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Africa’s population is expected to continue to grow rapidly, reaching 2 billion by 2050. In order to combat the region’s already high levels of malnutrition and meet future food demand, Africa’s agricultural production and productivity (which is low by global standards and further threatened by climate change) will need to grow significantly. In addition to these challenges, Africa is also experiencing an economic slowdown, partly caused by a decrease in global prices for African export commodities. This is hampering efforts to meet food security and poverty reduction targets.

An abridged version of this post appears on the IFPRI.org blog .
Over the past 25 years, many developing countries have experienced rapid economic growth, which has contributed to a dramatic drop, from 37 percent to 10 percent, in the worldwide extreme poverty headcount. But that growth is now slowing, and that means trouble for the international community’s first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ending poverty in all its forms by 2030.

The FAO’s monthly report on food price trends was released last week. The bulletin reports on recent food price developments over the past month at the global, regional, and country levels, with a focus on developing countries and provides early warnings for high country-level food prices that may negatively affect food security.

The latest edition of the AMIS market monitor, released on September 8, shows that the international price of wheat, maize, rice, and soybean has decreased since July. This decline has been driven by improved global crop prospects and plentiful export availabilities.

The August FAO Food Price Index increased by 3 points (1.9 percent) from July to 165.6 points reaching a 15 month high. This increase was predominantly driven by price increases in dairy, oils and sugar, though all commodities covered except for cereals experienced an increase.

The August Cereal Price index fell by 4.5 points and is currently 7.4 percent below its year earlier level. The completion of wheat harvests in the northern hemisphere placed downward pressure on wheat prices. Similarly, maize prices decreased due to excellent crop prospects in the United States.