World Food Forum 2026 closes with renewed commitment to end hunger

WFF reaches record global audience under the theme "Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow."

This year's World Food Forum featured more than 200 sessions, exhibitions and side events, with more than 90,000 people from 189 countries participating.

Rome - The 2026 edition of the World Food Forum (WFF), hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), concluded on Friday, reinforcing its role as the world's largest annual gathering dedicated to agrifood systems transformation.

Held under the theme "Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow," the WFF took place from 8 to 16 October at FAO's headquarters in Rome, featuring more than 200 sessions, exhibitions and side events. More than 90,000 people from 189 countries participated, with in-person attendance doubling from the previous year, to 32,000. WFF content and messaging reached an estimated 2.4 billion people online.

The flagship event brought together global leaders, policymakers, youth, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, farmers, fishers, investors and innovators around a shared goal: accelerating agrifood systems transformation and progress towards a hunger-free world.

In remarks delivered at the closing ceremony, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said that beyond the attendance numbers, the Forum's true value lay in the connections forged, ideas challenged, partnerships built and actions that will follow.

Qu also addressed the young people participating in the Forum, encouraging them to believe in the possibility of a zero-hunger world.

"Every great transformation in human history began with someone young enough to believe it was possible," Qu said. "So go, lead, innovate, nourish. And know that FAO stands with you," he added.

WFF 2026 opened on 8 October with the second edition of FAO's “From Seeds to Foods” exhibition at Rome's historic Circo Massimo, once the setting for ancient Roman chariot races.