Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Science & Innovation @ FAO’s World Food Forum

8 - 16 October 2026. FAO’s World Food Forum (WFF)

8 to 12 October. From Seeds to Foods

The Forum is organised around three interconnected pillars: Global Youth Action, the Science and Innovation Forum, and the Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum. Its 2026 flagship event is organised under the theme “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.”

It features policy dialogues, scientific sessions, innovation laboratories, investment matchmaking, exhibitions and side events, with particular emphasis on connecting modern science and technology with traditional knowledge and locally relevant innovations.

The Science and Innovation sessions (13–15 October 2026) aim to accelerate the transformation of agrifood systems by strengthening the connections between scientific research, technological innovation, policymaking and practical action. Bringing together researchers, policymakers, development partners, private-sector actors, farmers and young innovators, the sessions explore how science and innovation can address food insecurity, climate change, biodiversity loss and inequalities in agrifood systems.

Key discussions focus on strengthening science–policy interfaces, improving access to reliable evidence, mobilising investment in agricultural research and innovation, harnessing digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and developing more inclusive research partnerships. Particular attention is given to translating scientific knowledge into locally relevant solutions, empowering women and youth, and ensuring that innovations reach smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities.

Tuesday, 13 October — Science & Innovation Forum opening

SP01 14:00 – SIF Opening: Accelerating science & innovation for food security impacts

The 2026 Science and Innovation Forum opens with a Plenary on harnessing science and innovation for agrifood transformation and food security. Under the theme "Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow”, leading speakers spark dialogue on working together to accelerate progress. The Plenary highlights data, and evidence and technology for decision-making, while noting that millions still lack basic technologies. All career stages and stakeholders are invited to build a stronger global community for action.

QU Dongyu Director-General, FAO
Prof. Charles Spillane Chief Scientist, FAO
H.E. Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov Minister of Agriculture, Republic of Uzbekistan
H. E. Armando Rodríguez Batista Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment Havana, The Republic of Cuba
HRH Princess Basma bint Ali FAO Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North Africa
Mr Alexander Alimov Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation
Prof. Paolo Benanti, TOR Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics of Technology, Advisor to the Vatican on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy
Ana Maria Bertolini, WFF Young Scientist Group and University of São Paulo (USP)
Ms Wafa Ben-Hassine, Chief, Digital Technology and Human Rights Section Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Prof. Robbert Dijkgraaf, President-elect International Science Council (ISC) Amsterdam, Netherlands
H.E. Mutahi Kagwe, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Kenya
Dr Segenet Kelemu, Executive Director Pan-African Programs Mastercard Foundation Nairobi, Kenya
Dr Mangi Lal Jat, Director General Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) New Delhi, India
Dr. Vincent Martin, Director, Office of Innovation, FAO
Mr Martien van Nieuwkoop, Director, Agricultural Development Gates Foundation
Mr Achim Steiner, Senior Fellow Oxford Martin School University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom
Prof. Ryutaro Tao, Vice President Dean of the Faculty and Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
Dr Abdou Tenkouano, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. Valmaine Toki, Chair and Pacific Member, United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) & Professor of Law Te Piringa Faculty of Law, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Dr. Andrew Zolli, Co-founder Chief Impact Officer Planet Labs PBC San Francisco, United States of America

SP02 16:30 – Seeds of trust: rethinking science communication for food security

Science and innovation are critical for agrifood transformation, but does evidence alone drive change, or does how and by whom science is communicated matter just as much? Launching a joint FAO and International Science Council paper, this session explores who communicates science, for whom, and why; whose knowledge counts; how trust is built; and how artificial intelligence should reshape science communication. Experts from research, media, policy and civil society will debate.

