Ifpri Podcast

IFPRI-AMIS Seminar Series | IFPRI Policy Seminar 2025 Outlook for Wheat, Maize, and Soybean Crops Co-organized by IFPRI and Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) May 13, 2025 Global grain and oilseed markets are facing great uncertainty as producers in the northern hemisphere complete their spring plantings. While some dryness has affected winter crop regions in both North America and Europe, sowing conditions remain favorable. Market participants are closely observing rapid policy developments related to tariffs and possible retaliatory measures. The changing trade landscape will also affect the overall macroeconomic environment, with impacts expected on energy prices, exchange rates, and growth prospects, and further implications for agricultural production and trade. Opening Remarks Joseph Glauber, Research Fellow Emeritus, IFPRI Presentations Overview of macroeconomic prospects: John Baffes, Senior Agriculture Economist, Development Economics, World Bank Overview of crop conditions: Brian Barke

IFPRI Policy Seminar Ending Hunger and Malnutrition: Keeping Our Eyes on the Road Organized by IFPRI in collaboration with the World Bank IFPRI Seminar during World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings April 22, 2025 While global agricultural commodity prices have come down from the high levels seen in recent years, the world remains far off track in meeting the SDG2 of ending hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Last year, close to 300 million people faced food crisis while the number of people on the cusp of famine doubled. Efforts to address hunger and malnutrition are facing considerable hurdles, including protracted as well as new conflicts, cuts in official development assistance, inefficiencies in the global financing architecture, an increasingly fragmented political landscape and multipolarizing international order. How can the world mobilize more public and private resources to tackle the current food crisis, create more robust value chain and trade channels, and set countries on a pa

IFPRI Webinar How Can We Improve Food Security Monitoring in Conflict-Affected Regions? Machine Learning for Spatially Granular Food Security Mapping Co-organized by IFPRI and the CGIAR Initiative on Foresight March 25, 2025 Machine learning is transforming agricultural and food security research, enabling more accurate and timely insights. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is advancing data-driven approaches in various domains, including crop-type mapping, maize yield estimation, and boat detection. These innovations demonstrate the potential of machine learning in addressing complex challenges and informing policy decisions. A key challenge in this space is food security monitoring in fragile and conflict-affected settings, where timely, granular data is often lacking but essential for policymakers, humanitarians, and researchers. Traditional methods, such as in-person household surveys, are often expensive, infrequent, and spatially coarse, limiting their ability to provide timely

Significant levels of food loss and waste continue to have negative impacts on food security and the environment, and Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims to halve food loss and waste worldwide by 2030, remains out of reach. Join us on “12.3 Day” 2025 to take stock of efforts and opportunities to make progress toward this important goal. Organized by the Embassy of Denmark in Washington, DC, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the World Resources Institute (WRI), this event will examine commitments and best practices implemented around the world; and most importantly, explore how to go from big promises to real, tangible actions to reduce food loss and waste. We will discuss: National Commitments in Global Forums. 2025 is a significant year for multilateral global efforts to tackle climate change and bolster food systems. Countries are submitting new Nationally Determined Contributions prior to COP30 and Food Systems Transformation Action Plans prior to the UN Food System

IFPRI-AMIS Seminar Series | IFPRI Policy Seminar Biofuels and the Global Vegetable Oil Market Co-organized by IFPRI and Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) March 4, 2025 Production of biodiesel fuel in Brazil, the European Union, Indonesia, and the United States has grown by nearly 40 percent over the past five years, driven largely by subsidies and government mandates. Government regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have also boosted demand for vegetable oils and created new markets for used cooking oils (UCO), altering commodity trading patterns and price dynamics. The seminar will present overviews of the global vegetable oil market and the market for used cooking oil for fuel, followed by a moderated expert panel discussion representing views from across the globe. A question and answer session will follow. Overview of the Global Vegetable Oil Market Di Yang, Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Overview of the Global Market of Used Cookin

