Young changemakers drive agrifood systems innovation: Meet the 2025 Youth Food Lab winners

The World Food Forum (WFF)’s Global Youth Action Initiative (Youth Initiative) celebrated the 2025 Youth Food Lab (YFL) cohort, at the YFL Global finals, held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 16 October 2025, during the WFF flagship event.

Launched in 2023, the YFL is a global incubation programme established in collaboration with Wageningen University and Research (WUR) and the International Association of Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences (IAAS). The programme serves as a platform to support and scale youth-led innovative projects that drive the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems.

In 2025, the YFL Global supported 10 early-stage agrifood projects from eight countries through mentorship and capacity building. The teams tackled diverse challenges - from water management and food waste to protein alternatives and community-driven food production and pitched their innovative ideas on a global stage.

The event opened with remarks from His Excellency Andi Amran Sulaiman, Secretary General of Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture, who highlighted Indonesia’s commitment to supporting young innovators in building resilient agrifood systems. FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol followed, commending participants for their dedication and commitment.

The event also featured a musical performance by Delly Sape from Indonesia. Jean Muthamia-Mwenda from SNV Netherlands Development Organization spoke on the importance of youth-led entrepreneurship in agrifood systems transformation.

Alongside the global cohort, the Local Youth Food Labs also had their moment to shine,

• YFL The Netherlands, represented by Mirjam Troost (WUR), supports young agripreneurs from the Global South.
• YFL North America, represented by Maria Spencer and Jesse Torba (Penn State University), helps bridge the gap between ideas and viable enterprises.
• YFL Latin America and the Caribbean, led by FAO and Universidad Mayor de Chile, empowers innovators from the region with entrepreneurial skills, as shared by participant Ithan Solano Aguirre.
• YFL Nepal, led by FAO Country Office in Nepal and WFF Nepal Youth Chapter in partnership with King’s College, supports youth-led start-ups from Nepal.

The event concluded with special recognitions: Elisabeth Boelrijk from the University Fund Wageningen awarded Euro 1 000 to each team and an additional Euro 1 000 for the People’s Choice Award, while Maria Spencer and Jesse Torba from Penn State University provided three teams access to engineering lab resources worth USD 15 000.

The winners of the 2025 WFF Youth Food Lab:

• YFL People’s Choice Award – Powered by University Fund Wageningen:
  Sweet Root (Indonesia)
  Sweet Root explores the potential of sweet potato waste with healthy recipes.
• Youth Food Lab x The Learning Factory Award – Powered by The Learning Factory:
  SAMPADA (Nepal)
  Team SAMPADA transforms rice husk into an added value paper called Agro-Bloom.

Congratulations to all the winners and participants of the 2025 YFL for their inspiring innovations and commitment to transforming agrifood systems.