Prof. Charles Spillane, Chief Scientist, FAO
Anne Aubert, Senior Communications Officer, Office of Corporate Communications, FAO
Dr Germana Barata, Science Journalist and Researcher, Laboratory of Advanced Studies in Journalism University of Campinas (UNICAMP), São Paulo, Brazil
Ms Valerie Bizier, Deputy Director, Statistics Division, FAO
Dr Mariette DiChristina, Dean, Professor of the Practice in Journalism, College of Communication, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Ms Wara Iris Ruiz Condori, Youth Policy Board Member, World Food Forum, Bolivia (Plurinational State of)
Prof. Robbert Dijkgraaf, President-elect International Science Council (ISC), Distinguished University Professor of Mathematical Physics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Prof. Joan Leach, Acting Provost & Senior Vice-President, The Australian National University, Australia
Dr Preet Lidder, Technical Advisor, Office of FAO Chief Scientist
Dr Sheila Obim, Executive Director, Alliance for Science, Nairobi, Kenya
Ms Brigitte Perrin, Founder, Earth Info Hub, Geneva, Switzerland
Dr Elizabeth Rasekoala, President African Gong, The Pan-African Network for the Popularization of Science and Technology and Science Communication, Cape Town, South Africa
Dr Dyna Rochmyaningsih, Science Journalist Independent Jakarta, Indonesia
Dr Dan Santos, Research Fellow Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Australia
Ms Anne-Sophie Stevance, Policy Director International Science Council (ISC) Paris, France
Dr Hisham Younes, Founder and President Green Southerners, Researcher in Environmental and Climate Issues, London, United Kingdom

IM03 14:00 - Hand in Hand Regional Initiative: Scaling Regional Investment for Agrifood systems transformation in Southern Africa

Southern Africa's expanded six-pillar regional investment architecture under the SADC–FAO Hand-in-Hand partnership. Building on progress in irrigation, mechanization, agroprocessing, and trade integration. This program now expands to include seed systems and aquaculture/fisheries—anchored in regional corridors (Lobito, Nacala, Walvis Bay, Beira, Mtwara, Maputo). Discover bankable opportunities.

Wednesday, 14 October — Science-policy and science communication

ST01 8.30 - 10.00 – Lost in translation? Strengthening science–policy interfaces for evidence-informed decision-making

Particularly relevant to agricultural research organizations and NARS: addresses how scientific evidence can more effectively inform policy and decision-making. Robust evidence for agrifood systems is continually generated, but the machinery turning science into policy is often weak or unclear. This session asks why the science-policy interface can be a bottleneck: how advisory systems can be strengthened, how ministries can share one evidence base, how legitimacy and Indigenous knowledge fit in, and how officials' capacity to use evidence can grow. It also launches both a joint assessment by FAO and the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development and a FAO e-learning course, and hosts a frank exchange on what works.

Dr. QU Dongyu FAO Director-General
Prof. Charles Spillane Chief Scientist, FAO
H.E. Armando Rodríguez Batista Minister for Science, Technology and Environment Havana, Cuba
Dr Justine Betja Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) London, United Kingdom
Dr Cecilia Elizondo Member, Steering Committee High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Academic Member, Agroecology Group El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) Chiapas, Mexico
Dr Nizar Haddad Director General-designate International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) Beirut, Lebanon
H.E. Henry Musa Kpaka Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Sierra Leone
Dr Preet Lidder Office of Chief Scientist, FAO
Dr Sélim Louafi Deputy Director General for Research and Strategy French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) Montpellier, France
Ms Greet Maenhout Deputy Director Directorate D – Sustainable Resources Joint Research Centre European Commission Ispra Italy
Dr John Roche Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Wellington, New Zealand
Prof. Sun Tan Vice-President Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) Beijing, China
Ms Claudia Martínez Zuleta Country Director, FOLU Colombia Executive Director, E3 – Ecology, Economics and Ethics Bogotá, Colombia

ST02 8.30 - 10.00 – From Field to Future: Reimagining agricultural extension for smallholder food security

Agricultural extension links science to farmers' fields, but in many countries the connection is weak or underfunded. This session reviews evidence on extension effectiveness, why adoption often fails, and what farmers need to succeed. It weighs digital advisory platforms, artificial intelligence–enabled agronomy, knowledge centres, farmer field schools, and peer networks, and asks whether extension serves women equitably.

