Youth, young scientists and innovators play a crucial role in development, adaptation, dissemination and scaling of biotechnological solutions to enhance food production, improve nutrition and reduce environmental impacts and enhance resilience of agrifood systems.

As part of FAO’s 80th Anniversary Celebrations and the Global Agrifood Biotechnologies Conference, FAO calls for submissions for Biotech Innovation Challenge to showcase biotech innovations developed by young scientists and innovators below the age of 35. The FAO Agrifood Biotechnologies Conference will be attended by representatives of governments, international and intergovernmental organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society organizations, private sector and producer organizations.

The submissions for the challenge should focus on the recent research results and advances in biotechnologies in crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, nutrition, food safety, bioeconomy and soil microbiome that are yet to be widely tested and have potential to create tangible solutions at scale and contributing significantly to agrifood systems transformation. The submissions may also focus on recent biotechnological solutions for solving the problems of smallholders in developing countries, especially to increase yield and income, improve resistance to pests and diseases, nutrition and food safety, and for characterization and conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture.