For ten days, the International Green Week was the stage and forum for the debate on the future of agriculture and the food industry. The discussions focused on the global and regional challenges posed by multiple crises such as climate change, species extinction, war and disrupted supply chains for the agricultural and food industries. Approaches to solutions for sustainable products and production processes were presented and discussed. Over 1,400 exhibitors from 60 countries created a diverse Green Week 2023, with a total of around 300,000 visitors coming to the Berlin exhibition grounds.

The public showed a high propensity to consume and spent around 130 euros per capita for consumption on site or for the purchase of goods. Compared to the last event in 2020, consumer behavior remains at a similar level. Around 1,700 media representatives from 25 countries were accredited this year. The diverse coverage provided Berlin with an additional advertising effect from which the city benefits in the long term.

Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture Cem Özdemir: "The best compliment for the Green Week are the numerous visitors - their curiosity and interest also show the appreciation for our farmers, who provide us with high-quality and healthy food. However, the Green Week also shows the challenges facing agriculture. We want to bring together goals that at first sound contradictory: Food security, climate adaptation, climate protection and farms with a future. This can only be achieved with a sustainable transformation.

In addition to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Ministry for the Environment presented their own special shows. A total of five federal ministers took their own tours to find out more at Green Week 2023: Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture; Steffi Lemke, Federal Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection; Christian Lindner, Federal Minister of Finance; Karl Lauterbach, Federal Minister of Health; and Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister of Housing, Urban Development and Construction. Numerous minister presidents of the German states and top representatives of the parties represented in the Bundestag took separate tours to find out more. The high-ranking guests also included Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, and Mykola Solskyi, Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine.

The effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine are exacerbating the global food crisis. That is why farming and food systems must be transformed to ensure they can withstand external shocks, while also protecting the climate and biodiversity. From 19 to 21 January at the 15th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), around 2,000 participants representing politics, business, science and society discussed ways to achieve this transformation. The GFFA concluded with the 15th Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference, to which Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir welcomed around 70 of his counterparts from around the world as well as representatives of 11 international organisations. In their final communiqué, the agriculture ministers pledged to promote sustainable, inclusive and crisis-proof food systems, to make food accessible, affordable and safe for all people, and to achieve the UN’s goal of creating a world free of hunger by 2030.

At the International Green Week two industry awards recognised outstanding achievements in the food and farming sector. At the Startup-Days, a total of ten startups presented especially forward-looking business models for food and farming. The winner was Seedalive. The special Innovation Award went to Nunos from Cologne. BettaF!sh from Berlin received the special Sustainability Award.

At the Green Week 2023, the trade magazine Lebensmittelpraxis and Messe Berlin presented the RegionalStar-Award. Honours went to the best regional concepts from the food industry. In the Innovation category, the winner was Bohlsener Mühle. In the Presentation category, the award went to Edeka Sven Stiegler from Speyer. The Hamburg-based tech company Forest Garden Labs took first place in the Organisation category. Emils Bio-Manufaktur from Freiburg won the Cooperation category of this industry award.

The International Green Week is organised by Messe Berlin GmbH. Its non-commercial sponsors are the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) and the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE). The 88th International Green Week will take place on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds from 19 to 28 January 2024.

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