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Global Food Security Alert, June 21, 2017

According to the latest Global Food Security Alert released by FEWS Net, nearly $2.2 billion has been spent on emergency food assistance globally since January; despite this spending, however, 81 million people remain in need of help. Famine in Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, and South Sudan could lead to large-scale loss of life, and additional contributions to emergency appeals are urgently needed in these areas.

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:

By Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla, Senior Research Fellow and Head of IFPRI's Latin America and Caribbean Program

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.