IFPRI Opinions and Editorials
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Item Le cout d’un non accord pour les PMA(Opinion Piece, 2006) Bouët, AntoineItem Aid to agriculture, growth and poverty reduction(Opinion Piece, 2006) Hazell, Peter B. R.; von Braun, JoachimItem Malawi faces a food crisis: Why plans to avert hunger aren’t realistic and what can be done(Blog Post, 2024-06-02) De Weerdt, Joachim; Duchoslav, JanMalawi is heading towards a severe food crisis later this year. Drought brought on by the El Niño weather pattern has affected the harvest of maize, the staple food grown by nine out of 10 farming households in the country.Item Nourishing futures: The Philippines promote native foods in school meals(Opinion Piece, 2024-10-12) Mendonce, Sharon; Borelli, Teresa; Honeycutt, Sydney; Anunciado, Ma. Shiela; Umali, Diana JeanImagine a bustling schoolyard in the Philippines, where children eagerly tend to their vibrant classroom garden. As part of a school gardening programme, the students are excited to harvest the fruits and vegetables they have carefully cultivated. In just a few hours, these nutritious foods will be served on their lunch plates. This heartwarming scene reflects broader efforts across the Philippines to integrate traditional and indigenous fruit and vegetables into school meals and promote healthy eating habits. Driven by a commitment to improve the quality of school meals, the Philippines, as a School Meals Coalition member, has introduced various initiatives aimed at supporting the health and well-being of students. Beyond combatting hunger, these efforts are designed to enhance learning outcomes and foster a brighter, healthier future for the nation. Aligned with these goals, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, also a partner of the Coalition, is promoting fruit and vegetable consumption in the Philippines through a CGIAR Research Initiative on Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH). In collaboration with the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and other local partners, FRESH contributed to a desk review of the country’s school food environment literature, policies, and guidelines.Item Data strategy for true cost accounting(Blog Post, 2024-11-19) Zhang, WeiWei Zhang argues that investing in an open access global True Cost Accounting database will support essential agricultural data collection to inform decision-making at local, national, and transnational levels.Item Climate action through reducing food loss and waste: Lessons from Bangladesh, Malawi and Nepal(Opinion Piece, 2024-09-09) Srivastava, Nandita; Babu, Suresh Chandra; Anowar, Md. SadatReducing food loss and waste (FLW) is crucial to improving food security, reducing malnutrition, providing livelihoods for food system workers, and is key to combating climate change. Overall, food systems contribute an estimated 33 percent to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; food waste alone is responsible for eight to 10 percent. Yet, most countries that have submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for reducing carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement have not included any commitments for reducing FLW. Many national FLW policies are not aligned with climate change goals and the NDCs. To make this bridge, countries must build supportive regulatory frameworks to reduce agrifood system emissions and include FLW as a mitigation measure. From April to June 2024, the USAID-funded Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI), through its Asia program led by the International Food Policy and Research Institute, held national level consultations in Bangladesh, Malawi, and Nepal on FLW management.Item The true costs of food in Kenya and Viet Nam(Infographic, 2024-12-30) Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin E.The CGIAR Nature-Positive Solutions Initiative (NATURE+) aims to re-imagine, co-create, and implement nature-positive agrifood systems that equitably support local food and livelihoods, while ensuring that agriculture is a net positive contributor to nature and the environment.Item Early warning systems and climate resiliency: Recent evidence and digital solutions for India’s potato belt(Opinion Piece, 2024-08-12) Bhattacharjee, Mousumi; Babu, Suresh ChandraAdaptation and mitigation strategies are essential for addressing climate change impacts. What if such strategies are available, but the beneficiaries cannot take advantage of them? Recent evidence from certain regions in India raises concerns that disparities could lead to food and humanitarian crises in the future. The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), established in the 2015 Paris Agreement, is about enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change to keep temperature rise to a maximum of 2°C or 1.5°C. To qualify for financial support from participating nations, countries must have well-functioning early warning systems and comprehensive disaster preparedness and management strategies.Item How anticipatory action can empower women in disaster-prone areas(Blog Post, 2024-12-12) Myers, Emily; Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Gonzales, Teresa; Madero, Ana; Mittrick, Caitlin; Rapadas, AmicaAs the planet warms, climate-driven disasters are becoming more frequent and severe worldwide. These events pose increased risks to vulnerable communities and groups, particularly women and girls, who face disproportionate challenges in their aftermath. Disasters often exacerbate existing gender inequalities—limiting women’s access to food and essential services, reducing their physical safety and decision-making power, and increasing time poverty. These impacts, compounded by gendered social norms, make recovery from disaster significantly harder for women. Policymakers increasingly recognize the value of anticipatory action (AA)—providing predetermined support to mitigate disaster impacts before they occur. For