“Youth are not waiting for tomorrow to lead!” FAO Rwanda said, as agricultural institutions and young social media influencers gathered at the World Food Programme (WFP) headquarters in Rwanda on 28 October 2026, to mark World Food Day under the theme “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow”.
The event kind of brought together representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) ,the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), WFP, and young people who use social media, especially X, to share information about agriculture and food security.
This annual event started in Rwanda in 2023, and it was initiated by Coumba D. Sow, a former FAO representative in Rwanda together with social media agricultural influencers, including Niyomugabo Jean Claude, Sangwa Sifa Florence and Nkunzurwanda Germaine. It is usually held during the Rwanda Agriculture Show.
World Food Program Rwanda Country Director Andrea Bagnoli highlighted how important it is to back local entrepreneurs and source food from local farmers for school meals, saying it can strengthen nutrition and rural economies, at the same time.
He also encouraged young people and content creators to tell farmers’ stories, push local products and use digital platforms to unlock agriculture’s potential.
From turning farm waste into valuable products to connecting farmers with customers online, innovation can generate fresh income opportunities, and improve access to nutritious food.
Dr Patrick Karangwa, Director General of Agriculture Modernization (Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda). said precision agriculture could help Rwanda boost agricultural productivity, raise farmers’ incomes and respond to growing food demand.
He explained that Rwanda’s growing population means innovation is not optional, it needs changes in how farmers produce food, manage resources, and make decisions. He added innovation goes beyond machinery, and it includes farm management and the organisation of agricultural production, basically.
Dr Karangwa named precision agriculture as a priority, using data and digital technologies to understand what is happening inside fields, then tailor farming practices to what each area needs.
He outlined five guiding principles: applying the right input, in the right amount, at the right place, at the right time, and with the right technology.
Fertilizer blends customized to Rwanda’s soils were shared as an example of moving away from blanket recommendations, towards inputs that match local production realities.
Still, access to these technologies stays hard. Dr Karangwa said farmers might have trouble affording them alone, so cooperatives matter, because they can make collective access possible.
Mohamed Aw-Dahir, FAO representative in Rwanda, emphasized the need to ensure proven agricultural innovations reach more farmers and food enterprises, at an affordable cost, and in a form they can actually use.
“The challenge is not a shortage of innovations. It’s a shortage of adoption at scale.”
He said innovation also covers better ways to farm, learn, collaborate, and finance solutions. Farmers’ knowledge, built over generations, remains a strong base of innovation, especially when it is mixed with modern science.
Aw-Dahir underlined the importance of bringing these opportunities to rural communities, particularly smallholder farmers, women and young people.
“You are already driving change today through entrepreneurship, digital innovation, research, advocacy and creativity,” he told the young people.
The conversations pointed to the need to finance innovation, widen access to new solutions, and build partnerships that help farmers and food enterprises actually benefit from agricultural progress.
Under the theme “Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow,” the event put young people, digital platforms and agricultural innovation right at the centre of discussions on strengthening Rwanda’s food security.
Photo Credit: FAO Rwanda Comms Team
Written by Jean Bernard MUKUNDENTE