Agricultural Development

The sanctions imposed by the European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries on Russia and Belarus following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine included restrictions on banking, trade, technology transfers, and specific individuals. These came on top of earlier sanctions on both countries – on Russia, in response to its 2014 annexation of Crimea, and on Belarus, in response to human rights violations in 2020 and its forced grounding of Ryanair flight 4798 to seize a dissident journalist in 2021.

Climate change poses a growing threat to efforts to build sustainable food systems. The COVID-19 pandemic and the current Ukraine crisis have further exacerbated global food and nutrition insecurity, leading to significant increases in poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. A July 18 launch event for IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) in Kathmandu, Nepal, explored the potential for more effective policies and programs focused on climate impacts and food systems.

In 2021, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sounded the alarm on a looming crisis: Climate change is generating a “code red for humanity” that requires urgent action. Food systems are deeply entwined with this crisis. In many regions, especially in the developing world, climate change has already started to reduce agricultural productivity and disrupt supply chains, putting pressure on livelihoods and threatening to significantly increase hunger and malnutrition, making adaptation efforts crucially important.

Communications tools, including digital extension tools (DETs) like phone calls and smartphone applications, can be important pathways to help improve farmers’ knowledge and capacity regarding improved agricultural techniques. However, in many middle- and low-income countries, these tools are underutilized, particularly in rural areas. A recent paper published in Global Food Security examined the use of these tools in in Bihar, India to identify why and how farmers and agricultural extension workers do, and do not, choose to adopt them.

Over the last few years, global food systems have been disrupted by conflict, economic shocks, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing global food insecurity and malnutrition.

A Jan. 19 policy seminar examined the implications of fragile agrifood systems and the findings of FAO’s The State of Food and Agriculture 2021 (SOFA) report. The report analyzes the vulnerabilities of food supply chains and how at-risk populations such as those in rural areas cope with risks and shocks.