Ifpri Podcast

COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented global response through expanded social safety nets, as countries struggle to mitigate the health and economic risks related to the virus and accompanying lockdowns. Gains made in the fight against poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition in the last decade are threatened, requiring a vigorous policy response. Social safety nets hold promise to minimize further harm, particularly among vulnerable populations. But the expansion of safety nets during the pandemic faces significant challenges. This seminar presents evidence on how social safety nets have been used to respond to COVID-19, how well this response has addressed food security and nutrition, and opportunities and challenges going forward. Speakers will provide a global overview, and profile the experience and research evidence from Bangladesh and Ethiopia. These two countries have welcomed IFPRI and partners to carry out research aimed at improving the effectiveness of their extensive social safety net systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming our world. We are seeing rapid changes in areas such as health care delivery, food security, agriculture, and international aid prioritization. In addition to the immediate impact to health and society, the COVID-19 pandemic may result in significant short- and long-term disruptions to food systems, resulting in decreased availability of nutritious foods, and a rise in the global prevalence of all forms of malnutrition, including micronutrient malnutrition. Micronutrient deficiencies can easily develop, or be exacerbated, during such an emergency. Previous emergencies must inform how we meet the micronutrient needs of affected people. The Micronutrient Forum and IFPRI invite you to join us and expert speakers for a seminar about micronutrients and pandemic emergencies. Opening Remarks: -John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) Presenters: -Nita Dalmiya, Nutrition Specialist, Maternal Nutrition, UNICEF -Daniel Gillig

América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) es uno de los principales contribuyentes a la seguridad alimentaria mundial y a los servicios ecosistémicos globales, incluidos el secuestro de CO2 y la biodiversidad. Sin embargo, la región también está sufriendo de degradación ambiental, particularmente a través de las altas tasas de deforestación. Además, ALC es la región en desarrollo con la mayor desigualdad económica, y, si bien la desnutrición ha disminuido significativamente, el sobrepeso y la obesidad han aumentado a tasas más altas que en otras regiones de ingresos medios. En medio de esta compleja situación, la región está sufriendo uno de los brotes más preocupantes de COVID-19 a nivel global. Con el aumento del desempleo, la pobreza este año podría alcanzar a casi 220 millones de personas, con la pobreza extrema afectando a más de 90 millones. Los gobiernos han reaccionado con una variedad de políticas sanitarias, sociales y económicas. Sin embargo, la pandemia actual está teniendo un gran impacto negativo en la

Virtual Event - No backsliding: How can we re-orient food systems and health systems to protect nutrition and healthy diets in the context of COVID-19? - 5/28/2020 Co-Organized by IFPRI and the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) The COVID-19 pandemic — and the related economic crisis and disrupted food and health systems — will likely severely worsen all forms of malnutrition globally. In the short to medium term, micronutrient deficiencies, child wasting and stunting, and overweight and obesity are all expected to surge, stemming the tide of recent progress toward achieving the World Health Assembly’s Global Nutrition Targets 2025. This seminar will analyze the situation, focusing on anticipated impacts on maternal and child nutrition, diets, reach of nutrition interventions, and mortality. Speakers will also reflect on positive adaptations that could help rebuild stronger health, economic, and food systems, and thereby protect nutrition and health. Opening Remarks: Johan

IFPRI Policy Seminar: What do we need for a gender-sensitive Covid-19 response in agriculture and food security? Insights from research and practice This seminar brings together perspectives from researchers, civil society, and development assistance in a discussion of the elements of a gender-sensitive covid-19 response. Speakers will share what they have learned from research on the food price crisis and earlier pandemics; experience and insights from grassroots organizations and NGOs in India and Kenya; and views of funding organizations. They will also present an emerging gender research agenda to inform future programmatic and policy responses. Opening Remarks: John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) Presenters: Maureen Miruka, Director, Gender, Youth & Livelihoods, Food and Water Systems, CARE USA Reema Nanavaty, Director, Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) Agnes Quisumbing, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Claudia Ringler, Deputy Director

