FAO advances digital innovation and inclusive agrifood systems at Science and Innovation Forum 2026

Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) highlighted the role of digital innovation, inclusive technologies and entrepreneurship in advancing agrifood systems transformation during the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2026, held at FAO headquarters in Rome.

Contributions from regional experts were featured in three sessions addressing the modernization of agricultural extension services, women's empowerment through digital technologies, and the role of entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence (AI) in mobilizing investment for food security.

From strengthening rural advisory services to expanding women's economic opportunities and connecting innovation with investment, the discussions underscored the importance of ensuring that digital transformation responds to the needs and priorities of farmers, rural communities and agrifood businesses across the region.

Faten Adada, Agriculture and Rural Develop Expert and Day-to-Day Manager of Rural Transformation team at FAO RNE, contributed to the Innovators Breakfast – Open Collaboration, where she presented regional priorities for advancing inclusive innovation and entrepreneurship across agrifood systems in the Near East and North Africa. She highlighted AgriNation as a regional initiative that supports young innovators and strengthens connections among entrepreneurs, technical expertise and innovation ecosystems. Her contribution underscored the central role of youth as partners and drivers of innovation-led agrifood systems transformation.

In the session From field to future: reimagining agricultural extension for smallholder food security, Dr. Ebraheem Suliman Al Taha’at, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at Ajloun National University, Jordan, contributed to the discussion, highlighting the importance of the Arab Forum for Rural Advisory Services (AFRAS) in modernizing rural advisory services across the region to support more inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems transformation.. The discussion examined how digital advisory platforms, AI-enabled agronomy, Farmer Field Schools and cooperatives can improve farmers' access to knowledge and innovation, while accounting for local conditions, trust and gender-related barriers.

Maggie Refaat, FAO Gender Specialist, contributed to Women farmers in the digital age: from access to agency, presenting the SheGrows, WhatsApp-based AI chatbot developed by FAO to support women farmers in rural areas with timely, localized and accessible agricultural information, which was piloted in Minya Governorate, Egypt. The session emphasized the importance of moving beyond access to digital tools to assess how technology strengthens women's decision-making, economic empowerment and ability to improve their livelihoods.

Regional perspectives also informed How can entrepreneurship accelerate food security progress?, a joint session of the Science and Innovation Forum and the Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum. Prof. Dr. Osama Elrayes, Chair of Agripreneurship at the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD), contributed perspectives from the NENA region to the discussion on how AI-driven innovation can help bridge investment gaps, strengthen agrifood value chains and support more inclusive and sustainable food security outcomes.

Alongside the Forum, discussions focused on strengthening digital public infrastructure, modernizing advisory services, building rural communities’ knowledge and skills, linking science- and evidence-based solutions to field implementation, and aligning country priorities with FAO’s technical expertise and innovation resources.

FAO RNE's engagement at the Forum reflects its continued efforts to identify and promote practical applications of science, technology and innovation that can support resilient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems across the Near East and North Africa.