Co-organized by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) & IFPRI Undernutrition during childhood and early adolescence has long-term consequences for development and health, and for girls it can affect the survival and wellbeing of their children. Diet-related risk School meal programs are an effective way to boost children’s nutrition and wellbeing, including physiological development and academic performance. These programs can also play an important role in food systems transformation by ensuring access to healthy diets, supporting equitable livelihoods, and contributing to environmental sustainability. However, data on large-scale school meal programs have historically been fragmented and inconsistent, despite the global prevalence of these programs and evidence of their positive impact. The Global Survey of School Meal Programs © https://gcnf.org/global-survey/ seeks to address this gap, collecting the most comprehensive data to date on national and large-scale school feeding programs, with informat

This event is co-organized by IFPRI and The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition Undernutrition during childhood and early adolescence has long-term consequences for development and health, and for girls it can affect the survival and wellbeing of their children. Diet-related risk factors are estimated to cause 20% of global mortality, and changes in food systems have led to rapid shifts to unhealthy diets and reductions in physical activity, contributing to the increase in rates of overweight and obesity. Moreover, current dietary and population trends will exacerbate risks to humans and the planet. School feeding programs, or school meals, are a widely implemented safety net with documented impacts across social protection, education, health and nutrition dimensions, and substantial projected economic returns to investment. Globally, programs reach over 400 million children for a total investment of over $50 billion a year. By being most

IFPRI-AMIS Seminar Series | IFPRI Policy Seminar Trade disruptions and their impacts on agricultural markets: Looking back and ahead Co-organized by IFPRI and Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) January 13, 2025 Global agricultural markets have been in a constant state of uproar over the past 5 years. Trade wars between major trading nations such as China, US and Australia, supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine, crisis in the Middle East and export restrictions have diverted supplies, altered trading patterns, increased price volatility which often makes markets less efficient and more costly. Despite these disruptions, the global grain and oilseed trade showed much resilience–importers found alternative suppliers, buyers adjusted by changing the timing of purchases, and inventory management practices went from “just-in-time” stocks to “just-in-case” levels, even if storage of food commodities can be costly. Perhaps remarkably, prices spikes and periods of high pric

Throughout her career, Ruth Meinzen-Dick has made pathbreaking contributions to natural resource management and gender equity, drawing from her deep engagement with communities to improve understanding and measurement in these areas. Dr. Meinzen-Dick’s research encompasses land and water policy, property rights, collective action, and games for experiential learning, with a longstanding focus on improving equity. This Policy Seminar highlights her research contributions and examines how the impact of research on natural resources and women’s empowerment can be strengthened through interventions in knowledge, motivation, and agency. Moderator and Welcome Remarks Claudia Ringler, Director, Natural Resources and Resilience (NRR), IFPRI From WEAI to WEMNS: ‘Engendering’ Food Policy Research How measurements changed minds: Agnes Quisumbing, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Gendered land rights for rural poverty reduction: Cheryl Doss, Professor, Economics, Tufts University From Collective Action to Property Right

Global Food Policy Report Series/Special Event Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Nutrition: Africa Regional Launch of IFPRI’s 2024 Global Food Policy Report In collaboration with University of Nairobi and part of the CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) Seminar Series November 14, 2024 Despite significant progress in addressing hunger and undernutrition in the early 2000s, malnutrition, in all its forms, remains a major challenge in all regions of the world. Unhealthy diets remain the primary drivers of many forms of malnutrition, including undernutrition, overweight and obesity, micronutrient deficiencies, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Today, the number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet is as high as 3.1 billion people. The imperative for meaningful solutions to help achieve better nutrition for people and a better future for the planet have never been stronger; meaningful impact will require that we deploy high-impact, evidence-based solutions in context-specifi

