Water – our most precious resource

Parallel to the Green Week the 18th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) brought together agriculture ministers from around the globe, international decision-makers, experts and practitioners in Berlin. The overarching theme “Water. Harvests. Our Future." and the role of agriculture in global water resilience and food security was discussed during the three days conference.

The 2026 GFFA was officially opened by Parliamentary State Secretary Martina Englhardt-Kopf, with a keynote address delivered by the UN Special Envoy on Water, hasH.E. Retno L.P. Marsudi (Indonesia). Around 2,000 international participants engaged in discussions across 16 expert panels, 3 high-level panels and the Cooperation Market, focusing on sustainable water use, the innovation potential of the blue bioeconomy, the constructive management of competing water uses and the strengthening of international water governance.

Group photo of the Agriculture Minister Conference. (photo GFFA/BMLEH)

Agriculture needs sufficient water to ensure global food security

The political highlight was the Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference, attended by 61 ministers of agriculture from around the world as well as 14 high-level representatives from international organisations. In their final declaration, ministers emphasised that agriculture needs sufficient water to ensure global food security, while also playing a key role in promoting sustainable water use and contributing to global water resilience. They called for strengthening the voice of agriculture in the run-up to the 2026 UN Water Conference and beyond and for better integrating the sector into global water policy.

International Young Farmers’ Forum

At the 2026 International Young Farmers’ Forum, 20 young farmers from all continents shared practical experiences related to water and presented their joint declaration at the Agriculture Ministers’ Conference to set water security on the list of intenational top priorities.

Recordings & impressions are available here Video recap – 2026 GFFA

Impressions of the 2026 GFFA can be found Photo gallery – GFFA 2026

Further information is available at GFFA Website