35th Session of the Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia GENERATION YSInvest “A regional lens of the World Food Forum for Europe and Central Asia” Opening Remarks

My Dear Brother the Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan,

Honourable Ministers,

The Honourable President of the University,

Dear Teachers, Professors, and Friends, 

I am very pleased to come back after eleven months.

All these things are happening because of my dear brother the Minister of Agriculture of Tajikistan, and the strong leadership of His Excellency the President, who is currently in Beijing.

Today, all my three Deputy Directors-General and the Assistant Directors-General, responsible for budget, for animals, for climate change, and for regional affairs, as well as the Chief Economist, the Chief Scientist, and the Director for Emergencies and Resilience are all here with me. I joked with my dear brother the Minister saying that we almost moved the entire office from Rome to Dushanbe, which indicates how serious I am, how serious FAO is, and how much I value the cooperation between FAO and Tajikistan, and this regional ministerial conference here in Tajikistan – for which you should be proud!

Today, we have started the first official activities with this dialogue with young people and our young future gamechangers.

Before I officially read my statement, I wanted to add one sentence: you should be proud of being Tajik!

You like your land, you control your water, you seek the mountains - you are like a beautiful ship seeking in its mountains benefit for all the people in the world, and especially in this region.

This region has an extraordinary strong potential to lead the transformation of agrifood systems.

Today, we bring together three powerful forces of change — youth, science and innovation, and investment — not as separate themes, but interconnected drivers of transformation.

Let me begin by thanking the Government of Tajikistan and also the Agrarian University for hosting us here in Dushanbe.

I especially saw the big change after I visited this building, the university campus became so beautiful and so clean.

We come from Rome you know, which is a very ancient city, but it is different from here.

The young people are our future - the changemakers of the world.

Across Europe and Central Asia, rural youth are not waiting for change – they are already leading it.

They bring new ideas, new energy and a new business model, agrifood systems and rural development.

Yet too often, they face structural barriers – limited access to land, finance, knowledge and opportunities

Our responsibility is to remove the barriers and to unlock their full potential.

Dear Young Leaders and colleagues,

Your ideas, entrepreneurship, and willingness to innovate are essential to building agrifood systems that are more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.

The FAO World Food Forum provides a powerful global platform to connect youth, science and innovation, and investment, and to elevate youth voices in shaping agrifood systems transformation.

Supporting the next generation of farmers is central to the future of family farming.

We can create a global movement for the empowerment of youth and women, by establishing national and regional chapters.

Building on the UN Decade of Family Farming, we recognize that the future of family farming is not only about creating employment, but also about ensuring continuity of culture, food and traditional knowledge, resilience, and innovation.

We place particular emphasis on young women.  

2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer – to highlight women’s role and empowerment, and how these are essential to achieving food security and economic resilience.

Youth are central to transformation, and science and innovation are the foundation of this transformation.

Innovation is not only about digital technologies, but also about solutions that work in practice.

Science is about better seeds, healthier soils, efficient water use, improved diagnostics, and practical knowledge systems that farmers can trust and apply.

It is about combining traditional knowledge with modern science and ensuring that innovation works in real conditions.

Through the FAO Science and Innovation Strategy, we are strengthening the science–policy interface, so that decisions are based on evidence and data.

We are supporting innovative ecosystems, so that ideas move from research to real impact.

And we are promoting inclusive innovation, so that smallholders, women and young people are not left behind, but are firmly in the driving seat.

The challenge is how to apply knowledge at scale.

In Europe and Central Asia, we have strong universities, excellent researchers, and growing innovative ecosystems.

We need to ensure that innovation reaches farmers, helping them to produce more with less.

Innovation that provides solutions that protect their crops and soils, livestock, forests and water.

Solutions that connect them to markets.

Science must move beyond institutions and reach fields, farms and communities.

Last year, I was here and I was very impressed by this University. You are still very serious about investing in agriculture, food and rural development.

Also, you are lucky because His Excellency your past President, also had many years of experience in how to manage a farm, and he still keeps in touch closely with the agrifood system in Tajikistan.

I told my brother the Minister, it is a very hard job for him because he could not add any further information to that of the past President because he has been working on the farm since he was young.

Dear Friends,

Investment is the bridge between knowledge, ideas, the design of products, services and impact for deliverables.

Across the region, there is a need to mobilize both public and private investment in agrifood systems.

This is key to unlocking Central Asia’s potential as a breadbasket of the world.

Through stronger partnerships and better financing models, we can build a resilient, integrated, and sustainable regional grain system, supported by coordinated investment, improved logistics, and strengthened collaboration.

By connecting youth, science and innovation, and investment, we can turn dialogue into holistic design, from policy into productivity, from a fortune into a bright future.

FAO remains committed to working with all partners to advance transformation and ensure the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all – leaving no one behind.

The future of agrifood systems in this region will depend on how we invest, how we innovate, and how we empower the next generation.

In closing, on behalf of FAO, I really want to appreciate the University and the leadership of the President in uniting us all, for this preparation in bringing the young generations together, and for the commitment to agrifood systems transformation through science, innovation, investment, and opportunities.

I wish all of you harmony in your life, and a better quality of life.

Luckily, in Tajikistan you have a lot of sun, even though last night we had showers and rain. That means you have a balance – a real harmonized society that you are aiming to be.

I wish you all the best and bless you.