Swiss-Flavoured Food Forever Experience Puts Crop Diversity in the Spotlight at the World Economic Forum 2025

23 January 2025

Davos, Switzerland, 23 January 2025 – The World Economic Forum’s 2025 meeting in Davos was the venue of the first Food Forever Experience of the year, underscoring the importance of the conservation and use of crop diversity for food and nutritional security. The immersive experience featured the perspectives of ministers from Peru, South Africa and Switzerland and a lively panel discussion among diverse stakeholders. The event concluded with an innovative menu by renowned Swiss chef Rebecca Clopath, giving participants a taste of the powerful potential of protecting crop diversity.

Now in their eighth year, Food Forever Experiences provide touchstone moments that raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding and using crop diversity to improve food security, enhance economic opportunities and climate-proof agriculture. This Davos Food Forever Experience was hosted by the House of Switzerland and co-organized by the Crop Trust, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (International Plant Treaty) and the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture.

The Food Forever Experience Davos explored the critical role of crop diversity in securing global food security and sustainability amid climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. It highlighted the importance of protecting crop diversity and making it available by giving key voices a platform:

• Ministers from countries co-hosting the Eleventh Session of the Governing Body of the International Plant Treaty shared their perspective on the importance of international collaboration in safeguarding crop diversity, with interventions from His Excellency Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education, and Research of Switzerland and His Excellency Ángel Manuel Manero Campos, Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru. 
• Dr. Geoffrey Hawtin OBE, agricultural scientist and World Food Prize Laureate, shared a global perspective of the importance of crop diversity. He underscored the need for a huge effort to develop capacities to use this diversity to breed and adapt crops to local conditions for food security around the world. 
• A panel moderated by Crop Trust Executive Director Stefan Schmitz featured leading voices speaking about the need for collaboration and the value of investing in crop diversity conservation and sustainable use. Panelists included: Her Excellency Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, South Africa’s Ambassador to Italy and Permanent Representative to the UN agencies in Rome, and Chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security;  Professor Dr. Bernhard Lorentz, Managing Partner and Global Consulting Sustainability Leader at Deloitte; Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of the CGIAR; Dr. Michael Keller, Secretary General of the International Seed Federation; and Dr. Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Plant Treaty. 
• The panel discussion sparked interventions from the floor, including the Minister of Agriculture of South Africa, His Excellency John Henry Steenhuisen, who shared his delight at his country being the newest member of the International Plant Treaty. He stressed the importance of genebanks for food security and spoke about indigenous crops that have fallen out of use but offer great opportunities for economic empowerment and nutrition. South Africa’s leadership of the G20 will bring issues like this to the front of the global agenda and include indigenous knowledge in key discussions. The President of the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa, Dr. Agnes Kalibata highlighted the value of genebanks for plant breeding and the need to invest in crop diversity conservation and use. 
• Discussions following the panel connected these experts with 60 audience participants prominent in food security and global governance. Over half the audience came from the private sector, including guests from the World Farmers’ Organisation, World Economic Forum, Mercer, Helvetas, KWS Saat, Nestle, Syngenta and many more.

Participants were then invited to taste the powerful potential of crop diversity by sampling dishes from Chef Rebecca Clopath. A Swiss chef, farmer and entrepreneur, Clopath is celebrated for her natural cooking style and innovative culinary approach. She earned two gold medals at the 2010 World Cooking Championships as a member of the Swiss junior national cooking team. Chef Clopath currently hosts seasonal "food perceptions" at her family’s farm, offering nine-course themed dining experiences that blend storytelling with cuisine.

Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust, says, “We are excited to bring our Food Forever Experience to the World Economic Forum. Around 735 million people go to bed hungry every night and many millions more suffer from malnutrition. Conserving crop diversity and making it available for use by researchers, breeders and farmers is crucial to address nutritional security and the impacts from climate change, desertification and conflict. By connecting crop diversity experts with leaders of countries and communities, we can mobilize the investments needed to implement this impactful solution. And have fun doing so.”

The International Plant Treaty supports the conservation and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. In harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Treaty facilitates the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that arise from the use of this crop diversity for sustainable agriculture and food security.  

Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty, says, “The International Plant Treaty transforms global interdependence into concrete and meaningful action by providing rules that govern shared resources, ensuring equitable access and fostering collective solutions. Conserving and sustainably using crop diversity are essential for global food security and resilience. Through its Multilateral System, the Treaty fosters international cooperation, enabling nations to save and share plant genetic resources for the common good. By prioritizing fairness, equity and mutual benefit, the Treaty protects these critical resources for future generations, reinforcing food security against the growing challenges of our time.”

This year, the Eleventh Session of the Governing Body (GB-11) of the International Plant Treaty will meet in Lima, Peru, from 24 to 29 November 2025. At GB-11, governments will discuss a number of important issues, including how to advance the implementation of Farmers’ Rights and the possible enhancement of the Treaty’s Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing, currently the largest global exchange mechanism for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Alwin Kopse, Chair of GB-11, says, ”This event has highlighted the crucial need to collaborate internationally and across sectors and to plan for what is around the corner in the face of climate change. This is what we are trying to achieve at GB-11: improving the legal framework that will facilitate global cooperation to ensure practical results for breeders, researchers, farmers, food processors and consumers all over the world so that our rich crop diversity is both used and conserved for the future.”

The Governments of Peru and Switzerland, as co-hosts of GB-11, are convening stakeholders to raise awareness and solicit support for the conservation and use of crop diversity in advance of the Lima meeting. The Food Forever Experience Davos provided an opportunity to bring together leaders and decision-makers to learn more before GB-11 begins.

The diversity of perspectives and the unique culinary event in Davos provided a memorable experience, encouraging the continuation of discourse and advocacy for the conservation of crop diversity as a valuable solution to global challenges.

###

Food Forever Experience Davos 2025 Organizing Partners

Crop Trust – The Crop Trust is an international organization working to conserve crop diversity and thus protect global food and nutrition security. At the core of Crop Trust is an endowment fund dedicated to providing guaranteed long-term financial support to key genebanks worldwide. The Crop Trust supports the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and coordinates large-scale projects worldwide to secure crop diversity and make it available for use, globally forever and for the benefit of everyone. The Crop Trust is recognized as an essential element of the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Learn more at www.croptrust.org.

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture – The International Treaty, established in 2001, provides a legally binding international framework for the exchange, conservation, sustainable use, and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of plant genetic resources. It aims to enhance global food security while supporting farmers and researchers in their critical role as custodians of agrobiodiversity. The objectives of the International Treaty are the conservation and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security. Learn more www.fao.org/plant-treaty/en.

Categories: For The Press, For Partners, For Policymakers, Press Releases, Climate Change, Food Security, Nutritional Security, Sustainable Agriculture, English