From 20 to 24 January, WFO President Arnold Puech d’Alissac and WFO Young Farmer delegate Elisabeth Hidén represented farmers’ voices at the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.

WEF Annual Meeting serves as a platform for global dialogue, bringing together public and private stakeholders to collaborate on strategies for addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. This year, around 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries convened under the theme of “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” High-level discussions focused on reimagining growth, industries in the intelligent age, investing in people, safeguarding the planet and rebuilding trust.

WFO Champions Farmers’ Role in Shaping the Future of Food Systems

Throughout the week, WFO President Arnold Puech d’Alissac actively advocated for farmers’ interests during several high-level sessions and roundtables.

A key moment was his contribution to the official WEF event, “Changing the Landscape of Food,” developed in collaboration with CNBC. Moderated by Mr Steve Sedgwick, Presenter and Co-Anchor at CNBC, the panel featured prominent speakers, including Mrs Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Mr Laurent Freixe, CEO of Nestlé, Mr Stefaan Decraene, Chair of the Managing Board at Rabobank, and Mrs Asma Khan, Founder of Darjeeling Express.

The session explored strategies to rethink the economics of food in light of global problems such as hunger and the escalating impacts of climate change, which exacerbate food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide.

The event’s full recording can be found here.

©World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell | Flickr

During his various interventions, the WFO President emphasised that face first-hand the impacts of climate change, from extreme weather events to dwindling resources. Many of them, particularly in developing countries, continue to go to bed hungry. He underscored that while farmers bear the brunt of these crises, they frequently find themselves on the receiving end of decisions made elsewhere. “Now more than ever, I see the need for farmers to take the lead in shaping the future of our food systems,” he stated. “However, ‘farmers first’ does not mean ‘farmers alone’.”

The President stressed that scaling sustainability and improving resilience in agriculture is not only about overcoming technical barriers, such as poor infrastructure, high production costs, and complex regulatory environments. It is equally about rebuilding trust among stakeholders across the agri-food value chain. “All value chain actors must take their fair share of responsibility in the transition to more resilient and sustainable food systems,” he remarked.

He also called for stronger partnerships to support innovation and de-risk sustainability efforts at the farm level.

WFO Strategic Meetings at Davos: Building New Global Connections

In Davos, the WFO President engaged in strategic bilateral meetings, fostering new connections and potential partnerships.

Among these was a productive conversation with Mr Julio A. Moltó, Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industry. The meeting centred on developing a roadmap to support Panamanian farmers and enhance their access to international markets.

The WFO President expressed a strong belief that expanding the WFO network is pivotal for amplifying farmers’ voices and highlighted the great potential of collaborating with Panama to strengthen world farmers’ global representation.

©Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias de Panamá

Another crucial meeting was held with Mr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Trade, to discuss the importance of fostering diverse trade partnerships and building resilient supply chains, particularly for essential goods like food. Central to the conversation was WFO’s commitment to promoting farmer-centred value chains and advocating for trade systems prioritising resilience and sustainability.

WFO Young Delegate at WEF: Unlocking the Next Generation of Farmers

For the first time, a WFO Young Farmer delegate, Mrs Elisabeth Hidén, a former WFO Gymnasium Programme student, President of the Federation of Young Swedish Farmers, and Vice-President of the , joined the WFO delegation at WEF.

As part of her engagement, she participated in a multi-stakeholder discussion organised by Nestlé in partnership with POLITICO, titled “How regenerative agriculture can unlock the next generation of farmers,” focused on addressing how regenerative agriculture can make farming more attractive to young people, particularly considering the challenges and uncertainties that often prevent them from entering the sector.

The discussion, moderated by Mr Jamil Anderlini, Regional Director of POLITICO Europe, also involved Mr Laurent Freixe, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé, Mrs Jennifer Morris, Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy, and Mr Brian Sikes, Chief Executive Officer of Cargill.

During the session, the WFO delegate highlighted the key obstacles young farmers face, such as limited access to arable land due to high land prices and difficulties in securing capital, noting that these challenges are even more significant for women. She also pointed out issues like low profit margins, bureaucracy, limited social benefits, climate uncertainty, and changing political decisions, which make farming less appealing to younger generations.

Despite these challenges, she emphasised that solutions are within reach: implementing new business models with risk-sharing mechanisms, establishing long-term political agreements, and training young farmers through initiatives like the WFO Gymnasium programme.

Her contributions underscored the critical role of youth in shaping a more sustainable, fair, and equitable future for all.

©Nestlé 

Recognise, Engage and Empower World Farmers for Global Sustainability

Through its participation in the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, WFO reaffirmed farmers’ commitment to collaborating with all actors in the value chain as key partners and strategic allies in global sustainability efforts. As WFO President Arnold Puech d’Alissac highlighted, effective collaboration demands a fundamental shift in approach. This includes recognising agriculture as a source of solutions, actively involving farmers in creating policies and programmes, and significantly increasing the allocation of human, financial, and technical resources to support sustainable practices at the farm level.

While there is no single solution—no silver bullet—for the so-called ‘food systems transformation,’ the incredible diversity of farming sectors remains the cornerstone of long-term food systems resilience, which relies on the ability of all farmers in their unique contexts to make the best possible choices for their businesses, environment, and communities.

In this context, farmers’ organisations are uniquely positioned to bridge global discussions with local realities. Building their capacity to support farmers through this transition is one of the most powerful strategies and one of the most overlooked opportunities for advancing sustainability and resilience in agriculture.

Cover photo by ©World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell | Flickr