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If we want to eradicate poverty, we need gender equality.

This was the key message from a joint panel event at European Development Days in Brussels June 6. Changing Women’s Lives in the Rural World brought together a panel of global experts to discuss how to move beyond conventional views of gender mainstreaming in development. It was hosted by the European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) , as well as the governments of Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands.

In May, the FAO Food Price Index reached its highest level since October 2017. This month’s increase was driven by dairy and cereal prices. The Index has risen continually in 2018.

The FAO Food Price Index remained nearly unchanged in April; however, cereal and dairy prices continued to rise.

The Cereal Price Index rose 1.7 percent from March, reaching almost 16 percent higher than its April 2017 levels. This is the fourth consecutive month of such increases, which are being driven largely by weather-related fears for wheat and maize and government purchases in Indonesia and the Philippines for rice.

Global wheat and maize prices rose for the third consecutive month in March, according to the latest FPMA Bulletin from FAO. This increase brings prices more than 10 percent above their December 2017 levels.

Prolonged dry weather in the United States drove much of the price increases for wheat, as did concerns about cold and wet weather in some parts of Europe. Dry weather in Argentina contributed to maize price increases. Global demand for these commodities also remained strong in March, further driving up prices.

The FAO Food Price Index rose by 1.1 percent in March, marking the second consecutive month of increases. Cereal and dairy prices drove the price increase, while the prices of sugar and vegetable oils fell slightly. The Index for March 2018 is 0.7 percent above its year-earlier level.