FAO places food security and agrifood systems centre-stage on the global AI and digital agenda

Geneva – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) placed food security, livelihoods and sustainable agrifood systems at the forefront of the global artificial intelligence (AI) for sustainable development agenda, calling for an inclusive, responsible and development-oriented digital transformation, during the high-level week of meetings and discussions held in Geneva from 6-10 July: the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum, the AI for Good Global Summit and the first ever Global Dialogue on AI Governance.

“In this Triple Week, FAO connected its science, innovation, policy, partnerships and country-level actions to showcase how responsible digital transformation can support food security, climate resilience and sustainable development,” said Prof. Charles Spillane, FAO’s Chief Scientist.

He noted that AI and digital technologies are rapidly changing how countries produce food, manage risks, deliver services and protect natural resources. Yet global debates on AI and digital governance too often overlook the lived realities and needs of small-scale producers, rural communities and the many different types of agrifood and farming systems worldwide.

“The slogan ‘No Farmer Left Behind’ is not just an aspiration. It is also a reality test. AI access is not the same as AI impact. Innovation that reaches only the largest, best-resourced farms will not deliver the agrifood transformation outcomes that are urgently needed. If AI is deployed without consideration of existing inequalities, there is a likelihood that it will deepen and widen existing inequalities. This is why we have established with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other partners the multistakeholder Global Initiative on AI for Agrifood Systems, which held its first meeting in FAO Headquarters in June this year,” Spillane said.

WSIS Forum: keeping agrifood systems on the digital cooperation agenda

At the WSIS Forum FAO engaged through its session on Advancing Trusted Data Governance, Inclusive AI, and Digital Public Goods to Build Scalable Digital Public Infrastructure and Multilingual Innovation Ecosystems for Global Agrifood Systems Transformation. The Organization reinforced its leadership as facilitator of the WSIS Action Line C7 on e-agriculture.  Since the establishment of WSIS in 2003, this specific role gives FAO a unique platform to convene partners around digital agriculture, connectivity, trusted data governance, digital public goods, digital public infrastructure. capacity development, and inclusive digital transformation.

FAO’s WSIS engagement also spotlighted, for the first time, youth-led digital solutions, trusted communication for climate and food security, inclusive AI and multilingual innovation ecosystems. The message was clear: young people are not only beneficiaries of digital transformation, but active innovators, communicators and partners in translating digital cooperation into real development outcomes for rural communities.

FAO’s visibility at WSIS was further strengthened by the recognition of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Portal as a WSIS Prizes 2026 Champion  This recognises the Portal’s growing value as a digital public good and global knowledge gateway, which aims to help countries, practitioners and partners access evidence-based innovation resources, connect fragmented knowledge ecosystems and scale science, technology and innovation for sustainable agrifood systems transformation.

AI for Good: turning innovation into impact

At the AI for Good Global Summit, FAO made the case that AI for sustainable development must support agrifood systems transformations for Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life, leaving no one behind. The Global Summit offered a powerful platform for FAO and its partners to showcase responsible AI solutions that respond to real food security and sustainability needs across our agrifood systems.

FAO engagements in the AI Summit included its leadership of specific sessions on AI for Food Security: Responsible Innovation for Resilient Agrifood Systems; AI on the Menu: Transforming Digital Food Systems; youth-focused sessions on AI solutions in agrifood systems such as Advancing AI solutions in agrifood systems through youth leadership and the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge Awards Closing Ceremony; Scaling AI That Works: Evidence, Partnerships and Financing for Sustainable Development, Humanitarian Action and Resilience and From Challenge to Change: Open-source Generative AI for Real-world Impact.

FAO’s active engagement in these sessions consistently highlighted the importance of open, human-centred and trustworthy AI for advisory services, early warning, climate resilience, agrifood systems transformation and youth-led innovation, while positioning young researchers and innovators as co-creators of responsible AI solutions for agrifood systems and food security.

Global Dialogue on AI Governance: shaping rules that work for agrifood systems

The first Global Dialogue on AI Governance provided a key moment to shape international thinking on safe, secure and trustworthy AI. FAO brought to the Dialogue its sector-specific perspective grounded in food security, social inclusion, data quality and stewardship, digital public goods and infrastructure. capacity development and farmer-centred safeguards.

FAO’s contributions to the Dialogue focused on bridging AI and digital divides, strengthening digital public good foundations, promoting interoperability, enabling open approaches and ensuring that developing countries, small-scale producers and poorer rural communities can benefit from AI. FAO emphasized that responsible AI must be transparent, accountable, inclusive and grounded in a “do no harm” approach.

Through the newly launched UN AI Dialogue Partnerships Hub, FAO has raised the visibility of some of its AI use cases, including Tellus (FAO’s AI-powered knowledge navigator); Ms FAO AI – the first ever FAO HR avatar to serve as a virtual Colleague; the AgroInformatics Digital Assistant (AIDA); LUMINA-AI-assisted Early Warning and Decision Support for Acute Malnutrition in South Sudan; and more country-level applications supporting advisory services, irrigation, resilience, survey analysis and farmer engagement – especially from the Europe and Central Asia Region.

AI must enable inclusivity and sustainable development that addresses real world needs

FAO’s Digital Week engagement surfaced one clear story: digital and AI governance must be farmer inclusive, development-oriented and grounded in the real-world needs and data that represents different local agrifood contexts. WSIS highlighted the digital cooperation foundations. AI for Good showcased innovation and deployment. The Global Dialogue is helping to shape the governance frameworks that are necessary to guide responsible use.

Through its cross-organizational Working Group on AI, FAO is actively connecting these dimensions to ensure that agrifood systems and food security are a critical focus for digital and AI transformation. By engaging across all three platforms during the Digital Week, the FAO delegation built and reinforced partnerships, while consolidating its role as the key reference organization with mandate for responsible AI and digital transformation for agrifood systems and food security.