What's New

Rapid urbanization, increasing incomes, and changing consumer preferences are driving massive modernization of food value chains across the developing world. To keep pace with the transformation,  policymakers and researchers need a better understanding of the implications of these changes for both producers and consumers, as well as for economies and the environment.

A new initiative, the Community for Zero Hunger, was launched this week. It will identify the greatest gaps that remain in reducing hunger and malnutrition, and leverage the private sector to help fill those gaps at scale.

The FAO Food Price Index continued its climb in October, rising by 3.1 percent from September to reach its highest level since January 2020. The price of cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, and dairy all rose in October.

In 2019, as many as 135 million people across 55 countries required urgent food, nutrition, and livelihood assistance, according to the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises. This was the highest global number of acutely food-insecure people on record. The GRFC’s mid-year update, released last week, takes a look at recent data for 26 of those countries (plus Togo) and specifically examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The FAO Food Price Index continued its upward trend in September, rising 2.1 percent from the previous month to hit the highest level since February. Cereal prices and vegetable oil prices both contributed to the latest increase.