Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2026

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that promotes food security, sustainability and innovation in agriculture. The forum offers an international audience of experts from politics, business, science and civil society the opportunity to exchange ideas and reach agreements on issues and challenges of global agricultural policy and food security.  

The 2026 GFFA was held January 15-17 in Berlin, Germany and focused on the issue of water, including sustainable water use, solutions to competing uses of water, the blue bioeconomy, and international water governance. The GFFA included multiple concurrent events including Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference, where 60 ministers of agriculture penned a communiqué urging action for greater food and water security. The GFFA’s 16 expert panels and 3 high-level panels were attended by approximately 2,000 participants from around the world.  

Aquatic Blue Food Coalition at the GFFA

Blue Foods and the Blue Bioeconomy: Pathways to Nutrition, Resilience, and Sustainability

16 January 2026 | 15:30 – 17:00 | City Cube, Berlin

At the 2026 GFFA, the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition co-hosted the expert panel, Blue Foods and the Blue Bioeconomy: Pathways to Nutrition, Resilience, and Sustainability. The 90-minute session brought together leading experts, practitioners, and policymakers to explore both the untapped potential of aquatic foods and the complex challenges that must be overcome to scale them sustainably and equitably.  

The conversation recognized that aquatic foods are essential for nutrition, particularly for women, children, and vulnerable communities, while also playing a major economic and social role by supporting millions of livelihoods and a growing global trade. At the same time, they are deeply interconnected with climate and biodiversity agendas, which makes their sustainability critical. Addressing their full value and impact therefore requires integrated governance that cuts across food, agriculture, fisheries, trade, nutrition, and climate policy. 

Key themes from expert speakers: 

• Aquatic foods are central to global food systems, and their importance is only growing—it is impossible to ignore aquatic foods in any serious conversation about food security, nutrition and livelihoods. 

• Growth without transformation will not deliver the outcomes we need. We need to aim beyond more production, to produce better: sustainably, equitably, and in ways that ensure livelihoods and align with nutrition and climate goals. 

• Aquatic foods are increasingly entering high-level food and agriculture discussions from national to regional to international, not as a side issue but as a core component of food system transformation. 

• Aquatic foods are now firmly linked to the global climate agenda, not only as systems that are highly vulnerable to climate impacts, but as critical contributors to climate solutions. 

There is more work to be done, as hurdles remain in mainstreaming these important topics, including the need for greater consumer literacy to understand them, improved recognition within nutrition discussions, and better accessibility and access to financing for aquatic food programs, among others. 

During the expert panel discussion, several key questions were addressed including, how aquatic foods can be more fully embedded in national food policies, nutrition strategies, and global food system agendas, how aquatic foods can be positioned as a strategic pillar of food security and development, and how to overcome challenges related to scaling solutions. 

Speakers: Mr. Jón Erlingur Jónasson, Special Envoy for the Ocean Iceland,  Luis Rua, the Secretary for Trade and  International Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), Brazil; Manuel Barange, Assistant Director-General, FAO, Karly Kelso, EDF / ABFC, Shakuntala Haraksigh Thilsted, Nutrition Adviser, CGIAR; Sloans Chimatiro, President of the Policy Research Network for Fisheries & Aquaculture in Africa (PRNFAA), a statuary organization of the African Union; Jörn Schmidt, Director, Sustainable Aquatic Food Systems at WorldFish; Juliana Rodrigues Gadelha, IMR / Fresh Water Farms  Europe, Maximilian Schwarz, International Affairs Officer, European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD); Andreas Schaumayer, BMZ 

Co-organizadores: Aquatic Blue Food Coalition, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Blue Food Future Program, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Oceana, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), WorldFish, Global Seaweed Coalition, Better Food Future, European Bureau for Conservation and Development (EBCD)