Behavioral explanations for the sell-low-buy-high puzzle in smallholder market participation: Lessons from a field experiment in Malawi
By Joachim De Weerdt, Brian Dillon, Emmanuel Hami, Bjorn Van Campenhout, and Leocardia Nabwire
Our study tested two behavioral interventions—budgeting and sales planning—to understand and mitigate this paradox.
 
Revisiting development strategies under climate uncertainty: Insights from Malawi
By Askar Mukashov and Eleanor Jones
Does the threat of climate change significantly undermine strategies focusing on agriculture?
 
Urgent need to strengthen local governance for improved urban agrifood systems
By Danielle Resnick
Insights from the new report by the UN High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition.
 
Evaluating impacts: Lessons from food systems interventions across Africa and Asia
By Jef L. Leroy, Lynnette Neufeld, Stella Nordhagen, and Sydney Honeycutt
Transforming food systems is promising but complex, requiring strong evidence and rigorous evaluations to ensure effective interventions.
 
Groundwater conservation and food security: Navigating pathways to sustainable agriculture
By Vartika Singh and Claudia Ringler
Tradeoffs must be carefully managed.
 
Workshop: Applying the Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Governance (WEAGov) tool to support gender-responsive policy innovation across Africa
By Jordan Kyle, Catherine Ragasa, Susan Kaaria, Margaret Mangheni, Dorine Odongo, and Anne Omamo
Collaborating to make food systems more inclusive.
 
Enhancing farm productivity and rural livelihoods through ICT interventions in Malawi
By Catherine Ragasa, Ning Ma, and Emmanuel Hami
New opportunities as mobile phone use grows in farming areas.
 
Opportunities and challenges for coffee production in Papua New Guinea’s highlands
By Rishabh Mukerjee, Helmtrude Sikas-Iha, and Damaris Warambukia
Survey insights on production, pests, and marketing.

Southern African drought: Extreme hardship, hopefully only in the short term Inter Press Service quoted Joe Glauber in this article on El Nino in Southern Africa. “This year’s El Nino–related production shortfalls are partially offset by larger carrying stocks following large maize crops in 2022 and 2023. Poor crops have already resulted in increased imports in countries like Zimbabwe,” Glauber said. (Also republished in Global Issues)

Changing monsoon altering crop cycles The Hindustan Times quoted Avinash Kishore in this article on how poor rains are affecting rice planting in India. “Late monsoon is the new norm in Bihar,” he said. “As of July 12, total rainfall is less than 80% of the normal in 14 districts. Late monsoon delays paddy transplantation which may lead to late sowing of wheat. Rice-wheat yields and farmers’ profit take a hit.”

Sudan is now confronting its most severe food security crisis on record The Conversation Africa shared a recent IFPRI blog post by Rob Vos and Khalid Siddig on the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on food insecurity and conflict in Sudan. The blog examines the IPC report and recommendations for immediate action. (Also republished in Future Media News)

Dearth of agri-food research on climate-hit countries SciDev.Net published an article on a recent report co-authored by researchers from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), and IFPRI, including Valeria Piñeiro. The report found that levels of scientific research targeting the poorest, most climate-vulnerable countries are “extremely low.”

Energy price fluctuations and implications for Bangladesh The Financial Express published an article by Abdul Zabbar Sakil on Bangladesh’s energy landscape and how energy price fluctuations affect the macroeconomy. The article also discussed the benefits of a shift toward renewable energy.