This virtual event held May 12, 2020, featured the following speakers: Chair: Troels Mandel Vensild, Minister Counsellor of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Embassy of Denmark in Washington, DC https://soundcloud.com/ifpri/ifpri-polsem-12may2020#t=1:05 Welcome Remarks: Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI Keynote Speakers: Mogens Jensen, Minister for Food, Fisheries and Equal Opportunities & Minister for Nordic Cooperation, Government of Denmark Stephen Censky, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture Speakers: Anna-Karin Modin-Edman, Senior Sustainability Manager, Arla Foods Denise Osterhues, Senior Director for Corporate Affairs, The Kroger Company Ambassador Darci Vetter, Vice Chair for Agriculture, Food and Trade, Edelman; Former Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the United States Trade Representative Closing Remarks: Craig Hanson, Vice President for Food, Forest, Water & the Ocean, World Resources Institute (WRI) Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division,

This virtual policy seminar held April 30, 2020, featuring introduction from Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI ( https://soundcloud.com/ifpri/ifpri_polsem_30apr2020#t=1:43); and the following rapid fire presentations: • COVID-19 and the economic impact on Egypt: Clemens Breisinger, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI ( https://soundcloud.com/ifpri/ifpri_polsem_30apr2020#t=4:08 ) • COVID-19 and agricultural value chains in Ethiopia: Bart Minten, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI ( https://soundcloud.com/ifpri/ifpri_polsem_30apr2020#t=10:35 ) • COVID-19 and informal food traders in Africa -- government responses and citizen compliance: Danielle Resnick, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI ( https://soundcloud.com/ifpri/ifpri_polsem_30apr2020#t=17:40 ) • COVID-19 and food security and nutrition in Myanmar: Derek Headey, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI ( https://soundcloud.com/ifpri/ifpri_polsem_30apr2020#t=24:48 ) • COVID-19 and gender-sensitive social protection: Shalini Roy, Research Fellow, IFPRI ( https://soundclo

While it is not yet clear when and where the MC12 will take place because of the COVID-19 crisis, it is even clearer now that global coordination and collaboration is key in dealing with food insecurity. The twelfth Ministerial Conference of the WTO provides an opportunity to improve the world trade system through further reforms of the domestic support provisions under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) and provides an updated framework for the future. This PIM Webinar highlights some of the key issues around domestic support and discuss possible scenarios of further development with focus on the potential impacts. More details, recording and slides: https://bit.ly/2KfKLkc *** The PIM Webinars aim to share findings of research undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), discuss their application, and get feedback and suggestions from participants. Webinars are conducted by PIM researchers in the form of research seminars. Each webinar is a live event consis

This virtual policy seminar held April 21, 2020, featuring presentations from Will Martin, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and Valeria Piñeiro, Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI, with Leonardo Garrido, Lead Senior Economist, The New Climate Economy, World Resources Institute; Madhur Gautam, Lead Economist, World Bank Group; and Ann Tutwiler, Senior Fellow, Meridian Institute & Coordinator of the Policy Action Coalition to Repurpose Food and Agriculture Support as discussants and moderated by Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI. Governments spend over $US 700 billion dollars per year on agricultural support measures such as subsidies, border price distortions and investments in raising productivity. Agriculture and land use change contribute close to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions policy makers have little information on the implications of agricultural support for emissions. This seminar examines the links between agricultural support and emissions from ag

This policy seminar held April 14, 2020, featuring introduction from Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI, and the following rapid fire presentations: -Global implications for food security and poverty: David Laborde Debucquet, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI -Developments in India and implications for food security and nutrition: Purnima Menon, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI -Country level implications for food security and poverty: James Thurlow, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI -Developments in China and implications for food security and poverty: Xiaobo Zhang, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Closing remarks from John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), and moderated by Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI. COVID-19 threatens devastating impacts on food security, poverty, and nutrition, particularly in developing countries. IFPRI researchers are taking an early look at the pandemic’s global and country-level implications

