Agriculture must shift beyond producing sufficient quantities of food and focus on delivering the diverse, nutritious foods required for healthy diets, the the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General QU Dongyu said on Monday at the International Horticultural Congress 2026 in Kyoto, Japan, according to a press release by FAO. He underscored the role of fruits, vegetables and other horticultural crops in nutrition, biodiversity, climate resilience and livelihoods. The Director-General urged investment, innovation and stronger policies to unlock the sector’s full potential. He addressed scientists, policymakers, business representatives and producers gathered at the congress. His remarks set the stage for a broader push to reshape global agrifood systems.
Between 2010 and 2024, fruit and vegetable production grew faster than cereals, and horticulture now accounts for nearly a quarter of global agricultural production value — about $1.4 trillion. Exports expanded roughly 2.6 percent annually during the period, reaching 175 million tonnes worth $240 billion by 2024. However, this economic success has not translated into healthier diets. FAO’s latest analysis shows that in 2023 only about half of countries produced enough fruits and vegetables to meet the FAO/WHO target of 400g per person daily. Global average consumption remains far lower, at an estimated 80 grams of fruit and 190 grams of vegetables per person per day.
QU identified productivity, availability and affordability as three interconnected challenges. Yields have grown less than one percent annually, trailing cereals amid underinvestment in research, genetics and infrastructure. Producer prices rose between 2016 and 2025 in 89 percent of countries for fruits and 93 percent for vegetables, with median annual increases of approximately 4.2 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively. By 2050, projections suggest that fewer than one-third of countries in sub-Saharan Africa will have sufficient fruit and vegetable supplies to meet the joint FAO/WHO recommendation. He called for investment in improved seed, healthier soils, efficient irrigation, mechanization, digital tools and stronger producer-market links.
“Success can no longer be measured simply by how much food we produce. It must also be measured by whether agriculture provides the foods that healthy societies require, and whether those foods are available, accessible and affordable for everyone,” the Director-General told the audience.
He said progress will require transformation, not just expansion, with farmers at the center. AI, genome editing and digital tools are accelerating breeding and cutting post-harvest losses, he noted, citing the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre’s mutation breeding work, which has contributed to more than 3,450 officially released crop varieties across over 70 plant species. Farms of 20 hectares or less account for over half of global fruit and vegetable output, rising to more than 80 percent in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. He urged governments to back the sector through research, seed systems, infrastructure and trade policy.
Nearly half of the 104 systems recognized under FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems involve horticulture, from jujube orchards in China’s Jia County to date palms and olive groves in Egypt’s Siwa Oasis and terraced farming in Peru’s Andes. FAO is supporting these efforts through its Smart Farming approach and initiatives including the One Country One Priority Product, the Hand-in-Hand Initiative and the Green Cities Initiative. FAO’s forthcoming report, Unlocking the Full Potential of Fruits and Vegetables Globally, is expected in 2027 and will examine trends in production, trade and consumption. It will address livelihoods, health, productivity, plant health, seed supply and markets. Preliminary findings presented at a side event of the Congress point to an urgent need for action.