Ifpri Podcast

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

POLICY SEMINAR Can agricultural policies deliver better value for money for people, the planet, and the economy? Co-Organized by IFPRI and World Bank Group FEB 2, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EST The massive support provided to agriculture by governments — $639 billion per year during 2016–18 — has not incentivized sustainable patterns of food production and consumption, leading to calls to “repurpose” this support. A new IFPRI-World Bank study, Repurposing Agricultural Policies and Support : Options to Transform Agriculture and Food Systems to Better Serve the Health of People, Economies, and the Planet, shows that the present system of support, if left in place, would do nothing to staunch the rapid increase in global emissions from agriculture. Unfortunately, many seemingly appealing options for repurposing are either ineffective or involve harsh side effects such as raising food costs, poverty and agricultural land use. The study’s authors therefore call for a more fundamental change in incentives that advance

MEDIA BRIEFING Repurposing Agricultural Policies and Support: Options to Transform Agriculture and Food Systems to Better Serve the Health of People, Economies, and the Planet February 1, 2021

POLICY SEMINAR Making agrifood systems more resilient to shocks and stresses Co-Organized by IFPRI and FAO in North America JAN 19, 2022 - 9:30 TO 11:00AM EST The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of agrifood systems to shocks and stresses, as it increased global food insecurity and malnutrition. Action is needed to make agrifood systems more resilient, efficient, sustainable, and inclusive. The FAO’s The State of Food and Agriculture 2021 presents country-level indicators of the resilience of agrifood systems — these measure the robustness of primary production and food availability, as well as physical and economic access to food, and can thus help assess the capacity of national agrifood systems to absorb shocks and stresses. The report analyzes the vulnerabilities of food supply chains and how rural households cope with risks and shocks. It offers guidance for minimizing trade-offs as we develop policies to enhance food supply chain resilience, support livelihoods in the agrifood system and,

PIM Webinar Cash transfers and intimate partner violence: Case studies from Ethiopia and Ghana Organized by PIM and the Cash Transfer and Intimate Partner Violence Research Collaborative in support of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign December 10, 2021 A growing evidence base demonstrates that cash transfer programs, primarily meant to address poverty and vulnerability, are promising interventions to reduce intimate partner violence. However, knowledge gaps remain on whether findings generalize across program designs, as well as what mechanisms underlie impacts. This webinar will present results from two case studies in Ghana and Ethiopia that draw upon qualitative research of national cash transfer programs combined with complementary programming. Both studies examine pathways of influence with consideration of contextual factors such as gender norms, household dynamics, and the role of “plus” programming. Introduction and opening remarks: Frank Place ( https://www.ifp

PIM Webinar Book Launch: African Farmers, Value Chains and Agricultural Development December 9, 2021 At first glance, African smallholder farmers might seem unproductive, as their crops yield much less than potential and are often of variable quality. A new PIM-supported book “African Farmers, Value Chains, and Agricultural Development” argues that in fact they are largely producing following rational economic decisions, and that this situation is a consequence of the economic and institutional environment in which they produce. The authors Alan de Brauw and Erwin Bulte discuss ways that different types of transaction costs limit their market opportunities in general, including transport costs but also costs related to different sources of risks, trust, market power, liquidity, and even storage. The presence of high transaction costs limits the ability of farmers to market their surplus, hence reducing their incentives to produce. The authors discuss several types of costs in detail, including problems relat

PIM Webinar Tenure Security and Landscape Governance of Natural Resources December 7, 2021 Tenure Security and Landscape Governance of Natural Resources Equitable and secure tenure arrangements and well-performing rural governance institutions can contribute to better-distributed incomes and foster investment and technological innovation in agriculture. On the other hand, tenure regimes, if controlled by elites or implemented to reinforce traditional power hierarchies, can be powerful instruments of exclusion. Lack of attention to resource governance carries high risk for development programs, particularly with regard to equality, social inclusion, and long-term sustainability of natural resources. Research on governance of natural resources (PIM Flagship 5) https://pim.cgiar.org/research/f5/ has been an integral part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) since 2017. The team has been seeking to identify actions to strengthen tenure rights of poor and marginalized peo

PIM Webinar Migration and Global Agri-Food Systems: Insights from CGIAR Research and Beyond December 2, 2021 Migration is an intrinsic part of the development process, representing one of the greatest opportunities to facilitate economic and social advancement in developing countries. At the same time, migration presents one of the world’s biggest challenges—particularly when it is non-voluntary, reflecting forced displacement of sizeable numbers of people. Migration requires adjustments by both sending and hosting communities; understanding those adjustments, and ways to maximize the benefits and minimize any costs of migration, is a key policy priority. The CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) has undertaken more than 40 studies designed to explore the causes and consequences of internal and international migration. In aggregate, the studies help us understand what motivates people to migrate and what factors impinge on their ability to do so. This webinar will draw upon th