2025 Year in Review

In 2025, science, innovation, and collaboration came together to deliver real impact for people and the planet. Emerging Ag supported global partnerships and convenings that amplified the voices of farmers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy leaders advancing solutions for food security, sustainability, and public health.

Shaping Policy Agendas and Driving Global Action for Sustainable Food System

The UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake (UNFSS+4 2025), co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy, highlighted national progress, with 155 countries integrating food systems plans into policy. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, H.E. Abiy Ahmed, underscored gains in scaling dairy, poultry, fish, and honey sectors as steps toward resilient agrifood systems.

Building on this momentum, a High-Level Intergovernmental Roundtable on “Pastoralism: A Sustainable Food System” convened in Addis Ababa on 29 July 2025, spotlighting pastoralism’s role in food system resilience and marking a milestone toward the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026.

Climate Week in September in New York delivered key outcomes, with Emerging facilitating dialogues that linked science, business, and civil society while elevating farmers’ voices in global solutions. At the AATF High-Level Roundtable Breakfast on Accelerating African Agriculture, participants called for greater investment in youth, blended finance, and enabling environments for technology adoption, inspired by the Kampala Declaration.

In October, the World Food Forum (WFF 2025) in Rome brought together global leaders, innovators, youth, and investors under the theme Hand in Hand for Better Foods and a Better Future. Marking the 80th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization FAO, the Forum reflected a spirit of unity, innovation, and shared purpose.

The UNFCCC COP30 in Belém, Brazil, marked a shift toward implementation. While agriculture under the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work remained procedural, key momentum came from major announcements, including the Belém Declaration on Hunger and Poverty, new financing under the Baku–Belém Roadmap, and over USD 2.5 billion committed to agricultural innovation, signaling increased investment in farmer-led solutions.

To wrap up the year, UNEA-7 was marked by slow negotiations, but side events showed progress on soil health, rangelands, and resilience in food and land systems, with a shift toward preventative strategies and resilience emerging as a cross-sector priority.

Supporting Researchers, Innovators and Entrepreneurs  

Working with researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs is at the core of Emerging’s mission. In 2025, we had the opportunity to support impactful science and celebrate talents that will shape the future. 

In April, the inaugural CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi attracted over 3,000 online and 5,000 onsite participants. The event launched CGIAR’s 2025–2030 Research Portfolio, directing billions toward transforming global food, land, and water systems, and generated over 20 million social media impressions, highlighting science and innovation’s role in shaping the future of food systems.

In the same month Emerging also facilitated the visit of the Nuffield Farming Scholars to Kenya in April provided a platform for meaningful engagement between global and Kenyan agricultural leaders on climate change, technology adoption, market access, and value chain development. Through independent research and on-the-ground interactions, the scholars gained insights that will help inform future agricultural innovation and strengthen collaboration across food systems.

In June, Emerging supported ACAT 2025 in Kigali, Rwanda. The NextGen AgTech Solutions for African Farmers event drew 800 participants, including 128 speakers and dignitaries such as Rwanda’s Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Edouard Ngirente and former Nigerian President H.E. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Delegates explored farmer-centered innovations, policy alignment, and last-mile technology delivery, with the energy described as “electric.”

In August, at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) 2025 in Dakar, Senegal, over 6,000 delegates from 86 countries convened under the theme “Africa’s Youth: Leading Collaboration, Innovation, and Implementation of Agri-Food Systems Transformation,” featuring 209 sessions across nine thematic platforms on youth leadership, climate resilience, nutrition, and digitalization.

Finally, Emerging is proud of being part of the Women SME Accelerator Programme led by FAO and created with IAFN. It continues to be a highly impactful initiative for women across the agrifood value chain. In 2025, 51 mentees from 16 African countries were matched with global mentors and supported through workshops on business development, leadership, and access to finance. Forty-four mentees graduated during a Private Sector Brown Bag Lunch, with Cohort 4 later launched at the World Food Forum.

Advancing innovation and equity in public health and conservation

Food systems and sustainability were high on the agenda this year, but we were also engaged supporting clients fighting vector borne diseases, supporting a fairer global health architecture, and promoting biodiversity conservation under the One Health banner. 

Emerging collaborated with Unitaid to produce a report mapping out access barriers to the uptake and use of potentially transformative genetic technologies for the control of vector borne diseases. This will help inform future research and investment decisions to help ensure timely and equitable access to these technologies. 

For World Mosquito Day in August, the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research launched a global campaign examining how climate and environmental change are influencing the spread and re-emergence of mosquito-borne diseases. Featuring insights from 17 researchers and experts, the campaign emphasized the need for innovation and integrated responses. A co-hosted webinar with Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) drew 556 participants from 77 countries to discuss the impacts of climate change, deforestation, urbanization, and biodiversity loss on disease dynamics.

Emerging was recognized for leading the creative and conceptual development of a three-part animated video series for Target Malaria, a research consortium developing novel approaches for malaria control. The series won a Creative Communication Award (C2A) in the social and environmental category. Developed with Ryan Carter Images and Target Malaria, the series highlighted Target Malaria’s commitment to transparency and informed decision-making by affected communities.

Finally, we worked with experts and scientists around the world working against the clock to find new solutions to address devastating loss in species and biodiversity. Several were highlighted through our “Conservation Countdown” campaign.

Supporting market access and celebrating balanced diets

Since 2014, Emerging has supported POGA in promoting oat consumption across Canada, Japan, and Mexico. Building on the 2024 Latin America expansion, the 2025 campaign delivered strong growth in Peru and Ecuador, reaching 5 million consumers digitally. Highlights included the launch of the “Oat Champions” video series for Canada Day, generating 914,600 views across Mexico, Peru, and Ecuador, and a diabetes-focused workshop with the Mexican Diabetes Federation to advance nutrition awareness.

The 2025 World Milk Day campaign reached new heights under the theme, “Let’s Celebrate the Power of Dairy”. Managed by the Global Dairy Platform and coordinated by Emerging Ag, the campaign achieved record-breaking engagement, reaching 1.25 billion people and generating 2.75 million interactions across over 100 countries.

What Next?

As we look to 2026, the International Year of the Woman Farmer, and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, Emerging Ag remains committed to advancing partnerships that empower women, youth, and farmers everywhere. We also hope that 2026 will be a year for shoring up international collaborations and reaffirming the importance of science and innovation,  with milestones ahead under the WHO Pandemic Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Thank you to our clients, partners, and colleagues for your trust and collaboration throughout this incredible year.