Dr. Abebe Haile-Gabriel ADG & Regional Representative for Africa FAO
Prof. Dr Ebraheem Suliman Yousuf Al Taha'at Dean, Faculty of Agriculture Ajloun National University, Ajloun, Jordan
Prof. Regina Birner Head, Department of Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Ms Maria Auxiliadora Briones Executive Secretary, Latin America Network of Rural Advisory Services (RELASER) Managua, Nicaragua
Dr Anamika Dey Chief Innovation Manager and CEO Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) Visiting Faculty, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) Ahmedabad, India
Ms Isnawati Hidayah Senior Researcher, CELIOS; Founder, ROTASI Institute Member, WFF Young Scientists Group (Indonesia)
Dr Timothy Krupnik Director, CGIAR Scaling for Impact Program Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Montpellier, France
Ms Lilian Lihasi Executive Director, African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS) Kampala, Uganda
Dr. Vincent Martin Office of Innovation FAO
Mr Babafemi Oyewole CEO, Pan African Farmers' Organization (PAFO) Rwanda
Ms Anne-Sophie Poisot Office of Innovation FAO
Dr Saravanan Raj Director, Agricultural Extension National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management MANAGE Hyderabad, India
Dr. Selvaraju Ramasamy Office of Innovation FAO
Mr Tsilavo Sarobidy Hasimbola Razanajatovo Director-General of Food Sovereignty, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Madagascar and Head of Delegation
Mr Jozimo Santos Rocha Senior Agribusiness Officer and Officer-in Charge, CFIB
Mr Milindi Sibomana Chief Agriculture Officer, One Acre Fund Kigali, Rwanda
Dr Janny Vos Director, Partnerships Development, CABI

YM10 10:30 – Transformative Research Challenge Finals

The Transformative Research Challenge Finals brings together ten finalist teams to showcase their innovations, engage with an international jury and partners and compete for recognition across five prize areas.

YM11 12.30 - 13.30 - Young Scientists Group: Young women navigating agrifood systems in conflict settings

The World Food Forum Young Scientists Group launches its biennial report: Resilience under pressure: Young women navigating conflict in Agrifood Systems. Bringing together young scientists, FAO leadership and global experts, the session unpacks how conflict reshapes young women's participation, agency and resilience in agrifood systems, and explores how evidence can drive more inclusive, youth- and gender-responsive policy and programming.

Beth Bechdol, FAO DDG
Prof. Charles Spillane, FAO Chief Scientist
Dr. Nicoline de Haan, CGIAR Director
Dr. Gabriela Hernandez, YSG member
Alaa Osman, YPB member
Naina Qayyum, YSG member
Dr. Mayumi Sato, YSG member

ST12 12.30 - 13.30 - Launch of the 5th round of the Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa

This event launches the fifth cohort of the Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led small and medium enterprises in Africa, a joint FAO-Emerging Ag initiative. Since 2022 it has paired women agrifood entrepreneurs, who face gaps in land, finance and market access, with experienced mentors and training. The new cohort brings fifty women entrepreneurs together with mentors for nine months. Programme leadership, mentors and selected mentees will discuss evidence, results and challenges.

Mr Maurizio Martina Deputy Director-General FAO
Mr Abebe Haile Gabriele ADG, FAORAF
Ms Robynne Anderson President Emerging Ag
Mr Bernhard van Lengerich Founder and CEO Seeding the Future
Marina Kamanzi Founder & Managing Director Kagezi Seed Company Limited Zambia
Peserverance Muzeya Founder & CEO Alzanael Private Limited Zimbabwe
Ms Yolande Nankeng Founder Extrait Végétal Sarl
Ms Tacko Ndiaye Senior Officer Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP) FAO
Ms Lauren Michelle Phillips Director Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division (PSU)
Ms Donna Rosa CEO Efour Enterprises
Cherotich Rutto Founder & CEO, Tawi Fresh Kenya Limited Kenya
Nikola Trendov Senior Digital Agriculture and Innovation Specialist, OIN

IM17 14:00 - Presentations of agrifood investment plans by Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Rwanda: tea, coffee, Irish potato, pig and poultry, avocado, and chili for domestic and export markets. Uganda: dairy, animal feeds, maize processing, and hides, skins, and leather. Zambia: livestock, soybeans, and honey. Zimbabwe: irrigation-led production and agro-processing for food security and exports.

