IFPRI Insights: 2023 GFPR Special Edition

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April 17, 2023

Forward

2023 Global Food Policy Report:
Rethinking Food Crisis Responses

Recent shocks to global and national food systems — including conflict, disease, and climate-related disasters — and rising numbers of poor and hungry people highlight the pressing need for more permanent and effective responses to wide-reaching, often protracted food crises. Given the likelihood of more frequent crises, especially as a result of climate change, many organizations have called for moving beyond humanitarian responses, implemented only after a crisis has struck, toward better prediction, preparation, and resilience building that will make future crises less devastating. At this opportune moment to rethink how we address food crises, IFPRI’s flagship report provides evidence-based policy recommendations for moving forward.

Launched on April 13, 2023, the 2023 Global Food Policy Report presents a set of policy options that can improve our immediate response to crises and shift our approach toward building food system resilience to ensure food security for all.

In case you missed the 2023 GFPR hybrid global launch event on April 13, with speakers including Dina Esposito (USAID), Sachin Chaturvedi (RIS), and Ousmane Badiane (AKADEMIYA2063), the recording is available here.

Read on and explore other GFPR resources:

GFPR Website | Download Report | Synposis
Press Release | Op-Ed (Devex)

More Frequent, More Diverse Crises: Johan Swinnen and Katrina Kosec consider the alarming impacts of recent global and local crises on hunger, poverty, and equality, and the devasting effects of compounding crises, as conflict, economic collapse, and climate problems overlap. Amplifying the call for change, the authors stress the need for more effective responses, based on strong evidence and supported by good governance and sustainable financing. (Chapter 1)

Early Warning for Early Action: Existing early warning systems have been crucial in signaling serious risks, but better integration of diverse systems, wider coverage, and more analysis of how shocks play out in different contexts could improve both immediate humanitarian response and longer-term resilience building, argue Rob Vos, Peter Laderach, and Brendan Rice, with Arif Husain and Friederike Greb, colleagues from the World Food Programme. (Chapter 2)

Preparing for Crises: Anticipatory action frameworks, prepared in advance of a crisis, define a trigger point for initiating humanitarian response, assign roles and responsibilities, and allocate funding. Sikandra Kurdi and Sandra Ruckstuhl outline how these frameworks can reduce the costs of response and also limit the impact of crises, especially when they include well-designed humanitarian assistance. (Chapter 3)

Resilient Agrifood Value Chains: Despite disruptions and high prices, agrifood value chains fared surprisingly well through the COVID-19 pandemic. Bart Minten, Ben Belton, and Thomas Reardon describe how flexible firms were able to pivot or adapt to new conditions, but those facing more constraints fared worse. (Chapter 4)

Protecting Vulnerable People: Social safety nets that provide cash or in-kind transfers proved effective in reducing declines in income and food security during recent crises, especially when systems were in place beforehand. But many poor and urban people are still not covered by these programs, and existing programs should be made more “shock-responsive,” writes Kalle Hirvonen. (Chapter 5)

Women’s Empowerment in Crisis Settings: Women’s participation in leadership and crisis response improves outcomes, but data are scarce on how women experience crises. Hazel Malapit and Lynn Brown make the case for increasing women’s empowerment and building evidence on what works to reduce gender-based violence and other inequities common in fragile and conflict-affected settings. (Chapter 6)

Forced Migration: Armed conflict and other violence, climate change, and economic shocks have driven up the number of internally displaced people and refugees, with many suffering acute hunger. Yet this difficult situation can be an opportunity for migrants and sending and hosting communities when policies support socioeconomic integration for migrants, argue Manuel Hernandez, Olivier Ecker, Peter Läderach, and Jean-François Maystadt. (Chapter 7)

Regional Experiences: Crisis risks, vulnerabilities, and responses differ across regions and countries. Experts from IFPRI’s regional programs examine how recent crises have affected sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. These experiences signal new challenges and opportunities, and the authors offer policy recommendations to improve crisis response and resilience. (Regions)