Food connects us all. It nourishes our bodies, shapes our cultures and sustains our world. Yet how often do we stop to reflect on the remarkable journey food takes – from its humble beginnings as a seed to the dishes we enjoy every day?

To celebrate and explore this journey, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the City of Rome, will host the First FAO Global Exhibition: From Seeds to Foods.  Opening on 10 October 2025 with remarks by the FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu, and senior government officials from Italy and several Member Nations, the exhibition will also mark the launch of this year’s World Food Forum and form part of FAO’s 80th anniversary celebrations.

Guided by the theme “Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind”, the exhibition will showcase innovations and diverse products across various sectors, including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture. Visitors can expect participation of researchers, academia, chefs, artists, civil society and the private sector, while items from more than 140 FAO Member Nations will be on display.

The exhibition will also feature a rich array of agricultural products supported by the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative, and from sites designated as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). Visitors will be invited to explore – and often taste – the incredible diversity of foods and agricultural traditions from around the world. The program will feature talks, workshops, cultural performances, cooking demonstrations with chefs, hands-on activities for children, offering something for all ages and interests.

Technology will be central to the exhibition, and exhibits will range from multipurpose drones, satellites for geospatial analysis, high-tech tractors and harvesters to beehive sensors, plant disease detecting sniffer dogs, food safety tools and innovative forest products. The Interactive installation throughout the exhibition will immerse visitors in the future of food and farming. Highlights include virtual reality, autonomous vehicle models, as well as physical installations like a miniature replica of the seed vault in Svalbard, Norway; a prototype greenhouse for modern crop production; and an aquaculture tank teeming with diverse species.

The exhibition will be open to the public free of charge.

For updates, please visit the event page (https://www.fao.org/seeds-to-foods/en) and join the conversation on any social media platform of choice using the hashtag #Seeds2Foods.