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Special series: Conflicts and other shocks impacting food systems
Conflicts and other shocks have triggered rising food insecurity and malnutrition in many places around the world. This special blog series examines how these often-overlapping crises are impacting food systems at the global, national, and local levels. Contributors also evaluate policy responses to food system shocks, with a view to finding effective approaches that enhance the resilience of both national and global food systems. The series is co-edited by Joseph Glauber, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow, and Johan Swinnen, IFPRI Director General and Managing Director of CGIAR’s Systems Transformation Science Group.
This blog series was initiated in February 2022 when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered trade disruptions and significant increases in international prices of energy, agricultural commodities, and fertilizer, which were already elevated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related value chain disruptions. While those impacts are still being felt, this series has expanded to incorporate posts on new conflicts, such as those in Sudan and Gaza, as well as weather-related disturbances and other food system shocks.
What’s New
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Making a Difference Blog Series
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Africa’s agriculture sector, particularly south of the Sahara, has enormous potential to provide jobs and food for a growing population—and thus contributing to food security, economic growth, and poverty reduction. To realize this potential, farmers across Africa have increasingly turned to mechanization.
In 2011, at the request of the Ghanaian government, IFPRI began work to assess the impacts and progress of mechanization programs in Ghana. These assessments shaped reforms and policies, helping farmers reduce drudgery and improve efficiency and yields.
Tamsin Zandstra, Sam Benin, and Seth Asante outline how farmers have benefited from Ghana’s Agricultural Mechanization Services Enterprise Centers Program.
Our Reach
Global, regional, and national food systems face major challenges and require fundamental transformations. More than ever, responding to these challenges will require a systems-oriented, multidisciplinary approach to reshape food systems so they work for all people sustainably.
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