At FAO’s Rome headquarters, nearly 1,000 students aged 9 to 13 gathered for Junior World Food Day as leaders called for food innovation to reach the people who need it most. The gathering was part of World Food Day 2026, held under the banner “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.” Events marking the day took place in more than 150 countries and in more than 50 languages.
The annual observance on 16 October highlights a stubborn challenge: advances in science and technology do not always reach farmers and rural communities. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says innovation can help end hunger and build food systems that are better able to withstand shocks. But new tools must be useful in local settings, shared widely and backed by investment and partnerships.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu opened the Rome event, urging that innovation be judged by whether it improves lives. “Innovation must serve people and improve lives,” he said. Qu warned that a wide gap remains between what science can do and what reaches farmers. He said effective solutions should be developed with the people who use them, including farmers, fishers, pastoralists and rural communities, and adapted to local needs.
Pope Leo XIV, in a statement read on his behalf, called for a “new global food order” rooted in responsibility between generations and a balance between technology and wisdom. “In an era of greater technological advancement than ever before, it is intolerable that bread should be considered a privilege and water a contested commodity,” he said. Italy’s agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, said innovation is key to joining productivity with sustainability and resilience. A video message from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that food is a basic human right.
The ceremony also recognized practical work already under way. FAO honored the Aerospace Information Research Institute of China for CropWatch Cloud, a satellite-based crop monitoring platform led by Professor Bingfang Wu. The platform has been adopted by 32 countries and joined FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Geospatial Platform; its CropWatch Bulletin reaches users in 170 countries.
A second Achievement Award went to Addis Fekadu Andeta of Arba Minch University in Ethiopia. He developed new ways to process enset, a staple crop, including a microbial starter culture that cuts fermentation time and tools that make processing more efficient and reduce food losses after harvest. His enterprise, Lucy Enset, has opened market opportunities and supported smallholder farmers, particularly women.
Qu also praised 100 Women Heroes in Agrifood Systems and Rural Development, recognized for contributions ranging from food production to preserving knowledge. Their work, along with the CropWatch and enset projects, shows how innovation can take many forms, from satellite data to better processing methods.
FAO’s message for World Food Day was that invention alone is not enough: tools must reach communities at scale. The examples honored in Rome offer a grounded picture of what that can look like. With sustained investment and cooperation, knowledge can become practical support for the people who grow, process and move food.