FAO International Innovation Award 2026 for Sustainable Food and Agriculture (USD 10,000 prize)

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Application Deadline: February 2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 FAO International Innovation Award.The FAO Award for Innovation recognizes ground-breaking innovations in areas under FAO’s mandate to Members or non-state partners, including institutions, individuals, international/regional organizations, academic or research entities, civil society groups, private sector entities and FAO employees.****

Requirements

Basic Criteria

The winning institution/organization demonstrates that they successfully contributed to an area of work related to FAO’s mandate, meeting one or all of the following criteria:

Award specific criteria:

• Have an impact on more than one level of the supply chain from farmers to consumers.
• Strengthen the link between farmers and consumers, e.g., through tracking sustainability features of traded food and agriculture products on labels, innovative institutional mechanisms etc.

General criteria:

• Quality and merit of the innovation
• Potential benefit, impact and sustainability
• Scalability
• Value for money
• Role of youth (under 35), and/or women, and/or marginalized groups

Benefits

Cash Prize

Eligible winners are recognised with a USD 10,000 cash award to support further development or scaling of their innovation.

 Official Recognition

Awardees receive international acknowledgment from FAO and may be featured during key United Nations gatherings, including the FAO Council session in Rome.

Global Visibility

Winning innovations are highlighted across FAO channels and partner networks, significantly boosting visibility among donors, partners and potential collaborators.

Policy Influence

Highlighted innovations can be showcased to global policymakers and institutions interested in sustainable food systems transformation.

Selection Process

Proposals for nominations presented by national, regional or global institutions should be submitted to FAO Representatives (in countries with an accredited FAO Representative) or to FAO Regional and Subregional Representatives (in countries with no accredited FAO Representative), as appropriate, for submission to the Awards Secretariat.

The Award is conferred for activities and programmes with remarkable achievements during the biennium preceding the current one. The Award will be presented by the Director-General to the individual or representative of the recipient institution during a special ceremony at the 181st session of the FAO Council on 30 November-6 December 2026.

Application Timeline:

• December 2025– Call for nominations
• February 2026– Close call
• March/April– Screening
• May– Selection
• December – Ceremony

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the FAO International Innovation Award