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Addressing COVID-19 impacts on agriculture, food security, and livelihoods in India

May 26th, 2020 • by S. Mahendra Dev

With COVID-19 now spreading in India, massive consequences to health and livelihoods are feared, and the government has imposed a 21-day national lockdown to limit virus transmission. Given the precarious livelihoods of many Indians, agriculture, food security, and safety net policy and program responses are also urgently required. Prof. Mahendra Dev, an experienced academic and policy maker in India, provides additional insights into what actions and reforms are needed, and soon.—John McDermott, series co-editor and Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).

The Quest for Safer Foods: COVID-19 and Dairy Value Chains in Ethiopia

May 15th, 2020 • by Agajie Tesfaye (EIAR), Yetimwork Habte (ESSP-PSI), and Bart Minten (ESSP-IFPRI)

This post originally appeared on IFPRI's Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP) blog.

The share of households consuming dairy products in Addis Ababa has dropped by 11 percentage points since the COVID-19 crisis, seemingly linked to perceived risks of consuming dairy products. All income groups declined their consumption, except for the richest quintile where the share of consuming households changed little.

Food Price Index Falls for Third Consecutive Month

May 8th, 2020 • by Sara Gustafson

The FAO Food Price Index fell for the third consecutive month in April as global markets continue to see the effects of COVID-19. The 3.4-percent decrease brought the Index to the lowest point seen since January 2019.

Food Price Index Falls for Third Consecutive Month

May 8th, 2020 • by Sara Gustafson

The FAO Food Price Index fell for the third consecutive month in April as global markets continue to see the effects of COVID-19. The 3.4-percent decrease brought the Index to the lowest point seen since January 2019.

New COVID-19 Food Price Monitor tracks warning signs of stress in local markets

May 5th, 2020 • by Manuel Hernandez, Soonho Kim, Brendan Rice, and Rob Vos

This post originally appeared on IFPRI.org.

Food systems are complex and the disruptions caused by COVID-19 are varied. Global analyses of trends in food supply, trade, and prices are useful. However, as Manuel Hernandez, Soonho Kim, Brendan Rice, and Rob Vos emphasize, daily price data in multiple countries and markets are needed to provide information to identify and respond to more specific local and national shocks—and a new Food Price Tracker tool is now available to meet this demand.—John McDermott, series co-editor and Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH).