World Food Day: SCI highlights innovation across the food chain
Turning scientific advances into practical improvements for food security and sustainability
Scientific innovation needs to reach beyond the laboratory to make a difference to food security, argues Professor Richard Hopkins, Chair of SCI's Agri-Food Hub, in a commentary published for World Food Day on 16 October.
His article considers opportunities across the food chain: more resilient crops, precision breeding, automation and better use of data, alongside advances in processing, nutritional quality and shelf life. The challenge is to turn research into solutions that work for growers, food businesses and consumers.
Hopkins calls for sustained, coordinated research and education, with policymakers helping connect scientific progress to practical changes that protect soils and biodiversity while using resources more efficiently.
Why this matters for policymakers
- Research into practice: Support for adoption matters alongside funding discoveries.
- Whole-chain thinking: Production, nutrition and waste reduction need to be considered together.
- Delivery partnerships: Farmers, industry, researchers and consumers bring complementary expertise.
Sources: SCI: World Food Day 2026, by Professor Richard Hopkins.
Image: Pascal Kings / Wikimedia Commons. Cucumber seedlings in a seed tray, used illustratively; not an SCI research project. Resized and converted to JPEG for display CC BY 4.0.