Series/Special Event Improving Diets and Nutrition through Food Systems: What Will it Take? A Dialogue on IFPRI’s 2024 Global Food Policy Report Co-organized by IFPRI, the Netherlands Food Partnership, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature Supported by the Director General for International Partnerships – Sustainable Agri-Food systems and fisheries from the European Commission and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, represented by the Special Envoy for nutrition and Secretary General of Nutrition for Growth Paris. November 6, 2024 IFPRI’s 2024 Global Food Policy flagship publication arrives at a pivotal moment, as the importance of addressing food systems for better nutrition continues to gain global recognition. With United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 29th Conference of the Parties taking place in November, the SUN Global Gathering on the horizon and the Nutrition for Growth Summit 2025,

Event IFPRI Policy Seminar Learning Support for a Multi-Country Climate Resilience Programme for Food Security Organized by CGIAR with support from World Food Programme (WFP) and The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) November 5, 2024 The Learning Support for a Sub-Saharan Africa Multi-Country Climate Resilience Program for Food Security, launched in 2023, aims to enhance food security and climate resilience across 14 African countries. This collaboration among CGIAR, the World Food Programme, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) has three pillars: scaling disaster risk financing, transforming food systems with sustainable school meals and clean cooking, and supporting smallholder farmers. This work leverages CGIAR’s extensive experience in strategic program support, impact evaluations, and knowledge product development, and integrates the CGIAR’s Fragility, Conflict, and Migration (FCM) and Seed Equal initiatives. Ongoing efforts include strategic reviews, resilien

Martin J. Forman Memorial Lecture IFPRI Policy Seminar Supporting and shaping the global nutrition agenda with evidence: A three-decade journey of research and partnerships for impact 34th Annual Martin J. Forman Memorial Lecture October 30, 2024 This year’s Forman Lecture will be delivered by Dr. Marie Ruel, Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit at IFPRI. She served as the Director of IFPRI’s Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division from 2004 to 2023, after serving as Senior Research Fellow and Research Fellow in that division beginning in 1996. Dr. Ruel will reflect on the role of research in supporting and shaping the evolution of the global nutrition agenda over the last three decades. Drawing on examples from her journey in research leadership, she will present the case for how investments in rigorous research and partnerships with development actors around the world have supported this evolution. Her case studies will highlight the importance of evidence in shaping agendas fo

Debt Distress and the Right to Food in Africa Co-organized by IFPRI and Welthungerhilfe (WHH) October 2, 2024 More than half of low-income countries are at risk of debt distress or have already defaulted. The debt crisis, while exacerbated by recent crises, has been looming for several years. According to the United Nations, 3.3 billion people now live in countries that spend more on interest repayments than on education or health, and in sub-Saharan Africa, governments are spending 53 percent of revenue on debt servicing. What do these debt trends mean for efforts to address food insecurity and uphold citizens’ right to food? Twenty years after the adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food (RtF) by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, many countries that adopted RtF in their constitutions still face high levels of food and nutrition insecurity. Although the Guidelines incorporate clear guidance on pursuing debt relief to allow for the progressive realization of the RtF, debt repaymen

Agronomy and Policy Solutions for Effective Implementation of the African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan Co-organized by IFPRI, CGIAR, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Africa Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ANAPRI) September 10, 2024 CGIAR is pleased to support our regional and national partners in their implementation of the action plan emerging from the May 2024 African Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit. As the seventh policy seminar in the CGIAR series on Strengthening Food Systems Resilience, this event will examine the outcomes of the AFSH Summit and consider how to achieve the goals of the 10-year AFSH Action Plan. Bringing together diverse set of speakers, it will provide a platform for expertise exchange, collaboration, and actionable progress in advancing soil health and agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Featured speakers from the research, policy, nongovernmental, and private sectors will highlight agr