14:00 - 16:00 Startup Innovation Awards (SIA) Finals: Accelerating innovation, scaling impact

Eight youth-led startup finalists will pitch their innovative solutions to a live audience and distinguished judging panel. Following deliberations, winners will be announced across four categories, as well as an additional award for AI and the overall 2026 SIA winner.

ST03 17.00 - 18.30 – Growing the Future: Botanic Gardens as Agrifood Allies

Botanic gardens can become vital allies in building resilient agrifood systems. By joining forces with genebanks, researchers, breeders and farmers, they can deliver solutions for more diversified farming and diets, while advancing global biodiversity goals such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Plant Treaty. Experts from FAO, Kew Gardens, the New York Botanical Garden and elsewhere will identify practical ways to connect plant conservation with agrifood action.

Dr. QU Dongyu FAO Director-General
Godfrey Magwenzi Deputy Director-General FAO
Prof. Charles Spillane Chief Scientist, FAO
H.R.H. Princess Basma bint Ali Princess and FAO Goodwill Ambassador Kingdom of Jordan
Ms Ma. Shiela Anunciado Program Manager for Food Security and Nutrition and Food Systems Asia International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) Philippines
Dr Carly Cowell Secretary General, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) Richmond, United Kingdom
Dr Colin Khoury Global Conservation Lead Global Crop Diversity Trust Project Manager Global Conservation Consortium for Food Plants New York Botanical Garden New York, United States of America
Ms Charlotte Lusty Head of Seed Collections Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Richmond, United Kingdom
Dr Sognigbé N'Danikou Scientist Traditional Vegetables Conservation and Utilization World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) Cotonou, Benin
Mr Andrew T. Mushita Executive Director Community Technology Development Organisation (CTDO), Harare, Zimbabwe
Prof. Ryutaro Tao Vice President Dean of the Faculty and Graduate School of Agriculture Kyoto University, Japan

Thursday, 15 October — Main Science & Innovation programme

ST04 9:00 am – Drowning in data, starving for evidence-informed decisions: what futures for scientific evidence synthesis?

Scientific evidence for agrifood and food security progress is continually generated, but synthesis remains lacking across topics, formats and timescales. Unlike climate and biodiversity, agrifood lacks responsive synthesis platforms. This interactive session led by experts from research institutions, international bodies and national systems asks why that gap persists and how priorities shape evidence use, confronting bias in whose knowledge counts and what artificial intelligence could offer.

Dr QU Dongyu Director-General, FAO
Prof. Charles Spillane Chief Scientist, FAO
Mr Ammad Bahalim Senior Program Officer Global Policy and Multilateral Engagement Agricultural Development Gates Foundation Seattle, United States of America
Dr Tanja Kuchenmüller Unit Head, Evidence to Policy and Impact Research for Health Department Science Division World Health Organization (WHO) Geneva, Switzerland
Ms Arianna Legovini Director, Development Impact Development Economics World Bank Group Washington, D.C. United States of America
Dr Preet Lidder Technical Advisor Office of the Chief Scientist, FAO
Dr Racine Ly Director of Data Intelligence & Governance and National Representative, AKADEMIYA2063 Senegal
Dr Biljana Macura Senior Research Fellow Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Stockholm, Sweden
Dr Jan C. Minx Head Evidence for Climate Solutions Working Group Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) Berlin, Germany
Dr Aditi Mukherji Principal Scientist – Climate Action Lead, Livestock and Climate Solutions Hub
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) Nairobi, Kenya
Dr Arnald Puy Associate Professor in Social and Environmental Uncertainties School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Birmingham Birmingham, United Kingdom
Dr Andy Robinson Chief Publishing and Product Officer, and Managing Director Publishing CABI, Wallingford
Ms Birte Snilstveit Director – Synthesis and Reviews Head of London Office International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) London, United Kingdom
Dr Karla Soares-Weiser Chief Executive Officer Cochrane London, United Kingdom

ST05 9:00 – Resilience to disasters and the next zoonotic pandemic: What can a One Health approach deliver?

One Health links pandemic risk and agrifood resilience, extending beyond zoonotic spillover to crop, forest, fish and soil health. This session examines where risk concentrates, how livestock and land use reshape spillover, and treats antimicrobial, herbicide and pesticide resistance as expressions of the same evolutionary dynamics that cannot be solved in silos. It asks: Has One Health changed outcomes or just coordination, and who bears costs versus benefits? Farmers, funders, scientists, policymakers and equity advocates explore these tensions and discuss practical commitments.

