World Food Day 2026: Make innovation inclusive and impactful for resilient agrifood systems

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) marked World Food Day 2026 on Friday, emphasizing the importance of effective and wide-reaching innovation to its enduring mission of ending hunger and building resilient agrifood systems across the globe.

World Food Day, celebrated annually on Oct 16, took place this year under the banner of "Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.", with events held in more than 50 languages across 150 countries worldwide.

FAO director-general Qu Dongyu opened the event at FAO's Rome headquarters which brought together prominent global figures alongside international leaders and dignitaries.

"Innovation must serve people and improve lives," Qu said in his opening address. "It is about enabling people to turn knowledge into opportunity, science into solutions, and hope into action. Its true value lies in reaching the people who need it most, and when it is shared and scaled."

Qu warned that the gap between what science can do and what reaches the world's farmers remains too wide and emphasized that the most effective solutions are developed with the people who use them – by farmers, fishers, pastoralists and rural communities – and are adapted to local realities, supported by investment and partnerships.

For FAO, World Food Day 2026 is an important opportunity to reflect on our common duty to strengthen the agrifood systems that make food available, accessible and affordable to all, while rising to meet the challenges of doing and simultaneously supporting farmers and all who work across agrifood value chains, and taking care of the environment.

Innovation is transforming how food is produced, stored, transported and marketed. What is crucial is translating innovation into impact and making it available at scale, which demands sustained investment and partnerships. The world has the knowledge and the resources to do so – innovation is the link to ensure delivery.