What's New

This post originally appeared on the ICTSD site . It is based on a longer ICTSD paper .

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , approved last year in New York, sets a ground-breaking new commitment for all countries: to end hunger and “all forms of malnutrition” by 2030. This post examines how policies affecting trade and markets are relevant to the new commitments on hunger and malnutrition; looks at past progress and projected trends; and examines options for government action in years ahead.

Agriculture contributes around 14 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (IPCC, 2014) and is a main driver of global deforestation. At the same time, the agricultural sector is also particularly vulnerable to the climate change and extreme weather shocks, as evidenced by recent drought throughout Africa and delayed monsoons in India . World Food Day , held on October 16, focused on these links between agriculture, climate, and food. The main message of this year’s event was “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must, too.”

FAO’s October report on food price trends was released this 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.

According to the 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI) , released today, the developing world has made substantial progress in reducing hunger, falling by 29 percent since 2000.

The latest editions of the FAO Food Price Index and AMIS Market Monitor were both released on October 6. The FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of five food commodity groups, while the AMIS Market Monitor covers the international markets for wheat, rice, maize, and soy and provides an overview of the market situation and outlook for each of these crops.