Ifpri Podcast

POLICY SEMINAR 2022 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM): Leveraging Data to Improve Intra-Africa Food Trade Co-Organized by IFPRI and AKADEMIYA2063 SEP 27, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:15AM EDT Africa’s agricultural trade capacity and policy are increasingly important as global volatility in agriculture and fertilizer markets is increasing risks for many importing and exporting countries. The 2022 edition of the Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor 2022 (AATM), a flagship of IFPRI and AKADEMIYA2063, analyzes short- and long-term trends and drivers of African agricultural trade flows, including regional policies and the role of global markets. Chapters in this year’s report examine the impact of the Russia-Ukraine War, the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to contribute to growth, the development of value chains for processed products and for coffee, tea, and cocoa, as well as the role of intraregional trade in the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and makes recommendation

MEDIA BRIEFING Taking Stock of Global Food Security six months into the Ukraine-Russia Conflict SEP 13, 2022 - 9:30 EDT More than six months after the 24 February invasion of Ukraine, the conflict endures, as do concerns about its impacts on global food security, particularly in low and middle-income countries. In an exclusive briefing for journalists, two senior economists at the International Food Policy Research Institute will provide updated analysis on global food security considerations, and answer questions about the potential short- and long-term impacts of the ongoing crisis. The briefing will include an overview of the USDA’s latest The World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) being released on 12 September and its implications for food security around the world. More analysis is available in our ongoing blog series here (https://www.ifpri.org/landing/war-ukraine-blog-landing-page). Panel: David Laborde, Senior Research Fellow, Markets Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI Josep

The conflict in Ukraine is having widespread deleterious impacts on the economies and food systems of many low- and middle-income countries. Rising prices for food, fuel, and fertilizer have raised pressing concerns about food security and poverty. To better understand the risks in specific countries, IFPRI researchers have modeled the impacts of prices of the fuel, fertilizer, and food price shocks on GDP, employment, poverty, hunger, and diet quality in 19 countries in Africa and Asia, and examined the relative cost effectiveness of different policy interventions. Please join us for a presentation of this work and a discussion on how policymakers and other key actors are addressing the challenges created by this crisis in specific countries. IFPRI’s modeling work on the impacts of the Ukraine crisis is supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and benefitted from working with two CGIAR’s rese

POLICY SEMINAR Nudging for Good: AI driven diagnostics and behavior change to improve diets and nutrition JUL 28, 2022 - 12:00 TO 2:00PM EDT Unhealthy diets are a critical global concern, but current dietary assessment methods are costly and challenging to implement. Mobile-phone-based interventions show some promise for improving nutrition data collection and dietary quality, especially for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. The Nudging for Good project has developed a new artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted mobile phone application, the Plant Village Food Recognition Assistance and Nudging Insights (FRANI). This app can recognize foods, track food-group consumption, provide diet-related statistics, and nudge users to improve food consumption. Validation of FRANI for dietary assessment in adolescent girls in Ghana and Viet Nam showed it performs as well or better than the standard multi-pass 24-hour recall method, highlighting its potential to address critical data gaps and provide a platfo

POLICY SEMINAR Addressing the global food security crisis: Strengthening research and policy responses Co-organized by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and CGIAR JUL 25, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EDT Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further increased food and input prices at the global level, with the strongest impacts felt by the poorest in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The World Food Program projects that the conflict could put an additional 47 million people at risk of acute hunger worldwide. The impacts of this crisis are unfolding as countries cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, more frequent and damaging extreme weather events caused by climate change, and other conflicts. Germany holds the G7 presidency in 2022 and is thus in a leadership role to address these interrelated challenges and crises. Together with World Bank President David Malpass, Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ), recently est

POLICY SEMINAR Strengthening policy research and analysis capacity: The role of institutional development programs JUL 21, 2022 - 9:00 TO 10:30AM EDT Policy design and implementation for sustainable food systems transformation in developing countries rely on the research institutions, university departments, and organizations that collect, analyze, and disseminate data for the government and private sector. Collaborative policy research programs can play a valuable role in building the long-term capacity of these institutions to generate the evidence needed for policymaking. In this seminar, panelists and discussants will draw on their experiences with collaborative research in institutional development programs, and explore the lessons learned for strengthening policy research and analysis capacity for food system transformation. Chair -Shenggen Fan, Former Director-General of IFPRI, CGIAR System Board Member, and Chair Professor at the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University,

POLICY SEMINAR Are healthy diets affordable? Using new data on retail prices and diet costs to guide agricultural and food policy Co-organized by IFPRI, Tufts University, the World Bank, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) JUL 15, 2022 - 10:00 TO 11:30AM EDT New Food Prices for Nutrition data in the SOFI 2022 report launching on July 6th uses retail food prices to compute diet costs and the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet globally. Underlying costs by food group will be published simultaneously on a new Food Prices for Nutrition DataHub hosted at the World Bank, and subnational data are being used for a wide range of in-country research across Africa and Asia. The new data and methods showcased in this seminar are key tools for policy analysis and monitoring in global and national food systems, measuring food access using retail prices of the most affordable items available at each place and time in quantities needed to meet global nutritional standards for an active and healthy li

