Global AgriInno Challenge 2026 final pitch event

The Global AgriInno Challenge 2026 has completed its selection phase, with thirteen youth-led innovation teams chosen to advance to the final pitch event, to be held in China and livestreamed for a global audience on 10 September 2026.

Selected from a pool of 191 applications, of which 137 met the eligibility requirements, the finalist teams represent a broad geographic range, spanning Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific and Caribbean island states. Co-organized by FAO, Zhejiang University and Pinduoduo, the Global AgriInno Challenge has, over six consecutive editions, established itself as a flagship initiative supporting youth-driven innovation in agrifood systems.

The 2026 edition is dedicated to the theme "Accelerating Innovation for Resilient Agrifood Systems in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)." The theme responds to the particular vulnerabilities faced by SIDS, which experience disproportionate exposure to climate change impacts, food insecurity, geographic isolation and constrained innovation ecosystems, while remaining largely outside the focus of global investors and technology developers. In recognition of this, the competition introduced a dedicated SIDS Track alongside its established Global Track.

The finalist teams competing in the Global Track are: Berikanpreneur (Indonesia); Biotermica Innovación (Colombia); AI-Enabled Biopesticide Platform for Sustainable Crop Protection (United States of America); Island Green Core – Dual-Insect Smart Cycle: Agricultural Waste Conversion and Climate Resilience (China); Agri PREDICT AI (Pakistan); AI-powered Circular Bio-Input Industry (United Republic of Tanzania); AgriKonnekt: Connecting Smallholder Farmers to Regenerative Agriculture, Climate Finance, and Sustainable Markets (Kenya); and Bionic Agriculture System (Singapore).

The finalist teams competing in the SIDS Track are: Compost'Île: Youth-Led Coastal Composting for Resilient Island Communities (Mauritius); The C-SAC Caribbean Pilot (Grenada); Teivaka – Verified Agricultural Identity Infrastructure for Pacific Smallholders (Fiji); The Fiji Food Innovation Lab: Combating NCDs Through Local Agrifood Innovation (Fiji); and Agrifood Transformation (Vanuatu).

The finalist teams will present their solutions before a panel of judges at the final pitch event in China on 10 September 2026, from 15:00 to 19:00 Beijing time (9:00 to 13:00 Rome time). The event will be accessible via livestream.

Global AgriInno Challenge 2026 final pitch event livestream registration