WAFI 2026 World AgriFood Innovation Conference Officially Opens in Pinggu, Beijing

WAFI 2026 World AgriFood Innovation Conference

BEIJING, Sept. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the morning of September 17, WAFI 2026 World AgriFood Innovation Conference opened in Pinggu, Beijing. The conference is jointly hosted by China Agricultural University, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the People's Government of Pinggu District, Beijing Municipality, and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and organised by the Beijing Pinggu Shinongchuang Agricultural Science and Technology Centre.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

Running for three days under the theme "Green and Healthy Transformation of Agrifood Systems," the conference adopts a "1+8+1+N" overall framework. Nearly 300 important foreign guests and outstanding youth representatives from over 30 international organisations, research institutions, and business associations will attend and speak, while more than 200 representatives from domestic universities, research institutes, large enterprises, and industry associations will deliver reports or keynote speeches. Total attendance is expected to exceed 10,000. Participants will engage in in-depth discussions on frontier topics such as food security, green and low-carbon development, AI in agriculture, and nutrition and health, directly addressing the real challenges of global agrifood system transformation and jointly charting a new vision for sustainable development.

Ren Youqun, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of Education; Zhang Zhili, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Kenneth M. Quinn, Co-Chair of the Conference Advisory Committee and Honorary President of the World Food Prize Foundation; Zhong Denghua, Party Secretary of China Agricultural University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, former Prime Minister of Niger and Board Member of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); and Pacome Kossy, Minister of Agriculture of the Gabonese Republic, delivered speeches in succession. Wen Xian, Vice Mayor of Beijing, gave the opening address. Sun Qixin, Co-Chair of the Conference Advisory Committee and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, presided over the opening ceremony. Chen Wei, President of China Agricultural University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, attended and presided over the innovation release session.

The innovation release session presented six major outcomes covering technological solutions, expert think tanks, and international reports, providing diverse references for the transformation of global agrifood systems. Zhang Fusuo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor at China Agricultural University, released China's Model for Global Agricultural Green Transition: Science and Technology Backyard Going Global Programme. Di Tao, Party Secretary of Pinggu District, Beijing, released Pinggu Solution for the Green and Healthy Transformation of Agrifood Systems: Integrating Agriculture and Food, Linking Agriculture and Health. Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), released the FAO Innovation Report. Simeon Ehui, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), released the CGIAR Innovation Report. Hans Hoogeveen, Independent Chair of the FAO Council, released the 2026 UN Sustainable Development Agenda 12.3 Report. Alice Ruhweza, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), released the AGRA Innovation Report.

During the conference, six plenary sessions will be held in succession, covering resource circulation and food loss reduction, AI-driven global agricultural transformation, green and sustainable agricultural development, upgrading of the dietary nutrition industry, agricultural innovation and South-South cooperation, and high-level policy dialogue. Multiple special sessions, parallel meetings, and international exchange activities, as well as the World AgriFood Innovation Expo and supporting events including the WAFI Public Welfare Forest, parade, AgriFood Fair, fun run, and market, will be held concurrently, striving to create an open platform integrating academic discussions, achievement showcases, industry matchmaking, and international cooperation.

Since the first conference was held in China in 2023, the World AgriFood Innovation Conference has grown into a high-end international exchange platform with broad influence in the global agrifood field. Grounded in Beijing's development as an international centre for science and technology innovation and the practice of building Agricultural Zhongguancun, the conference links global innovation resources, promotes the mutual learning of ideas, the exchange of technologies, and the implementation of projects, and contributes its platform strength to advancing global food security governance and promoting international cooperation in the agrifood field.

Contact person: Ms. Zhu, Tel: 86-10-63074558.