FAO Opens First Global Pollinator Conference
The Food and Agriculture Organization convened its inaugural conference on pollinators in Rome, where members backed work toward a Global Pollinator Platform.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Botany
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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations opened the first Global Pollinator Conference at its Rome headquarters. FAO Members, through the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, gave a mandate to work toward establishing a Global Pollinator Platform.
Why it matters
About 75 percent of the world's most important food crops rely on pollination, and pollinators face threats from habitat loss, the climate crisis, invasive species, diseases, and unsustainable agricultural practices. The conference addresses how these pressures affect food production, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of farmers and consumers worldwide.
The figure of 75 percent of the world's most important food crops depending on pollination comes from the conference's framing of global crop dependency. The extraction does not provide a comparator period or a breakdown by crop type or region.
The players
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The UN agency focused on global food security, agriculture, and rural development, headquartered in Rome.
QU Dongyu
The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, a Chinese agronomist who has led the agency since 2019.
Nataša Pirc Musar
The President of Slovenia, a lawyer and former journalist who has been Slovenia's head of state since 2022.
Astrid Schomaker
The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the international treaty governing biodiversity conservation.
Bertie Gregory
A National Geographic Explorer and wildlife filmmaker known for documentary work on animal behavior and conservation.
The details
The conference opened at FAO headquarters in Rome with a speech by FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. The proposed Platform would connect existing initiatives, facilitate knowledge exchange, promote innovation, and reinforce action at the national level.
Timeline
Global Pollinator Conference opened on 6 November at FAO headquarters in Rome.
The conference runs through 6 November.
Roadmap
The conference extends the biodiversity agenda set under the Convention on Biological Diversity by focusing on pollinators as a distinct policy priority. It builds on the Convention's broader framework by linking species conservation directly to global food production systems.
The conference's proposed Platform would connect existing pollinator initiatives and aim to reinforce action at the national level. Its work could shape how governments and farmers approach practices affecting pollinator populations in future seasons.
The takeaway
Pollination underpins a large share of the world's most important food crops, so pollinator health is tied directly to food security. Readers interested in the issue can follow how the proposed Global Pollinator Platform develops after the conference.
Further reading
For more on the plant science behind crop pollination, explore our Botany coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Farming.
Live Poll
Should governments spend more public money protecting pollinators like bees?
