Call For Papers
The 2026 Global Food Security Forum for Young Scientists will be held on 16-18 October 2026 in Wuhan, China. This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Global Food Security Association for Young Scientists (GFSAYS), which is jointly founded by Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO).
The theme of the 5th Forum is Global Food Security Governance in the Digital Era. It aims to bring together scientists, scholars and innovators from different backgrounds to discuss their research findings and exchange innovative ideas on food security governance in the digital era, covering topics such as smart agriculture, data-driven policy-making, and intelligent agrifood systems.
Global food security governance is entering a transformative phase, increasingly shaped by digital innovation and intelligent technologies. As artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and smart agriculture rapidly reconfigure global food systems, governance frameworks must adapt, not merely to integrate these tools, but to proactively steer their deployment toward equitable, sustainable, and resilient outcomes. These technologies hold significant promise for strengthening early warning mechanisms, improving efficiency in resource use, and expanding real-time market intelligence and financial inclusion for smallholder farmers. Advancing inclusive and adaptive food security governance therefore demands coordinated institutional reform, multilateral policy coherence, and deliberate alignment of digital strategies with core development objectives: climate resilience, social equity, and environmental sustainability. This forum aims to bring together government representatives, international organizations, technology developers, and academic researchers, particularly young scholars, to examine how digital and intelligent solutions can be effectively integrated into food security policy, ensuring that technological progress advances, rather than undermines, the universal goal of zero hunger.
Topics of Interest
We welcome research papers on topics including, but not limited to:
- Digital Technologies and Food System Resilience: AI-driven early warning systems for food crises; big data analytics for supply chain disruption prediction; digital platforms for real-time agricultural market monitoring.
- Smart Agriculture and Sustainable Production: Precision farming technologies and resource use efficiency; IoT and sensor networks in smallholder agriculture; digital tools for climate-adaptive crop management.
- Food Consumption, Demand, and Dietary Transitions: Digital tools for tracking and forecasting food demand patterns; AI-powered nutrition and dietary guidance; online food delivery platforms and their implications for consumption behavior; digital interventions to reduce food loss and waste; data-driven approaches to understanding food preferences; intelligent technologies for promoting sustainable and healthy diets.
- Governance Frameworks and Institutional Innovation: Multilateral policy coherence in digital agriculture; regulatory approaches to data governance in food systems; institutional reform for inclusive technology adoption.
- Equity and Social Inclusion: Digital financial inclusion for smallholder farmers; technology access gaps and gender dimensions; participatory design of agricultural digital platforms.
- Environmental Sustainability: Digital tools for monitoring land use change and deforestation; AI applications in sustainable water and soil management; blockchain for transparent and sustainable food value chains.
- Policy Integration and Development Alignment: Aligning national digital strategies with SDG2 targets; coherence between climate policy and agricultural technology deployment; South-South cooperation in digital agriculture governance.
- Emerging Technologies and Future Scenarios: The role of generative AI in agricultural extension services; autonomous systems in food production and distribution; ethical frameworks for AI deployment in food security contexts.
Submission
Authors are invited to submit an extended abstract (800 words), a full paper, or an organized session proposal to the email: fs@hzau.edu.cn.
- Doctoral students should indicate whether to submit their papers to the PhD sessions of the forum.
- An organized symposium proposal should include the following information: a theme and a brief introduction of the session, chairperson, discussants, presenters, and the titles and abstracts of their presentations.
- Submissions must be original and should not have been published previously or be under consideration for publication.
- Submissions will be assessed based on originality, significance, intellectual interest, clarity of exposition, relevance, and technical rigor.
All accepted submissions will be presented at the forum.
- The accepted full paper will be considered for the Best Paper Award.
- The academic committee of the forum will select several candidates for the award among the accepted papers, and announce award papers during the conference.
Important Dates
The submission is due on 23 September 2026.
The notification of acceptance will be sent by 30 September 2026.
Guidelines
All papers should be submitted and presented in English. The format should follow the guidelines as follows:
<Guideline for extended abstracts>
<Guideline for contributed papers>
<Guideline for organized sessions>
Registration Fees and Expenses
The 2026 forum hosted by HZAU is committed to promoting open and inclusive participation. Therefore, there is no registration fee for this event. However, participants are kindly requested to cover their own accommodation and travel expenses. We encourage participants to seek funding support from their institutions or organizations where possible. For detailed information on recommended accommodation options and travel guidance, please refer to the conference website or contact the organizing committee. We look forward to welcoming you to the forum and appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this regard.
Provisional Agenda of the Forum
Contact
GFSAYS Secretariat
Email: fs@hzau.edu.cn
Website: https://thefoodsecurity.org/events/2026