This launch event held April 7, 2020, featuring overiew from Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI, and presentations from John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH); Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI; Laura Zseleczky, Program Manager, IFPRI; and moderated by Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Director, Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI. Food systems are critical to every aspect of people’s well-being, from what they eat to how they earn their livelihoods to their options for the future. IFPRI’s flagship report ( https://gfpr.ifpri.info) highlights the critical role that inclusive food systems can play in improving nutrition, creating employment and income-generating opportunities, and increasing empowerment of disadvantaged groups. More on the seminar: https://www.ifpri.org/event/virtual-launch-event-2020-global-food-policy-report-building-inclusive-food-systems and https://gfpr.ifpri.info) Subscribe IFPRI Insights newsletter a

IFPRI Special Event: Reflections with Ousmane Badiane - 02/24/2020 As Ousmane Badiane leaves IFPRI at the end of February, this special event reflects on his work for IFPRI and for Africa. Ousmane's contributions to transforming Africa’s agriculture sector are widely recognized throughout the development community. As IFPRI’s Director for Africa, Ousmane significantly expanded IFPRI’s engagement in Africa and played a key role in developing and guiding the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). His accomplishments include helping to establish the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support Systems (ReSAKSS), a major collaboration between CG centers and leading African organizations to support evidence-based policy efforts and launching and leading the African Growth and Development Policy Modeling Consortium (AGRODEP) with members from more than 30 countries. His latest initiative, the Malabo Montpellier Panel, encourages policy innovations for better de

This IFPRI Policy Seminar held on February 19, 2020, at IFPRI Headquarters, featuring presentations from Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla, Head, Latin American and Caribbean Program, IFPRI; Ramiro Costa, Deputy Executive Director of the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, Bolsa de Cereales; and David Laborde Debucquet, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI; Sofia Perini, Economist, INAI Foundation (Institute for International Agricultural Negotiations), and moderated by Valeria Piñeiro, Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI The 2030 Agenda calls on all countries to use trade to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient world. We must ensure that the global trading system actively contributes to sustainability. Trade policies offer an opportunity to promote a broad shift in production and consumption that helps consumers to make better choices. The European Union-Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) free trade agreement, recently announced after 20 years of negotiations, has not yet been ratified. If ratified, it

This IFPRI Policy Seminar was held last Februrary 18, 2020 at IFPRI Headquarters, featuring keynote presentation from Tassos Haniotis, Director, European Commission with remarks from Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI, and M. Ann Tutwiler, Chair, Bioversity International USA, Inc. and moderated by Will Martin, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI The “Farm to Fork” Strategy, part of the European Commission’s Green Deal, is integral to Europe’s ambitious response to climate change challenges along the food chain. The “Farm to Fork” strategy reflects the ongoing transformation of food systems worldwide and the goal of making Europe’s food system the gold standard for sustainability. “Farm to Fork” is also linked directly to current discussions on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. The EU experience is highly relevant to the debate around food system transformation—Europe’s policy- and private-driven initiatives demonstrate that green best practices can be successful in jointly increasing economic effi

The Washington DC launch of The Making of a Blue Revolution in Bangladesh was held last Februrary 11, 2020 at IFPRI Headquarters, featuring presentations from Paul Dorosh, Director, Development Strategy and Governance Division, IFPRI; Nicholas Minot, Deputy Division Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division, IFPRI; Shahidur Rashid, Director, South Asia, IFPRI; and Xiaobo Zhang, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI, remarks from Loraine Ronchi, Practice Manager for South Asia, Food and Agriculture Global Practice, World Bank Group, and moderated by Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Director, Communications and Public Affairs & Chief of Staff, Director General's Office, IFPRI A rapid increase in aquaculture production in Bangladesh has lowered fish prices, increased protein consumption, and reduced poverty. The Making of a Blue Revolution in Bangladesh offers a valuable case study of how this transformation in the fish value chain has occurred and how it has improved the lives of both fish producers and fish consumers an

