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 discuss the diverse impacts of climate change in different parts of the world and identify potential responses that can be taken up in the short and medium term in national and regional food systems.

In the Malawi launch event we will welcome Rui Benfica, one of the report’s co-authors, who will start by giving an overview of the main findings and recommendations of the global report. He will then focus on two chapters that are particularly relevant to the Malawi context. Chapter 2 of the report notes that agricultural support policies transfer around US$620 billion per year to the farm sector worldwide and discusses how this massive public support could be repurposed to create more resilient and sustainable food systems. Chapter 4 discusses how increased investments in agricultural research and development can help transform agri-food systems towards achieving social, economic, nutritional, and environmental goals. These global perspectives will provide the background to initiate a discussion on how these issues play out in Malawi.

Welcome Remarks

• Joachim De Weerdt, Senior Research Fellow, Malawi Country Program Leader, IFPRI

Presentation of IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report

• Johan Swinnen, Global Director, CGIAR Systems Transformation Science Group & Director General, IFPRI
• Rui Benfica, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Panel Discussion on policy implications for Malawi

• William Chadza, Executive Director, MwAPATA institute
• Grace Kumchulesi, Director of Development Planning, National Planning Commission (NPC)
• Wilkson Makumba, Director Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS), Ministry of Agriculture
• Samson Katengeza, Director of Research and Outreach, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)