What's New

For the world's poorest populations, risk is evident in everyday life. From negative weather events such as drought and flood to fluctuations in international financial markets, risk can take many forms and requires innovative global strategies to mitigate.

FEWS NET has released a new outlook report for West Africa/Sahel. The report states that crisis-level food insecurity is expected to continue in a number of areas in the region, based on current market prices, trade patterns, labor conditions, and social conditions. Chronic malnutrition is expected to rise above 15 percent.

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FAO has released its Food Price Index for January 2012. Global food prices rose nearly 2 percent in January, marking the first increase since July 2011. Despite this increase, food prices remain 7 percent lower than the same time last year. For cereals, maize saw the steepest rise last month, reflecting concerns over crop prospects in South America. Wheat also rose due to unfavorable weather events and depleting exports from Russia.

The recommendations of the 2012 G20 Agriculture Ministers have focused, among other topics, on the importance of increasing agricultural productivity throughout the developing world. Different regions of the world, however, present different challenges and opportunities for agricultural growth. In particular, tropical areas can have a very high potential for increasing agricultural productivity and, consequently, reducing poverty and improving food security; however, such productivity is limited by a lack of access to information and weak capacities.

FEWS NET has released its Food Price Watch for January 2012. The report details the food security situation throughout Africa, where prices in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Somalia have declined. Kenyan maize prices remain extremely high, as do prices in West Africa.

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