Students4Food Talks 2025: Young Researchers Inspiring Agrifood Systems Transformation

For the second year in a row, the Students4Food Talks took place in Belgium.  This year’s edition was organized by the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels in collaboration with Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) under the World Food Forum 2025 theme “Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future”. Building on last year’s success at Ghent University, this annual initiative continues to empower young researchers to drive transformation in global agrifood systems.

Students4Food Talks was created to inspire young researchers to contribute to the transformation of agrifood systems worldwide. The event invites PhD students to present innovative ideas, research, and solutions aligned with FAO’s mandate.

This year, following submissions from universities across Belgium and the Netherlands, a jury composed of Professor Marnik Vanclooster of UCLouvain, Raschad Al-Khafaji, Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, and Marian Blondeel of the United Nations Regional Information Center UNRIC, selected seven outstanding PhD speakers.

Their presentations reflected the breadth and depth of research being conducted by the next generation of agrifood leaders. The audience had the chance to listen and learn from:

• Sarah Suffys (Université de Liège): “Hand in Hand with Microbes: Brewing Better Drinks for a Better Future”;
• Charlie Van Paepeghem (Universiteit Gent): “Hand in hand for a more resilient food system—a collaborative approach between life and social sciences”;
• Fatma Jaafer (UCLouvain): “Why We Keep Eating Meat: A Psychological Exploration of Consumer Behavior”;
• Boniface Brian Odong (KULeuven): “Breaking walls, building hope: Processing plant-based cell walls for a sustainable planet and dysphagia care”;
• Yeshimebet Tegenie (Wageningen University & Research, on behalf of Muluken Ekule): “Co-designing Climate-Resilient Agri-Food Systems: A Path to Better Foods and a Better Future”;
• Manon Autuori (UCLouvain): “Breath analysis as a window into diet–microbiota–host interactions”;
• Florian Martin (Université de Liège): “Alternative management of potato late blight disease through essential oils: towards more natural chemicals for crop protection”.