Evidence-Based Research

Asymmetry of information is a major obstacle to increasing global food security. Having access to reliable food price and market information is critical for policymakers, food policy experts, and researchers to be able to respond quickly to dynamic developments in the global food system.

The price of agricultural commodities is determined by many different variables, including production quantities, currency rates, weather events, political or social turmoil, and the price of inputs needed to produce those commodities. Throughout the world, fertilizers are a major agricultural input, and thus a major factor in the price of agricultural commodities.

With the price of basic food items on the rise, global policymakers are again faced with the need to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations. Women and young children tend to be most negatively impacted by sharp increases in the price of food. However, while extensive research has been conducted on the causes and consequences of the 2007-08 food price crisis, little of that research has focused specifically on the impact of the crisis on women, and whether the impact differs for women compared to men.

The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change has released a report for policymakers titled "Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change." According to the report, global food security is constrained by three factors: the quantity of food that can be produced in a given climate; the quantity of food needed by a growing global population; and the effect of food production on the climate. Operating within this "safe space" will ensure food security in the coming years.

On Friday November 4, G20 leaders issued a Cannes Summit Final Declaration , wrapping up the 2011 G20 Summit. Among the issues addressed at this year's summit was the challenge posed by food price volatility and its impact on global food security, as well as the need to create an international emergency humanitarian food reserve system. In this final statement, G20 leaders welcomed the plan of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) to set up a regional emergency food reserve system as a pilot program.