Policy Dialogue/Series/Special Event Against the grain: Could farmers feed the world and heal the planet? Co-organized by IFPRI and The CGIAR Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions Virtual Event August 27, 2024 Humanity relies on agriculture to provide nourishment, yet there is an urgent need to reduce the agricultural sector’s environmental footprint. Meeting these two goals is crucial for both people and the planet to thrive. Please join us for a conversation featuring Roger Thurow, award-winning author and journalist, whose recently released book argues it is possible for farmers to meet these two critical objectives. This seminar will discuss the importance of heeding the wisdom and experiences of the world’s smallholder, Indigenous, and family farmers, who are facing the effects of climate change and environmental degradation firsthand as they endeavor to earn a living and feed their families and communities. Perspectives from farmers will highlight how the practices of agroforestry, agroecology, and

IFPRI Policy Seminar The Unjust Climate: Measuring the impacts of climate change on rural poor, women, and youth Co-organized by IFPRI, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Gender, Climate Change and Nutrition Integration Initiative (GCAN) June 18, 2024 9:30 – 11:00 am (America/New York) 3:30 – 5:00 pm (Europe/Amsterdam) 7:00 – 8:30 pm (Asia/Kolkata) More intense and frequent climate events are increasingly disrupting agriculture-based livelihoods, with disproportionate effects on marginalized groups, including women farmers. Yet there is a lack of empirical research on the adverse effects of these extreme weather events, making it even more challenging to build smallholders’ resilience and address rising gender inequalities. In a recent report, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations quantified the negative impacts of certain extreme climate events on poor rural households. The report, which included contributions from the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Gender,

CGIAR SEMINAR SERIES Famines and Fragility: Making humanitarian, developmental, and peacebuilding responses work Co-organized by IFPRI, CGIAR, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 14:30 TO 16:15 CET JUN 11, 2024 - 9:30 TO 11:15AM EDT Globally, the number of people facing crisis-level or worse acute food insecurity has more than doubled since 2017. The 2024 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), which informs the Global Network Against Food Crises on where humanitarian and developmental assistance is most needed, reported 282 million people in 59 food crisis countries faced crisis-levels of acute food insecurity and more than 700,000 people suffered famine in 2023. These numbers have increased with the crises in Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti. Conflict and fragility are major drivers of food crises, often compounded by weather extremes and economic shocks. Sound understanding of these drivers and of the structural factors underlying fragility is needed for timely and appropriat

HYBRID POLICY SEMINAR Tackling the Hidden Costs of our Food Systems Co-organized by IFPRI, The Food System Economics Commission (FSEC), and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) JUN 6, 2024 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EDT Food systems provide important benefits to the global population, not only providing food but also supporting livelihoods for more than one billion people around the globe. However, food systems also encompass hidden environmental, health, and social costs, estimated to be at least $10 trillion per year, as mapped out in two separate seminal reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Food System Economics Commission (FSEC). Please join us for a discussion on these hidden costs of food systems and the remedies to reduce this economic burden, while moving toward more sustainable, health-promoting, and socially inclusive food systems. Speakers include experts involved in FAO’s report, The State of Food and Agriculture 2023, and FSEC’s Global Policy Report, The Economics of the

SPECIAL EVENT Understanding the New Dynamics of Agrifood Trade, Perspectives by Pascal Lamy Co-hosted jointly by IFPRI and Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) MAY 30, 2024 - 2:30 TO 4:00PM EDT Geopolitical tensions, as well as conflicts at the regional, national, and local levels, climate change and sustainability challenges, and the troubling rise in the number of malnourished people worldwide form part of the complex web of factors shaping agrifood dynamics, and in turn, trade policies and negotiations. Please join us for a lecture by IFPRI Board Chair Pascal Lamy, a foremost expert in international trade matters, who served as the European Union’s Trade Commissioner and as the World Trade Organization’s Director General. In examining past, present, and possible future dynamics of agrifood trade, Lamy will focus on evolving implications for developing countries and set forth potential approaches to aligning trade policies with the imperatives of sustainability, climate change adaptation