Among the major challenges facing societies today is ensuring the resilience and long-term sustainability of food systems. With farming populations aging and agricultural systems facing growing pressures, questions about who will cultivate the land and how future generations will be fed are gaining increasing attention. These were among the issues addressed at the 2026 World Food Forum (WFF), hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

A central component of the WFF was Global Youth Action, which placed particular emphasis on the role of young people in shaping the future of food systems, and on the conditions needed to enable their meaningful contribution. The Forum brought together representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and food and farmer organizations, offering opportunities to exchange perspectives on the future of agriculture and food systems. 

Against this backdrop, the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) Brussels Office contributed to discussions at the Forum on generational renewal in agriculture and the broader transformation of global food systems.

Reflecting on the discussions at the Forum, Chloe Jamali from the BIC’s Brussels Office commented: “For policies and approaches on generational renewal to reflect the fuller range of young people’s aspirations and capacities, a more fundamental rethinking of how young people, their role in society, and the purpose of agriculture itself are understood, is needed. This calls for measures that cultivate their capacities to reflect, collaborate, act with moral purpose, and respond to their social and ecological realities with justice and discernment, and that see young people, not only economic actors, but as stewards of ecosystems.”

This question of how young people are perceived, and the conditions that enable them to contribute meaningfully, was echoed in several interventions throughout the Forum. As Zita Oligui Nguema, First Lady of Gabon, observed, with around 16% of humanity aged between 15 and 24, young people cannot simply be regarded as an audience to be addressed, but must be recognized as “a force for decision-making.” 

Such recognition, however, also raises questions about the institutions and structures through which young people can contribute. Speaking at the opening of the Forum, Felipe Paullier, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, emphasized that “generational renewal will not simply happen because a generation arrives.” Rather, it requires investment and institutions willing to move youth participation “from consultation into real influence.”

Yet the challenge extends beyond creating greater opportunities for participation within existing systems. As Louise Vitré, President of the World Food Forum French National Chapter, put it, “There needs to be change in the system we [young people] are being asked to inherit.” Her observation points to a broader dimension of generational renewal: not only enabling young people to participate in agriculture, but also recognizing their capacity to contribute to the future direction of these systems, and how they are organized, governed and transformed.

These perspectives are closely related to the BIC's ongoing efforts to examine the assumptions that inform prevailing approaches to agricultural development and youth engagement. From this perspective, generational renewal involves more than facilitating young people's entry into agriculture. It also requires considering how educational processes, institutional structures and policies can strengthen their capacity to contribute to the well-being of their communities, and the environment.