This PIM Webinar recorded on February 6, 2020, features a presentation by and a discussion with Dr. Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and Elizabeth Bryan, Senior Scientist, IFPRI. There is growing recognition of the importance of gender issues in policy and research. Gender equality is recognized as one of the Sustainable Development Goals and is key to achieving most of the other goals as well. Yet it is often not clear what this means, in practice, or what kinds of knowledge and interventions are needed to contribute to these goals. This webinar will discuss key gender issues and entry points for policy research and outreach, focusing on processes for integrating gender into each stage of the research process, including priority setting, research design, methodologies, conduct of research, and communications for impact. More: https://pim.cgiar.org/2020/01/30/webinar-integrating-gender-in-policy-research-and-outreach/ The PIM Webinars aim to share findings of research undertaken as part of

Current global challenges in malnutrition and other development goals call for integrated, multi-sectoral approaches focusing on the entire food system, leading to healthier and sustainable diets for all. Among these challenges is micronutrient deficiency, known as “hidden hunger.” Micronutrients—vitamins and minerals needed in only very small quantities but with huge impacts on human health and development—are a key component of healthy diets. With shifts in food access, eating habits, and climate, hidden hunger is an increasingly common serious health problem for billions of people globally, including in situations of food excess. Unfortunately, most food system approaches pay too little attention to micronutrients, and the global health and development community lacks a basic understanding of how food systems can contribute to the micronutrient quality of diets. For more details about the seminar visit: https://www.ifpri.org/event/changing-challenges-hidden-hunger-micronutrients-within-nutrition-and-dev

The 2020 Global Forum for Food and Agriculture event “Food for All! Trade for Secure, Diverse and Sustainable Nutrition” brought together 16 Expert Panels hosted by policymakers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders from civil society to discuss the role of international trade in achieving a healthy and sustainable food system. International trade has long helped reduce food insecurity by connecting food-scarce regions to more productive agricultural regions. To meet global goals, trade will also need to increase sustainability of food production and ensure more equitable access to scarce natural resources. In follow-up to the GFFA 2020, IFPRI is hosting a panel to discuss key topics around the role of trade in sustaining food security and nutrition in the face of current challenges to food systems, such as climate change, protectionist tendencies, and economic uncertainty. Panelists will reflect on the trade-related decisions that developing and emerging countries must make as they seek to increase a

Our food systems are bankrupting our health systems, accelerating climate change and using natural resources in an unsustainable way. Most people agree they need to be transformed to change this. But how? Food systems are complex and offer many entry points for change. In addition, the data to describe food systems and their performance is scattered and not interoperable. In effect we are flying blind in our journey to change food systems for the better. The Food System Dashboard (https://bioethics.jhu.edu/research-and-outreach/projects/global-food/current-projects/the-food-systems-dashboard/ ), developed by GAIN and Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with iTech Mission, University of Michigan, and Euromonitor, responds to this challenge. It brings together extant data from public and private sources to help decision makers diagnose their food systems and identify all their levers of change and the ones that need to be pulled first. Following presentation of the Food Systems Dashboard, commentato

The share of working-age young people in Africa south of the Sahara has risen due to past declines in mortality coupled with high fertility. This “youth bulge” has created a sense of urgency among national governments and the international development community as the prospect of widespread youth unemployment in Africa, and the social instability and political unrest it could bring looms closer. As a result, African governments are under pressure to create more and better jobs for the region’s young and rapidly growing population. Although the scale of policy reforms and actions needed to address Africa’s youth bulge is daunting, there is an increasing alignment of interests and incentives: African governments have made youth employment a policy priority, and African youth are demanding policies that improve their job prospects. This creates promising opportunities to enact policies that effectively address rural youth employment—policies that are grounded in local evidence rather than stylized facts. This