At the Food and Agriculture Organization’s headquarters in Rome, Director-General Qu Dongyu opened the fifth Science and Innovation Forum with a challenge: make sure new ideas reach the people who need them most. The gathering began on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, as 645 million people around the world continued to face hunger.
The forum is part of the World Food Forum, which this year is guided by the theme “Innovate Today. Nourish Tomorrow.” Established by Qu in 2022, the Science and Innovation Forum brings together policymakers, researchers, innovators and partners to turn research into practical ways to improve food and farming. Its work matters because advances in technology have not yet reached everyone: one in four people worldwide faces food insecurity, and one in three cannot afford a healthy diet.
The event runs from 13 to 16 October and focuses on using science, technology and innovation to make agrifood systems more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. The tools under discussion include biotechnology, remote sensing, robotics and artificial intelligence. But, Qu said, these advances will only make a difference if they are affordable, accessible and used by the people they are meant to help. Ninety-six percent of the world’s offline population lives in low- and middle-income countries, where hunger and food insecurity are concentrated.
Qu urged participants to judge progress by whether innovations reach farmers, fishers, herders, young entrepreneurs and women who grow much of the food in their communities. He also called for strong evidence and enough funding to bring useful ideas to people. “No farmer left behind is not an aspiration, but a reality test,” he said.
The forum’s discussions are designed to help countries turn scientific advances into better food security, nutrition, livelihoods and resilience, while supporting decisions based on evidence. One tool highlighted is FAO’s first dataset on Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators, known as ASTI. It helps countries track research and innovation, spot gaps in investment and plan support for research and development in agrifood systems.
Speakers at the opening included Princess Basma bint Ali of Jordan, FAO Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North Africa, who called for science and technology to work alongside traditional and local knowledge. Uzbekistan’s Agriculture Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov spoke from his experience as a geneticist and former minister for higher education, science and innovation. Cuba’s Science, Technology and Environment Minister Armando Rodríguez Batista discussed how science ministries can help research serve farmers and consumers. Alexander Alimov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, addressed food security as a shared concern and the role of science diplomacy.
Sessions through the four-day forum will cover science communication, rules for artificial intelligence, climate adaptation, One Health and new ways to fund innovation. Joint events with the World Food Forum Youth Initiative will bring young people into conversations about careers, research and entrepreneurship. The test for the ideas shared in Rome will be whether they move beyond discussion and become tools that farmers and communities can afford, use and trust.