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About the GFFA

About the GFFA

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that addresses key issues for the future of global agriculture and food policy. It is held annually in Berlin during the International Green Week (IGW). The GFFA is organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) in cooperation with the Messe Berlin GmbH. The five-day 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. High-ranking guests such as António Guterres, Angela Merkel, Ban Ki-moon and King Charles III have enriched the GFFA in recent years with keynote speeches.
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Our goals and results

Strengthening Agriculture

  • Agriculture is the largest employment sector worldwide and currently provides an income for 40% of the world’s population.
  • The global population is expected to rise to around ten billion people by 2050.
  • Ensuring the supply of scarce natural resources for humanity will be the most pressing global challenge of our future.
  • Our goal is to use these resources worldwide in an intelligent, efficient and sustainable way, thereby sustainably increasing agricultural productivity.
  • We want to present new concepts and solutions for sustainable agriculture at the regional and global level.
  • In doing so, we want to identify common challenges and opportunities for exploiting synergies within our food systems.

Securing the world's food supply

According to the latest figures from the SOFI report, up to 696 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, while around 2.1 billion people do not have reliable and secure access to adequate and sufficient food.

  • We want to develop joint solutions for agriculture in order to secure the global food supply.
  • Our goal is to strengthen food security worldwide – through a strong agricultural sector.
  • We want to monitor and document how the global debate on food security continues to evolve.
  • In doing so, we aim to contribute to the implementation of the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Provide a global platform

  • We provide an attractive platform for discussing the key issues for the future of the global agriculture and food industry.
  • Each year, we select a different topic, focusing on the key challenges of food systems.
  • We want to establish cross-border and global research partnerships.
  • Our goal is to encourage thought leaders and key stakeholders from around the world to participate.
  • We want to create an open, equal and science-based dialog between the most important players in government, civil society, science and business.

Our results

The GFFA provides impetus for the further development of food systems worldwide through:

  • Communiqué of the Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference containing political recommendations, coordinated with Ministers of Agriculture from around 60 countries and involving more than 10 international organizations.
  • Among other initiatives, the Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference 2025 launched a project funded by the BMLEH and implemented by the FAO to develop Terms of Reference for a global bioeconomy platform.
  • Joint declaration by 15 to approximately 20 young farmers from around the world.
  • Exhibition of innovation projects and flagship initiatives.
  • Strengthening of networks and multilateral dialogues.
  • Numerous bilateral meetings between country representatives, the private sector, and international organizations.
  • Reaching a broad audience through coverage in social and traditional media as well as through public relations activities.

Our conference concept

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is the international conference of the BMLEH on agricultural and nutrition policy issues. It has been taking place at the beginning of the Green Week in Berlin since 2009. The respective main topic of the GFFA is discussed and debated in detail by over 2000 international participants in numerous panels and forums.

Opening event

The opening event will kick off the GFFA and lays the foundation for the many expert discussions to take place over the next few days. The core of the opening event is a moderated panel discussion.

Young farmers' forum

By invitation of the BMLEH, up to 20 young farmers from around the world will meet at the GFFA Young farmers’ forum to draft a joint declaration on the topic of the GFFA. The declaration will be handed over to the agriculture ministers at the Federal Foreign Office.

Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference

The political highlight of the GFFA is the non-public Agriculture Ministers’ Conference in Berlin led by the German Agricultural Minister Alois Rainer. With around 60 agriculture ministers in attendance, it is the largest conference of its kind worldwide. The conference is also attended by high-ranking representatives from more than ten international organizations, such as the FAO, OECD, WTO and World Bank. In the final communiqué, which is always adopted unanimously at the conference, the agriculture ministers formulate a joint political position on the respective topic of the GFFA. These results are incorporated into further international agricultural policy discussions.

High Level Panel

The High Level Panels are high level discussions that provide in-depth insight into the current topic of the GFFA. At these panels, ministers from various countries and representatives of International Organisations of agriculture will share their perspectives on the current subject of the GFFA.

Cooperation Market

In addition, a two-day cooperation market will take place. It offers various players from business, science and associations, as well as start-ups, the opportunity to engage in dialogue and exchange experiences, and gives visitors and exhibitors the opportunity to talk to each other.

Expert Panels

The GFFA expert panels will once again provide a platform for intensive expert dialogue between international participants from politics, science, business and civil society. This year, the expert panels will again be organised by leading stakeholders from these sectors. The aim is to jointly develop and bundle important findings and opinions on the current topic of the GFFA in order to make a valuable contribution to future discussions on the subject matter.