World Food Forum 2026: Flagship event opens under theme “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.”

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu also inaugurates Global Youth Forum as week-long programme gets underway

Now in its sixth year, FAO’s World Food Forum has grown into one of the largest global gatherings dedicated to agrifood systems transformation.

Rome – The 2026 World Food Forum (WFF) opened on Monday at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), bringing together government leaders, researchers, scientists, investors, farmers, fishers, Indigenous Peoples and young people from every region to advance solutions for transforming agrifood systems. Held under the theme “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow,” the Forum highlights how science, technology, innovation and traditional knowledge can help address increasingly complex global challenges.

Now in its sixth year, FAO’s flagship event has grown into one of the largest global gatherings dedicated to agrifood systems transformation, fostering dialogue, collaboration and the exchange of ideas to accelerate progress towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

Organized around three pillars - the Global Youth Action Initiative, the Science and Innovation Forum, and the Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum - the WFF runs from 8 to 16 October and features high-level dialogues, consultations, innovation laboratories, pitch events, matchmaking sessions, exhibitions and cultural programmes showcasing how people around the world are shaping a more sustainable food future.

In his opening remarks, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu highlighted the significance of this year's theme: "The actions we take today – the new technologies we deploy, the traditional and indigenous wisdom we leverage, the young people we empower – will determine whether tomorrow’s agrifood systems can truly nourish a growing and changing world."