Godfrey Magwenzi Deputy Director-General, FAO
Thanawat Tiensin Assistant Director-General, FAO
Mona Chaya Special Adviser Chief Scientist Office, FAO
Dr Helen Coskeran Senior Project Manager, One Health Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Dr Artemiy Dimov Postdoctoral Scientific Collaborator I, Human and Animal Health Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) Allschwil, Switzerland
Bruce Gordon Director a.i. Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration World Health Organization (WHO)
H.E. Dr Víctor Elías Atallah Lajam Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Dr Delia Grace Randolph Professor of Food Safety Systems, Natural Resources Institute University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom
Dr Emmanuelle Soubeyran Director General World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Paris, France
Prof. Xiao-Nong Zhou Professor School of Global Health Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Chief Scientist, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China

ST06 11:00 – Broken by design? Rewiring investment & partnership models for research and innovation

This session asks whether agrifood research funding models are fit for purpose. It examines why fragile, conflict-affected states remain underinvested, why short-term funding favors low-risk work over sustained research, and whether large grants and merged institutions help or hurt quality. It explores power in research agenda-setting and how farmers and Global South institutions can shape questions. Speakers from research and funding organizations will propose funding reforms.

ST07 11:00 – Women Farmers in the Digital Age: From Access to Agency

Marking the International Year of the Woman Farmer, this session asks whether digital agriculture's gains truly reach women farmers, or stall at a gender-digital-rural triple divide. It examines whose knowledge shapes digital tools, men's roles in sharing gains, and why pilots struggle to scale equitably. Built around an exchange between advocates and critics of digital agriculture, it works toward commitments on financing, data consent and design supporting women's empowerment.

ST08 14:00 – How can entrepreneurship accelerate food security progress?

This session asks whether startup-style entrepreneurship fits food insecurity in lower-income countries, where margins are thin and market failures are common. It examines evidence beyond output measures, whether small and medium enterprises deserve more attention than startups, and whether large companies acquiring startups should be central partners. Entrepreneurs, investors, large companies, governments, finance institutions and researchers will debate alternative models and recommendations.

ST09 14:00 – Science & Innovation for water-efficient agrifood systems

Agrifood systems depend on a finite, poorly monitored water base destabilized by climate change. This session weighs evidence on water-food trade-offs, why efficiency gains like drip irrigation may not yield basin-level savings (a Jevons paradox rebound), and evaluates technologies like desalination against hype. It examines financing tools like water pricing, and tests directing artificial intelligence investment toward smallholder irrigation. Leading experts from different sectors and regions will map key water-policy evidence gaps.

ST10 16:00 – Tipping points, cascading risks, and limits to adaptation for agrifood systems and food security

Climate tipping points are widely discussed, but the science of where limits lie and whether they are reversible remains uncertain, and some may already be crossed. This session examines agrifood systems as both exposed to and drivers of tipping points, asking what happens once adaptation fails, shifting to loss-and-damage finance, insurance and managed retreat. Experts from climate science, agrifood systems and governance will diagnose likely failures and possible transformations.

ST11 17:30 – Science with ambition: accelerating early career impact on food security

This session tackles a key bottleneck: helping early-career researchers translate science into food security impact. Structured as short mentoring conversations between emerging and senior scientists, it moves a cohort through five dimensions: ambition, collaboration, policy engagement, communication and purposeful careers. Drawing on researchers from nutrition, agroecology, digital innovation, fisheries and water management, it builds shared actions to accelerate impact.

ST13 12:45 – From Forecast to Action: Leveraging Science and Innovation to Reduce Climate Risks for Agriculture and Food Security

Climate extremes increasingly disrupt agriculture and food security. Advances in forecasting, Earth observation and artificial intelligence offer warnings months ahead, shifting response from reactive to proactive. The challenge is ensuring science informs timely decisions by governments and farmers. Organized by FAO's Office of the Chief Scientist and Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, this event showcases innovative approaches and fosters dialogue on food security.