Food Systems

The FAO Food Price Index continued its decline in February, falling marginally due to declines in cereal and vegetable oil prices. The February Index was down 10.5 percent from its 2023 level.

Every year, global food systems produce, process, transport, and market the food and agricultural products on which the world relies. However, these same global food systems also play a big role in—and face pressures from—climate impacts, environmental damage, food insecurity and malnutrition, public health problems, and food loss and waste. To tackle these challenges, we must urgently transform food systems. True food system transformation will have to go beyond the agricultural policy reforms enacted during the past 50 years.

This blog is based on finding from the IFPRI discussion paper, From farm to table: Agrifood systems and trade challenges in the Southern Cone.

Introduction

In the face of escalating conflicts, economic slowdowns and downturns, and the growing climate crisis, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) plays a crucial role in enhancing transparency and policy coordination in international food markets, Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has said.

Speaking at an expert panel at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) 2024 in Berlin, he stressed how AMIS has helped to prevent unexpected price hikes and strengthen global food security.

Despite the inconclusive outcome on the COP27 Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan in Dubai, COP28 has nonetheless been hailed for putting a much needed and strong focus on food systems, which are simultaneously threatened by and contribute to climate change.