Data

A recent literature review , prepared for USAID, clearly reveals that investments in agricultural research have made large contributions to poverty reduction, nutrition improvement, and resilience through the systemic transformation of local agriculture and food systems. The authors reviewed dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and books published after 2000, with an emphasis on those published since 2010.

Here are a few of the central findings:

The FAO’s monthly 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.

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

The Food Price Index rose 2.2 percent in May and is up 10 percent from its May 2016 level. May’s increase followed three months of consecutive declines.

According to the May WASDE report , total global wheat production is projected at 737.8 million tons, the second highest total on record. Projections for global wheat consumption declined slightly this month, with increased food use being offset by reduced feed use. Global ending stocks are up from 2016-2017, at a record 258.3 million tons. U.S. ending stocks, on the other hand, are projected to decline 245 million bushels to 914 million, the lowest in three years.

Developing countries made considerable gains during the 2000s, resulting in a large reduction in extreme poverty and a significant expansion of the middle class. More recently, that progress has slowed—and the prognosis is for more of the same, given an environment of lackluster global trade, a lack of jobs coupled with skills mismatches, greater income inequality, unprecedented population aging in richer countries, and youth bulges in the poorer ones. As a result, developing countries are unlikely to close the development gap anytime soon.

How countries can grow