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After four straight months of increases, the FAO Food Price Index declined slightly in February. The one percent drop was driven mainly by significant decreases in vegetable oil prices and more moderate decreases in meat and cereal prices. The Index remains above its February 2019 levels by 8.1 percent.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly. So far, more than 116,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths have been reported worldwide. Since its start in China in December, the outbreak has spread to over 100 countries in less than three months. To contain the pandemic, entire cities and regions in Asia and Europe have been by and large shut down, putting a halt to much economic activity, quarantining workers and idling factories and many service activities. Major sports events are being cancelled and, around the world, international travel is being curtailed. In an unprecedented move, the IMF and World Bank have decided to hold their spring meetings virtually to avoid a large gathering of people in Washington, D.C., that might become a breeding ground for the virus to spread.

Rwanda’s Fourth Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA IV) presents an ambitious plan to dramatically change the country’s agricultural sector and rural economy. Released in 2018, the plan forms a critical component of Vision 2050, which envisions Rwanda’s transformation into an upper middle income country by 2035 and a high income country by 2050.

This post originally appeared on the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security blog.

The FAO Food Price Index continued to rise in January for the fourth consecutive month. While the month-on-month increase from December was marginal (0.7 percent), the Index reached 11.3 percent higher than its January 2019 levels. The increase was driven mainly by vegetable oil prices, although cereal prices also played a role to a lesser extent.