CGIAR RESEARCH INITIATIVE Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) Global Launch Event MAY 25, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EDT Poor diets are a primary cause of malnutrition and the leading cause of disease worldwide. Improving diets, including increasing fruit and vegetable intake, could save one in five lives lost annually. This change must begin with consumers, by understanding dietary patterns and finding cost-effective ways to make diets rich in fruit and vegetables more desirable, accessible, affordable, and available. A part of CGIAR’s new Research Portfolio, the Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH) https://www.cgiar.org/initiative/fruit-and-vegetables-for-sustainable-healthy-diets-fresh/#:~:text=This%20initiative%20aims%20to%20use,and%20mitigating%20negative%20environmental%20impacts Initiative is working with partners to address this challenge, starting from consumers and working back through the food system to increase fruit and vegetable intake for multiple impa

Global Food Policy Report 2022 Global Food Policy Report: Climate Change & Food Systems Global Launch Event MAY 12, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EDT The 2022 Global Food Policy Report, IFPRI’s flagship report, highlights the urgency of accelerating innovation, reforming policies, resetting market incentives, and increasing financing for sustainable food systems transformation. It sets forth a broad range of policy options for accelerated action by policymakers as well as international forums for policy and investment decision-making. Eleven thematic chapters look at how policies can support the development and adoption of “disruptive” technologies by creating an enabling environment for climate change–related financing, innovation uptake, and integrated governance of natural resources. The chapters also examine the impacts of climate change and related policies on the most vulnerable, considering how to promote healthy, sustainable diets and increase benefits for all from food systems. Six regional chapters dis

POLICY SEMINAR Fertilizer Availability and Affordability: Implications for agricultural productivity and food security MAY 4, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:30AM EDT The invasion of Ukraine has driven up already high global agricultural commodity prices. Fertilizer prices have also reached all-time highs, casting a serious shadow on future harvests, and thus add to concerns about global food security. Speakers will address the implications of increased prices on fertilizer demand, usage and productivity, the viability of government fertilizer subsidies and soil health. This is the third event in an IFPRI seminar series on Food and Fertilizer Price Trends: Impacts on global food security.(https://www.ifpri.org/spotlight/food-fertilizers-and-nutrition-rising-prices-and-global-food-security) Key Considerations from an industry perspective Svein Tore Holsether, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yara International and Chairman of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) Key Considerations from a farmer's pers

POLICY SEMINAR Retail food prices at the country level and implications for food security How are rising food prices, further aggravated by the invasion of Ukraine, being transmitted at the country level? MAR 29, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EDT This policy seminar will explore what we know—and do not know—about how high global agricultural commodity prices and country-specific factors affect retail prices at the national level. Special attention will be given to countries suffering from acute food insecurity and those with a high dependence on imports. As the second event in IFPRI’s seminar series on high food and fertilizer prices ( https://www.ifpri.org/spotlight/food-fertilizers-and-nutrition-rising-prices-and-global-food-security ), this seminar will examine how global commodity prices are transmitted at the national level and what other country-specific aspects influence retail prices. Program speakers will address key considerations for highly food-insecure and import-dependent countries in Sub-Saharan Afr

BOOK LAUNCH Food for All: International Organizations and the Transformation of Agriculture MAR 22, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EDT Global levels of food security and nutrition have declined significantly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and conflict. Many developing countries are falling behind on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, yet global ambitions to achieve sustainable food security and adequate nutrition have grown. What are the prospects of achieving sustainable, healthy food for all? How can we best respond to concerns about growing differences in domestic agricultural and industrial performance among developing countries? How have global institutions, established after World War II, helped developing countries to deal with economic fallout from food, fuel, and financial crises? Food for All explores how post-war developments have helped change the provision of international financial and technical assistance to support the global food and agriculture system and how devel

POLICY SEMINAR SDG 12.3 - Food Loss and Food Waste: A Once in a Generation Opportunity Co-organized by IFPRI, Embassy of Denmark, World Resource Institute, Champions 12.3; and with the collaboration of the World Food Forum MAR 10, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EST Every year about a third of all food produced is either lost during production, distribution, and processing or wasted at the retail and consumer level. With 811 million people facing hunger in 2020, this food loss and waste is egregious. Food loss and waste also has significant negative environmental impacts, accounting for almost 10 percent of global GHG emissions as well as a wasteful use of a quarter of the world’s freshwater resources and of farmland that exceeds the size of China. Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3 calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses by 2030. The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit highlighted the im