example, anticipatory action programs might distribute cash and emergency supplies to vulnerable communities before a predicted flood, or distribute drought-resistance seeds before a dry season. However, many AA programs fail to adequately address the unique needs and vulnerabilities of women, girls, and other marginalized groups, missing opportunities to promote gender equality.Item Redefining health priorities: Sub-Saharan Africa’s new frontier in disease burden(Opinion Piece, 2024-12-20) Zerfu, Taddese Alemu; Tareke, Amare A.; Biadgilign, SibhatuRecent Lancet Global Burden of Disease Study projections highlight a significant transformation in sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA) health landscape by 2050 [1]. Although global age-standardised disease burden and life expectancy are anticipated to improve, SSA will move from primarily impacted by communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs) to an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This evolving scenario requires urgent modifications in public health strategies to tackle both ongoing and emerging health challenges.Item Graduation from poverty: Can a big push program help conflict-affected households? Evidence from Somalia(Blog Post, 2024-12-17) Hirvonen, Kalle; Karachiwalla, Naureen; Leight, Jessica; Rakshit, DeboleenaWe are living in one of the most violent periods since the end of the Cold War. Of the 59 active conflicts worldwide, nearly half (28) are unfolding in Africa. Among these, Somalia stands out as a country enduring one of the continent’s longest-running conflicts, stretching back to the 1980s. Nearly 4 million people out of Somalia’s population of 18 million have been forced to flee their homes due to persistent violence and increasingly unstable climate conditions. Many of these internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge in unplanned, informal settlements in urban areas.Item How programme design and local context shape the lasting effects of cash and food transfers(Opinion Piece, 2024-12-16) Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; Tauseef, SalauddinA transfer programme in Bangladesh led to sustained consumption increases and reduced poverty four years post-programme, but design and context mattered. Cash and food transfer programmes in low- and middle-income countries have been shown to be highly effective in increasing household consumption and reducing household poverty in the short term (Bastagli et al. 2016, Hidrobo et al. 2018, Borga and D’Ambrosio 2021, Ravallion 2016). But evidence on whether they sustain longer-term impacts after programmes end is more mixed. Some studies of transfer programmes show significant sustained medium- to long-term impacts on consumption and poverty (e.g. Carneiro et al. 2021, Stoeffler et al. 2020, Macours et al. 2022), but others show effects fading out (e.g. Handa et al. 2019, Cahyadi et al. 2020, Haushofer and Shapiro 2018 ). Some interventions combining transfers with additional components such as cash “plus” programmes or multi-faceted graduation models sustain impacts on consumption four to ten years post-intervention (Bandiera et al. 2017, Banerjee et al. 2022), while others do not (Brune et al. 2022).Item What kind of financing does agriculture need to create jobs and prevent climate change?(Audio, 2024-12-06) Balogun, Ayodeji; Hebebrand, Charlotte; Munene, Fred; Shetty, ShobhaIt is expected that in 2050 there will be nearly 10 billion people in the world. As the population grows, we will need more farmers to produce more food. But the world’s food system is also a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. This episode discusses how we can support small farmers and enterprises by providing the finance they need to produce food and supporting the jobs of the future, while reducing emissions.Item Do ultra-poor graduation programmes build resilience against droughts? Evidence from rural Ethiopia(Opinion Piece, 2024-02-23) Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; Villa, VictorA growing body of evidence now suggests that global warming increases the risk of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and tropical cyclones (Seneviratne et al. 2021), and these shocks often force poor households to consume less or sell valuable assets, worsening their food security and increasing their vulnerability to chronic poverty. These effects can be particularly salient for women, who often have less resources than male family members even within poor households (Fruttero et al. 2023, van Daalen et al. 2020), and who may face increased vulnerability to violence (Abiona and Koppensteiner 2018, Díaz and Saldarriaga 2023, Epstein et al. 2020). The high and growing incidence of climate-related shocks has only increased the importance of identifying interventions that can strengthen households’ resilience against the adverse consequences of these shocks.Item IFPRI Forum: Wanted, Good jobs for fighting poverty(Newsletter, 2009) International Food Policy Research InstituteThe current global recession is leading to millions of job losses around the world, pushing some people deeper into poverty and nudging others into poverty for the first time. How can governments and others in developing countries create good jobs to fight poverty and hunger both now and in the long term?Item IFPRI Forum: Squeezing the most out of scarce water resources(Newsletter, 2009) International Food Policy Research InstituteItem IFPRI Forum: Sick and tired: Climbing out of the health-Poverty trap(Newsletter, 2009) International Food Policy Research InstituteItem IFPRI Forum: The 10 percent that could change Africa(Newsletter, 2008) International Food Policy Research InstituteItem IFPRI Forum: Speculation and World Food Markets(Newsletter, 2008) International Food Policy Research InstituteItem IFPRI Forum: Can public and private sectors work together for the poor? (Featured article)(Newsletter, 2005) International Food Policy Research Institute