researcher spotlight

Manuel Hernandez is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit of IFPRI. He has more than 20 years of experience in diverse projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia on development issues related to agricultural and labor markets, food security and nutrition, industrial organization and regulation, price analysis, and the informal economy. His current research focuses on impact evaluation linked to rural development and food security projects, migration, functioning of oligopoly markets and value chains, and price volatility.

TOPIC

Food Security

Food security means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

Over the coming decades, a changing climate, growing global population, volatile food prices, and environmental stressors will put significant pressure on food security. Adaptation strategies and policy responses to global change—including options for handling water allocation, land use patterns, food trade, postharvest food handling and processing, and food affordability and safety—are urgently needed.

Achieving food security for all is a central goal of IFPRI’s policy research, which prioritizes meeting critical nutritional needs (including dietary diversity and micronutrients) for human well-being and development.

At the global level, our work looks at how trade and investment can increase food security sustainably. At the national level, our researchers use foresight and policy modeling tools to inform decision-makers and stakeholders on policies and investments that can contribute to food security by reducing poverty and boosting productivity sustainably. Researchers also conduct analysis of innovations to make food value chains more efficient (including by reducing food loss and waste) and programs intended to support food security, including social protection programs, to determine what works in particular national contexts. IFPRI also looks for ways to improve monitoring and analysis of food crisis risks, link humanitarian and developmental responses when addressing food crises, promote adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies and building resilience to shocks, which can promote food security, and at managing trade-offs, such as balancing the nutritional benefits of meat against the ecological costs of its production. Analysis of crisis response and impacts of migration also focuses on how policy responses can reduce food insecurity and contribute to sustainable development in fragile situations.IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, and SDG 3, and the CGIAR Impact Areas Nutrition, Health, and Food Security; Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs; and Gender Equality, Youth, and Social Inclusion.