POLICY SEMINAR Global commodity prices and food security: Navigating new challenges and learning from the past MAR 9, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:30AM EST Agricultural commodity prices are reaching levels close to those witnessed in 2007/08 and 2010/11, and fertilizer prices have also increased significantly. Repercussions from the invasion of Ukraine are creating significant additional pressures on prices. This policy seminar will present global data on key agricultural commodity, energy, transportation, and fertilizer markets to paint a comprehensive picture of price trends and their underlying causes and will include a comparison to the earlier price spikes of 2007/08 and 2010/11. This event is the first in an IFPRI seminar series on Food and Fertilizer Price Trends: Impacts on global food security (https://www.ifpri.org/spotlight/food-fertilizers-and-nutrition-rising-prices-and-global-food-security) Opening Remarks Johan Swinnen, Global Director, CGIAR Systems Transformation Science Group & Director General, IF

In an exclusive briefing for journalists, four researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute answered questions and provided analysis on lessons learned from two years of the global pandemic related to food security, poverty, health, and supply chains, as well as how governments’ responses have helped and hindered recovery and how this pandemic experience can inform both recovery and longer-term efforts to build more resilient food systems.

BOOK LAUNCH COVID-19 & Global Food Security: 2 Years Later MAR 7, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EST This e-book builds upon the lessons presented in the earlier volume, COVID-19 & Global Food Security (2020) that documented the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as of mid-2020, particularly the disruptions to livelihoods and the food and nutrition security of billions of people. Early in the pandemic, many hoped that COVID-19 could be controlled and even eliminated through a short-term response phase and that attention could subsequently be shifted to recovery and resilience building. Instead, COVID-19 and its disruptions have persisted and evolved, with new waves of infections and deaths and ongoing impacts, particularly among poor and vulnerable populations. It is organized in four sections: food security and poverty; agricultural production and value chains; nutrition, health, and social programs; and policy responses and implications. Each section includes two types of contributions. The first are new syntheses

The current conflict between Russia and Ukraine is likely to generate an immediate impact on global wheat market stability and, by disrupting natural gas and fertilizer markets, have negative impacts for producers as they enter a new planting season. In an exclusive briefing for journalists, three senior economists at the International Food Policy Research Institute answer questions and provide analysis on the potential short- and long-term impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As two of the top five global wheat exporters, Ukraine and Russia supply about 34% of global internationally traded wheat. Russia is also an important supplier of nitrogenous fertilizers and potash, accounting for 15% of global trade in nitrogenous fertilizers and 17% of global potash fertilizer exports. Sanctions against Russia are also likely to disrupt natural gas imports (particularly to the EU), which is an important component for producing nitrogenous fertilizers. More analysis is available in a blog post here. PANEL: David

POLICY SEMINAR Advancing Food Systems Transformation: Dialogue between German Development Cooperation and CGIAR Co-organized by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), CGIAR, IFPRI and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) FEB 23, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EST For decades, Germany has been a reliable partner in international agricultural research to support sustainable food systems transformation. With GIZ and KfW among the implementers, BMZ has funded numerous bilateral projects, has committed to fund the new, large-scale initiatives of One CGIAR, and supports experts at international agricultural research centers. Under the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) and continuing with the One CGIAR reform process and related initiatives, CGIAR research has combined food systems research and innovations with a strong policy interface, informing a growing number of policies and impacting more livelihoods than ever before. At this important juncture in which German

SPECIAL EVENT A Decade of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI): Lessons from Using Empowerment Metrics Co-Organized by IFPRI, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) FEB 16, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EST The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is the first-ever direct measure of women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agriculture sector, and has been named one of CGIAR’s top innovations. Since its launch in 2012, WEAI-based metrics have been used by over 230 organizations across 58 countries to track progress toward women’s empowerment and gender equality. This includes the project-level WEAI (pro-WEAI), which measures empowerment in various types of agricultural development projects. The pro-WEAI has guided programming that reached 10 million people across 30 projects, leveraging $2.4 billion. This Special Event will reflect on what has been accomplished and learned by applying WEAI and pro-WEAI in diverse contexts

POLICY SEMINAR Sustainable Land Use: Role of soil for sustainable food systems A Food and Agriculture Transatlantic Dialogue Co-organized by IFPRI and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany FEB 17, 2022 - 10:00 TO 11:30AM EST “Healthy soils are our allies in combating global hunger, the climate crisis, and the extinction of species. However, they are under pressure: they are severely affected by land sealing and soil degradation. It is, moreover, essential that farmers worldwide have access to land and are able to manage soils over the long term. We need to act now — and we need to act in global solidarity.“ - Cem Özdemir, German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture The United Nations’ goal of achieving a world without hunger by 2030 is directly linked to protecting the soil. We must use land resources sustainably and preserve existing agricultural land in order to feed the growing global population, keep global warming below 2°C, and reduce the loss of biodiversity. At the 14th Global Forum