Kathmandu_
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has called for wider adoption of agricultural innovations, improved access to technology and increased investment to address global hunger, improve nutrition and strengthen the resilience of agrifood systems.
In a message marking World Food Day 2026, Dongyu said the world already possesses the capacity, tools, technologies and knowledge needed to ensure food security for all. However, the challenge lies in making proven innovations affordable, accessible and adaptable to local needs.
In 2025, 645 million people faced hunger worldwide, while approximately one in three people could not afford a healthy diet, according to Dongyu.
“The challenge is not a shortage of innovation, but a shortage of adoption at scale,” he said, emphasizing the need to turn proven solutions into locally adapted and financially viable options that farmers and agrifood enterprises can adopt, sustain and expand.
This year’s World Food Day theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow,” highlights the role of innovation in transforming agrifood systems through better production, improved nutrition, a healthier environment and better livelihoods, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
Digital technology can transform agriculture
Dongyu highlighted digital advisory services, animal disease surveillance, precision irrigation and geospatial technologies as important tools for improving agricultural productivity and food security.
Digital advisory services can help farmers access weather forecasts, market prices and tailored farming guidance, enabling better decisions on planting, farm management and marketing. Similarly, animal disease surveillance and early-warning systems can identify emerging threats and give veterinary services and livestock keepers more time to prevent outbreaks.
Soil moisture and nutrient sensors, together with precision irrigation, can improve the efficient use of water and agricultural inputs. Satellite and geospatial technologies can help countries monitor forests and changes in land use, while improved market data and early-warning systems can enable governments to anticipate disruptions affecting food prices, supplies and trade.
Dongyu also emphasized the importance of traditional knowledge and practices developed by farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities over generations. Their contributions to crop diversity, water management, soil conservation and biodiversity remain valuable sources of innovation.
Through its Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognizes and supports agricultural systems built around such knowledge and practices.
Combining traditional knowledge with modern science and technology can help producers adapt to changing climatic and environmental conditions, he said.
Small-scale producers need better access to finance and technology
Despite advances in science and technology, many proven innovations remain unavailable, unaffordable or insufficiently adapted to local farming conditions. Limited access to finance, infrastructure, information, markets and connectivity continues to prevent millions of small-scale producers, particularly women and young people, from benefiting from new solutions.
Dongyu said closing this gap requires stronger connections between scientific research, innovation and service delivery, supported by cooperation among governments, research institutions, the private sector, producer organizations and local communities.
Shared digital platforms, public agricultural extension systems, cooperatives and other service delivery models can reduce the cost of accessing innovations and extend their reach to more farmers.
Developing solutions together with users is equally important, he said, as it helps ensure that innovations address local needs, remain technically and economically viable, and are more likely to be adopted and sustained.
Agricultural research is widely regarded as one of the highest-return investments in rural development. However, expanding successful innovations requires investment not only in research but also in infrastructure, institutional capacity, skills and partnerships.
Innovation vital for climate resilience and sustainability
Dongyu stressed that innovation is essential to reducing the environmental footprint of agrifood systems and helping farmers adapt to climate extremes.
Agrifood systems account for approximately one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and more than an estimated 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals, he noted.
Innovative agricultural practices can help improve resource efficiency, reduce environmental pressures and strengthen the capacity of farmers and other producers to cope with climate-related risks.
He called for innovations to be adapted to local realities, supported by appropriate policies and backed by sustained investment. Governments can create enabling conditions and invest in research, infrastructure and extension services, while businesses can transform ideas into affordable products and services.
Farmers and local communities also have a critical role in providing the practical knowledge needed to ensure that innovations work effectively in real-world conditions.
Investment needed to turn innovation into impact
Dongyu said the importance of innovation extends beyond developing countries to major industrialized economies, where increasingly complex food markets face supply disruptions and emerging risks.
Better data and analytical tools can help anticipate these challenges, strengthen supply chains, improve competitiveness and protect consumers when disruptions in one part of the world affect food prices and availability elsewhere.
However, innovation can deliver meaningful results only when promising solutions are translated into investable and bankable projects. This requires sound project design, viable business models, risk-sharing instruments and access to both public and private finance.
Such an approach can help promising solutions move beyond pilot projects to commercial scale, generating measurable economic, social and environmental returns.
Dongyu concluded that every new achievement builds on existing knowledge and experience. Ensuring that innovation reaches the people and communities who need it most is essential to making future harvests more productive, sustainable and nutritious.
World Food Day is observed annually on October 16 to raise awareness of hunger, food security and the need to build more sustainable agrifood systems.