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The International Food Policy Research Institute deeply mourns the passing of Dr. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, the world-renowned agricultural scientist, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Mentor, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. M.S. Swaminathan passed away in Chennai, India, on September 28, 2023, at the age of 98.
An acclaimed geneticist and plant breeder, he was often named the Father of India’s Green Revolution.
Our sincere condolences to the family and all friends, colleagues, and students of this remarkable man.
We are incredibly honored that Dr. Swaminathan was always a great friend and supporter of IFPRI. In his dear memory, we are sharing this video recorded in 2018 for the global event “Accelerating the End of Hunger and Malnutrition” organized by IFPRI and FAO in Bangkok, Thailand.
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 IFPRI @ Adaptations Futures 2023 | Montréal, Canada
October 2, 2023, 9:00 AM to October 6, 2023, 6:00 PM EDT
A Look at Global Rice Markets: Export Restrictions, El Niño, and Price Controls
IFPRI-AMIS Seminar | October 18, 2023
Food System Repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine War
2023 Borlaug Dialogue breakout session | October 26, 2023
Tackling Obesity and Noncommunicable Diseases in Mexico: A Policy Approach
33rd Annual Martin J. Forman Memorial Lecture
November 21, 2023, 9:00-10:30 AM EST
Please check our Events page for most recent updates.
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Food loss and waste is caused by many factors, including inefficient production and supply chains, inadequate infrastructure, and consumer behaviors. Together, these problems undermine global food and nutrition security, exacerbating hunger and malnutrition and placing additional strains on natural resources. To mark this year’s International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Reduction (September 29), we spoke with Rob Vos, Director of IFPRI’s Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit, who delves deeper into the causes of this global challenge and their intricate connections to food security.
(Read Interview)
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The current structure of the global food system is increasingly recognized as unsustainable. In addition to the environmental impacts of agricultural production, unequal patterns of food access and availability are contributing to non-communicable diseases in middle- and high-income countries and inadequate caloric intake and dietary diversity among the world’s poorest. While the need to transform food systems is widely accepted, the policy pathways for achieving such a vision often are highly contested, and the enabling conditions for implementation are frequently absent. These dynamics are examined in detail in a new book co-edited by Danielle Resnick and Johan Swinnen, and published jointly by IFPRI and Oxford University Press. (Read Press Release | Read Book [ISBN: 9780198882121])
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Elizabeth Bryan, Harriet Mawia, Claudia Ringler and colleagues focus on the experiences of men and women in rural Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, and Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their income losses and coping strategies in this joint IFPRI-FAO report. (Read Report)
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Rebecca McLain explores drivers of tenure insecurity and their consequences, as well as mechanisms that can enhance tenure security, in this IFPRI Food Policy Report. (Read Report)
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New study reveals alarming impact of food inflation on child undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries
The 21st century has been marked by increased volatility in food prices, with global price spikes in 2007-08, 2010-11, and again in 2021-22. The impact of food inflation on the risk of child undernutrition is not well understood, however. A new study by Derek Headey and Marie Ruel sheds light on the critical relationship between food inflation and child undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries.
(Read Press Release | Read Article in Nature Communications)
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Health science: Adolescence is a critical period of physical and psychological development, especially for girls, because poor nutrition can affect their wellbeing as well as that of their children. A comprehensive package of nutrition education interventions delivered through public primary schools can significantly improve dietary practices among adolescents, according to a new study by Sunny Kim, Celeste Sununtnasuk, Purnima Menon, and colleagues. (Read Press Release | Read Article in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health)
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Nuts about it: The adoption of climate-resilient crop varieties can build farmers’ climate resilience but could also induce agricultural transformation in developing nations. Martin Tabe-Ojong and colleagues find that adoption of climate-resilient groundnut varieties increase production, consumption, and commercialization among smallholder farmers in Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. (Read Article in Nature Communications)
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Liquid milk: Limited access to reliable financial instruments in rural areas poses challenges for managing daily cash flows. Cooperatives can help with savings but may not provide easy access during emergencies, leading households to sell goods locally for immediate payment. Berber Kramer and colleagues, in a study of Kenyan dairy cooperatives, find that health insurance reduces side-selling, highlighting the interconnectedness of selling, saving, and risk management. (Read Article in The Journal of Development Economics)
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Zinc & potatoes: Zinc-biofortified potatoes have considerable potential to reduce zinc deficiency because of their low levels of phytate, an inhibitor of zinc absorption, and their high levels of consumption, especially in the Andean region of Peru. Erick Boy of HarvestPlus and colleagues measure fractional and total zinc absorption from a test meal of biofortified compared with regular potatoes and find that zinc-biofortified potatoes could contribute toward reducing zinc deficiency in populations where potatoes are a staple food. (Read Article in The Journal of Nutrition)
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Which danger poses the greater threat to rainforests: climate change or cropland expansion?
New research finds that climate change is likely to be more than 2.5 times more destructive to tropical rainforests than cropland expansion at the global level between 2005 and 2050. To illustrate how much land experienced different climates in the recent past and how that will change in the future, Ricky Robertson puts together heat maps showing combinations of temperature and rainfall and which take stock of how much land area experienced them globally since 2005.
