WORLD FOOD FORUM 2025 SCIENCE AND INNOVATION FORUM Session: “Driving technologies and innovations toward equitable agrifood systems transformation: Launching of ATIO” Opening Remarks

Thank you, Martin Vincent, Director of the Office of Innovation.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, we open a new chapter for science and innovation at FAO as we bring the Agrifood Systems Technologies and Innovations Outlook – ATIO – to life.

I launched the concept in 2022 because knowledge that cannot be reached, cannot help.

Too many proven solutions sit on shelves of bookstores, of course, and libraries, or in separate systems, out of sight from those who need it most, and who often must act under pressure.

We have entered the digital world for more than 20 years. However, FAO is still the oasis.

You said nest, or desert. It is not an oasis in desert; it is desert surrounded by only a green belt. Because we are a knowledge desert.

You say we want to build knowledge excellence. However, if the scientific knowledge for agrifood systems is not collected and disseminated in the most accepted and efficient way, and only based on classic publications, it is not good enough.

That is why we supported the former Chief Scientist to start this. Luckily, we have the new Director of the Office of Innovation and the Chief Scientist ad interim, Ms Beth Crawford. She has been ad interim for two periods. I really want to use this opportunity to appreciate her historical linkage and continuity to promote Science and Innovation in FAO and across the FAO networks. Please join me in giving her special applause and appreciation. Also, I want to praise her for the professional and elegant way in which she is carrying out her role as the scientific moderator.

ATIO closes that gap.

It brings science within reach, turns options into clearer choices, and helps leaders move from intention to implementation.

ATIO is a living, interlinked knowledge base of agrifood innovations.

It is not a single, static repository, but a practical gateway connected to multiple trusted databases – it is a living system.

ATIO lets you discover and compare solutions that already exist and points you towards relevant, implementable options.

ATIO is also a biennial publication that blends foresight and field evidence to identify emerging trends, priority technologies, and pathways for investment and scale.

So, knowledge should be useful; if it is not useful it is just knowledge.

It is designed to guide choices, not just describe them.

Its aim is to illuminate where we should go, and what it will take to get there.

This matters because impact demands speed, scale, and fairness.

ATIO shortens the time from need to solution.

It helps good ideas travel across borders and sectors, and it is accessible to all – so that small-scale farmers and producers, women, youth and Indigenous Peoples are not the last to benefit, but among the first.

Government ministries can compare options with confidence.

Researchers can build upon what works.

Entrepreneurs can plug into real demand.

And partners can align finance with solutions that are readily available.

Dear Colleagues,

ATIO is as strong as the community that uses it – so I invite ALL of you to use it as much as possible!

Share your cases, your data, your lessons.

Help us keep it accurate, relevant and equitable.

Let us be Better Together.

Let us ensure that what is proven in one place becomes possible in many other places too.

Let us put evidence within reach, solutions in motion, and have results that endure.

Thank you. Enjoy science and enjoy your life!