is a new challenge to all of us. No country can solve this task on its own since the world is globalizing more and more. The bomb explosions in Madrid a few weeks ago shocking the whole world showed again where today threats can be hiding. According to inquiring journalists, the terrorist attacks of Madrid were not prepared on the spot only. Therefore, cooperation between government institutions and private sector should be given high priority.
The given list of potential threat sources could be continued. Unfortunately, as to many threat factors we have been forced to deal with consequences rather than prevention.
At this point, I cannot leave unmentioned the need to enhance efforts to reduce stockpiles of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in the world. Considering our common safety, reduction of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and prohibition of their use is an absolute must.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Security and safety form a whole consisting of many different components, no one of which must be underestimated. Therefore, it is of vital importance that we worked together more closely than so far in order to reduce the aforementioned threats and to prevent catastrophes. We have to join our efforts to monitor and eliminate threat sources, but also to help and support each other in emergency.
Today, being here, at the venerable Saint Isztvįn University, I as a scientist would like to highlight the importance of defence research, of close international cooperation in both fundamental research and implementation of its results. Only far-reaching international cooperation can guarantee success in our rapidly globalizing world.
Inspired by the fact that here, at Gödöllö, time-honoured agricultural education is combined with high-profile discussions under the auspices of NATO I would combine these issues also winding up my speech. In Estonia, NATO has become synonymous with security. Globalizing also means, among other things, that the subject area termed security is constantly expanding. And so, it is possible that in future, in the framework of NATO, we have to approach from a new angle issues, which hitherto have been regarded to be issues of environmental protection, health or agriculture.
There is more and more talk on the importance of agriculture in terms of security. Among other things, it has been brought out that agriculture is one of the most vital economic activities involving human settlements in the whole territory of a country and, thus, is connected with capability of independent basic defence. The importance of agriculture in providing a country's own population with basic food is an aspect, which is debated at the WTO agricultural talks resumed recently. The European Union still faces the task to form its positions on this matter.
The world is of one accord over the need to guarantee food safety but there is still no agreement on how to guarantee it. In Estonia, there has been a lot of talk about organic farming, which in the European Union is carried out on less than 10% of agricultural land. In the judgement of several experts, one of the strongest effects of organic farming is that it makes traditional production come closer to nature. Genetically modified organisms and control of their spread is a separate problem, which in future needs to be dealt with more frequently.
When multi-functional or so-called non-commercial facets of agriculture are under discussion then, apart from the production of food satisfying basic needs of people, the following aspect should be mentioned:
- first, agriculture allows a settlement covering the whole territory and, by that, contributes to a well-balanced regional development;
- second, despite many structural changes in labour market, agriculture in rural regions offers the largest number of jobs;
- third, agriculture helps preserve biodiversity on semi-natural grasslands; I would give as an example meadows covered with scattered trees, typical of Estonia, that once occupied nearly one million hectares, yet of which by now, only 30 thousand hectares are left. Even so, it is a landscape form in need of active protection, for as to their richness in species - nearly 70 species per square metre - the Estonian meadows covered with scattered trees belong to the top of Europe as well as of the world.
This enumeration could be continued since agriculture offers several other environmental services: it produces oxygen and prevents fires, offers sights essential in terms of recreation, such as scenery, buildings and picturesque herds of animals. Agriculture is also the traditional basis of national culture and identity, preserving cultural heritage for example in the form of settlement patterns, farm architecture and handicraft.
You are definitely aware of the fact that in the age of opening borders we, at the same time, must be ready to protect us through effective import controls in order to prevent potential threat of bioterrorism. Hostile agricultural production or food pollution can bring about incalculable consequences. Animal diseases having spread across borders have demonstrated convincingly how much still remains to be done, for instance, regarding measures to be taken.
In summary it may be said that agriculture as multifunctional economic activity has importance in terms of strategic security as well. In this respect, we are still facing many debates both in the European Union, in NATO and at the global level.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Permit me once more to express my deep gratitude to the Council of University for this high recognition given to me. I do hope that contacts between Estonian and Hungarian scientists will become closer and more fruitful than so far - just the way it should be between kindred peoples!
Thank you.
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