(Read Blog)
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Insights into addressing undernutrition from China’s water, sanitation, and energy investments: Globally, childhood chronic undernutrition is a major public health concern and can lead to stunting or linear growth faltering, which can have profound implications for their development and future contributions to society. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are essential for preventing undernutrition through promoting cleanliness and reducing disease transmission. Suman Chakrabarti and Leigh Hamlet evaluate the associations between improvements in environmental sanitation and reductions in undernutrition in Jiangxi Province, China. (Read Blog)
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India’s edible oil imports from Nepal: In 2021, prior to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India imported a staggering $17.1 billion of edible oils, dominated by palm oil, soybean oil, and sunflower/safflower oils. Interestingly, these three oils accounted for an impressive 65% share of India’s total merchandise imports from Nepal in 2021—a country not generally known for its edible oils production. Abul Kamar, Devesh Roy, and Shahidur Rashid explore the policy implications for these oils on current tariffs and free trade agreements between India and Nepal. (Read Blog)
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Six big ideas to advance food systems resilience in Nigeria: On May 12 in Abuja, Nigeria, two CGIAR initiatives—Fragility, Conflict, and Migration (FCM) and National Policies and Strategies (NPS)—brought together policymakers, researchers, and representatives from the private sector and civil society to discuss how to advance food systems resilience amid crises while empowering women and youth. Katrina Kosec, Jordan Kyle, Evgeniya Anisimova, Lucia Carrillo, and Omobolanle Onilogbo discuss how these initiatives can foster collaboration and policy coherence. (Read Blog)
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Financing Viet Nam’s flood fighting efforts: Viet Nam is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with an estimated 10 million people affected in the next 15 years by flooding alone. Climate-related flooding presents a formidable long-term challenge to Viet Nam’s agricultural production, economic development, food security, and poverty reduction efforts. Georgetown University student Hương (Vanessa) Lê discusses how Viet Nam can leverage financing from international organizations and regional governments to buttress its response to the climate crisis. (Read Blog)
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CGIAR joins forces with WFP and Norad to enhance climate resilience and food security in sub-Saharan Africa: CGIAR has joined forces with the World Food Programme and Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) under a new project titled “Learning Support for a Sub-Saharan Africa Multi-Country Climate Resilience Program for Food Security.” Kibrom Abay, Katrina Kosec, and Evgeniya Anisimova explain how CGIAR’s Fragility, Conflict, and Migration and Seed Equal initiatives will work to inform and support program design in at least 14 African countries alongside its partners. (Read Blog)
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Avanzar2030 workshop: Synthesizing evidence on sustainable agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: Food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean can be made more sustainable, providing healthier diets and better livelihoods while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental destruction. Across the region, many food systems actors have implemented a range of innovative solutions to pursue these goals—but it is not always clear which innovations have worked best and in what contexts. Elsa Olivetti and Brian McNamara recap the Avanzar 2030 workshop held earlier this month in San Jose, Costa Rica, where experts from a dozen agricultural and environmental organizations gathered to discuss this issue. (Read Blog)
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Informal trade: Insights from Phansidewa at the India-Bangladesh border: Informal cross-border trade in the Bay of Bengal region is an integral part of local economies and has many broader economic impacts. Most of the research on this topic has focused on estimating levels of informal trade, but Nisha Taneja, Sanjana Joshi, Sanya Dua, Abul Kamar, Sunil Saroj, Devesh Roy, and Mamata Pradhan️ conducted a comprehensive primary survey in the town of Phansidewa in Siliguri, West Bengal, on the India-Bangladesh border to understand the diverse aspects of informal cross-border agrifood trade. (Read Blog)
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Food prices are rising as countries limit exports. Blame climate change, El Nino and Russia’s war: Globally, 41 food export restrictions from 19 countries are in effect, ranging from outright bans to taxes, according to IFPRI, reports Associated Press. While “this isn’t the first time food prices have been in a tumult”, says IFPRI’s Joseph Glauber, the cushion of ample food stocks “has shrunk in the past two years, and climate change means food supplies could very quickly run short of demand and spike prices.”
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Rampant heatwaves are a growing threat to Caribbean food security: Forbes quotes Joseph Glauber, who, in an interview with the New York Times, said that persistent droughts “could lead to regional shortfalls and, with poor countries unable to afford higher prices, food security issues.”
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Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – it could offer lessons for scaling up: The Conversation asked Elisheba Kiru (African Population and Health Research Center) and Aulo Gelli (IFPRI) to analyze Kenya’s new school meal program.
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How does promoting modern seed varieties impact forest conservation? VoxDev published a research-based commentary co-authored by Tanguy Bernard (University of Bordeaux/IFPRI) looking at how promoting modern seed varieties accelerated the deforestation of primary forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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IFPRI @ Tropentag 2023
Tropentag is a development-oriented and interdisciplinary conference. It addresses issues of resource management, environment, agriculture, forestry, livestock, food, nutrition and related sciences in the context of rural development, sustainable resource use and poverty alleviation worldwide.
The year’s conference featured a keynote address from IFPRI DG Johan Swinnen and an impressive representation of CGIAR and IFPRI researchers, including a CGIAR/Systems Transformation Action Area session “Advancing a demand-driven research portfolio to improve water, land, and food systems in the Global South” and a CGIAR Policy Seminar “Payments for Ecosystem Services: Win-Win Solutions?“. (Recording)
Photo (left to right): IFPRI’s Khalid Siddiq, Claudia Ringler, and Johan Swinnen meet with Humboldt University of Berlin President Prof. Dr. Julia von Blumenthal and Professors Harald Grethe and Dagmar Mithoefer.
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NEW! The new CGIAR series on Strengthening Food Systems Resilience kicked off with a seminar examining Food security trends and resilience-building priorities in relation to the impacts of recent shocks to food systems. On September 1, speakers from IFPRI, CGIAR, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany highlighted the need for renewed efforts to strengthen food systems resilience and identify priority investments and actions. (Watch event highlights or full recording)
Market concentration in the grain industry: Implications for food security? (September 7, 2023, IFPRI-AMIS Policy Seminar Series) (Recording)
Facilitating anticipatory action with improved early warning guidance (September 26, 2023, IFPRI-AMIS Policy Seminar Series) (Recording)
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