Feed aggregator

Download the report

Download the report

UN rapporteur calls for move as food deliveries are attacked and starvation becomes a weapon of war in Gaza and Sudan

UN peacekeepers should be routinely deployed to protect aid convoys from attack in places such as Gaza and Sudan, a senior United Nations expert has proposed.

With starvation increasingly used as a weapon of war, Michael Fakhri said armed UN troops were now required to ensure that food reached vulnerable populations.

Sub-Saharan Africa can achieve grain self-sufficiency by 2050, new study finds

New research published in PNAS shows that it is feasible without further expanding agricultural land. The study, led by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in collaboration with partners including IFPRI, offers more optimistic projections compared to earlier research.

The post Sub-Saharan Africa can achieve grain self-sufficiency by 2050, new study finds appeared first on IFPRI.

New special issue of Food Policy examines fertilizer and soil health policies in the wake of global crises

Key findings were presented and discussed during the IFPRI policy seminar on June 11.

The post New special issue of Food Policy examines fertilizer and soil health policies in the wake of global crises appeared first on IFPRI.

Communities in the Salaquí basin face deepening food insecurity, armed conflict and the collapse of a way of life – while government schemes ignore the real problem

• Photographs by Antonio Cascio

Riosucio was established between rivers and swamps. For most of the year, the people of this Colombian municipality live above water and have developed ways to manage the fluctuating river levels. A network of makeshift wooden boards connects the houses in the town, allowing people to move between them.

Despite the resilience of these communities, their increasingly harsh environment is beginning to overcome all the methods and systems designed to tame it, causing crop destruction, hunger and deepening poverty.

Former army and navy leaders urge government to think beyond military capability in advance of key defence review

Former military leaders are urging the UK government to widen its definition of national security to include climate, food and energy measures in advance of a planned multibillion-pound boost in defence spending.

Earlier this year Keir Starmer announced the biggest increase in defence spending in the UK since the end of the cold war, with the budget rising to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 – three years earlier than planned – and an ambition to reach 3%.

Food Policy Priorities for A Changing World

IFPRI’s 2025 Global Food Policy Report reflects on 50 years of progress and examines priorities for food policy research in the run up to 2050.

The post Food Policy Priorities for A Changing World appeared first on IFPRI.

Former development ministers Valerie Amos, Lynne Featherstone and Liz Sugg call on leaders to commit to ensuring that women and children have access to good nutrition

Malnutrition and hunger are soaring across the world, leading to hundreds of millions of people suffering and posing a major threat to global security. Access to good nutrition is foundational to development. Without it, children cannot reach their full potential, physically or cognitively. As a result, economies are undermined and less productive, poverty is entrenched and instability spreads.

Women and girls are disproportionately impacted. One billion adolescent girls and women worldwide are suffering from malnutrition because they typically eat last and least. This has a generational impact as malnutrition passes from mother to child. Improving maternal nutrition is critical to arresting global malnutrition and building a healthier and more secure world.

Cocoa one of six commodities vulnerable to environmental threats in ‘extremely worrying picture’ for food resilience

Climate breakdown and wildlife loss are deepening the EU’s “chocolate crisis”, a report has argued, with cocoa one of six key commodities to come mostly from countries vulnerable to environmental threats.

More than two-thirds of the cocoa, coffee, soy, rice, wheat and maize brought into the EU in 2023 came from countries that are not well-prepared for climate change, according to the UK consultants Foresight Transitions.

The global food system has been captured by a few rapacious companies that profit from public ill-health. We need a radical overhaul

Our food system is killing us. Designed in a different century for a different purpose – to mass produce cheap calories to prevent famine – it is now a source of jeopardy, destroying more than it creates. A quarter of all adult deaths globally – more than 12 million every year – are due to poor diets.

Malnutrition in all its forms – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity – is by far the biggest cause of ill-health, affecting one in three people on the planet. Ultra-processed foods are implicated in as many as one in seven premature deaths in some countries.

Nutrition issues to watch at the 78th World Health Assembly (Devex)

Purnima Menon was interviewed by Devex for this article on the 78th World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The post Nutrition issues to watch at the 78th World Health Assembly (Devex) appeared first on IFPRI.

Fix social protection flaws instead of expanding outlay (The Daily Star)

Bangladesh must urgently redirect resources within its fragmented social protection system and scale up a handful of proven programs that directly benefit the poorest, says IFPRI's Akhter Ahmed.

The post Fix social protection flaws instead of expanding outlay (The Daily Star) appeared first on IFPRI.

Despite attempts to build resilience by improving infrastructure and first response, extreme weather events and US aid cuts have left many feeling vulnerable

When the monsoon rains came last September, they swept away most of the village of Panauti, in the foothills of the Nepali Himalayas. The Roshi River overflowed after the unprecedented rainfall, triggering landslides and destroying most of the roads and bridges.

Peering through the thick blanket of relentless rain “felt like waiting for morning to arrive so we could see the world again”, says Bishnu Humagain. “We lost everything – our home, our agriculture, and all of our belongings.”

Experts stress importance of irrigation to nutrition, health outcomes (Nebraska Today)

Claudia Ringler delivered the keynote speech at the Heuermann Lecture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

The post Experts stress importance of irrigation to nutrition, health outcomes (Nebraska Today) appeared first on IFPRI.

As famine data dries up, can AI step in? (Devex)

Devex quoted Yanyan Liu in this article on how researchers are developing AI tools to predict famine more accurately and affordably.

The post As famine data dries up, can AI step in? (Devex) appeared first on IFPRI.

IFPRI’s Wei Zhang appointed to the prestigious NASEM ad-hoc study committee on the status of insects in North America

IFPRI's Wei Zhang will participate in the NASEM study that will assess trends in insect abundance, identify research priorities, and recommend actions to slow insect declines in the most vulnerable and ecologically critical areas.

The post IFPRI’s Wei Zhang appointed to the prestigious NASEM ad-hoc study committee on the status of insects in North America appeared first on IFPRI.

Climate denialism should not blind investors and governments to the very real opportunities to be found in financing solutions

Among the many shocks currently facing the international development community is the new direction of the US administration on climate, and the implications worldwide for mitigation and adaptation efforts.

This is not uncharted territory. While a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is undoubtedly a setback, it no longer carries the same level of disruption as it did. The global community has become more resilient and will continue to advance climate action.

Steven Were Omamo appointed IFPRI’s Director for Africa

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is pleased to announce that Steven Were Omamo has been appointed IFPRI’s Director for Africa, in addition to his ongoing role as Director of the Development Strategies and Governance Unit (DSG). Based in IFPRI’s Nairobi, Kenya office, Omamo joined IFPRI in October 2024. “We are delighted that Were […]

The post Steven Were Omamo appointed IFPRI’s Director for Africa appeared first on IFPRI.

What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.

From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent