Blog Post

New Video Tutorials Improve Access to Policy Analysis Tools

How is a country affected by changes in the world price of the commodities that it exports and imports? What is the effect on prices when a country’s food supply is increased by the release of stocks? What is driving changes in world commodity prices, and how do trends for one commodity compare with trends for another?

With global food prices at record highs, and floods in Australia and drought in China threatening to drive them even higher, these and other food policy-related questions are gaining in importance. Policymakers in both developed and developing countries must base their next moves on solid data provided by reliable research.

The Food Security Portal’s Policy Analysis Tools section supplies this need with data updated regularly from such reliable sources as the FAO, Chicago Board of Trade, USDA, and others. Now the section includes three new video tutorials to help policymakers and researchers navigate the use of this data. The tutorials provide step-by-step instructions on the Annotated Price tools, the Terms-of-Trade Effect tool, and the Short-Run Impact of Releasing Food Stocks tool. Simple and easy to understand, these videos make each tool more accessible, strengthening the ability of policymakers, food policy experts, and researchers to respond quickly to dynamic developments in the global food system.