Former WFO President Theo de Jager pays tribute to Dave Velde, a long-standing leader within the WFO family.

I served alongside Dave Velde on the Board during some of the most challenging years in the history of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO). We spent countless hours together in meetings, mostly in Rome, but also in Moscow, Luxembourg, Budapest, and, more recently, in the virtual world.

We often held different views or looked for solutions from different perspectives. Yet we never reached a point where it was difficult to understand each other’s reasoning or find common ground. There were times when we agreed to set an issue aside and continue the discussion over a few glasses of whiskey before returning to the meeting the next day, where every word would be recorded in minutes. But whether around the boardroom table or over a glass of whiskey, our conversations were always marked by utmost respect.

Dave had a remarkable ability to use words with precision and economy.

He was a leader among leaders. He was the ideal chair for the most difficult meetings. He had the rare ability to see through rhetoric, identify the essence of a debate, and chart a path towards a conclusion. He had mastered the art of cutting to the heart of an issue and focusing the discussion on what truly mattered. He could guide a room towards agreement by identifying the points of consensus and expressing the outcome in language that no one could misunderstand.

Dave Velde was one of those rare people who, no matter how loudly the crowd played, marched only to the beat of his own conscience. And when he believed a policy discussion was going in the wrong direction, he never hesitated to stand apart from the rest.

Farmer leaders across the world knew and respected Dave as a straight shooter.

The world of farmers has lost a remarkable leader. Those of us who knew him personally have also lost a loyal friend.

Theo de Jager

Former President, World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO)

Executive Director, Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI)

Cover photo by ©Evans Nicholas Mutethia