What's New
Featured blog
FAO Food Price Index Declines Slightly But Remains Above February 2019 Levels
After four straight months of increases, the FAO Food Price Index declined slightly in February. The one percent drop was driven mainly by significant decreases in vegetable oil prices and more moderate decreases in meat and cereal prices. The Index remains above its February 2019 levels by 8.1 percent.
As COVID-19 spreads, no major concern for global food security yet
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly. So far, more than 116,000 cases and over 4,000 deaths have been reported worldwide. Since its start in China in December, the outbreak has spread to over 100 countries in less than three months. To contain the pandemic, entire cities and regions in Asia and Europe have been by and large shut down, putting a halt to much economic activity, quarantining workers and idling factories and many service activities. Major sports events are being cancelled and, around the world, international travel is being curtailed. In an unprecedented move, the IMF and World Bank have decided to hold their spring meetings virtually to avoid a large gathering of people in Washington, D.C., that might become a breeding ground for the virus to spread.
Building Capacity for Rwanda’s Agricultural Transformation: A Policy Dialogue on Policy Research and Communications
Rwanda’s Fourth Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (PSTA IV) presents an ambitious plan to dramatically change the country’s agricultural sector and rural economy. Released in 2018, the plan forms a critical component of Vision 2050, which envisions Rwanda’s transformation into an upper middle income country by 2035 and a high income country by 2050.
Latin America & Caribbean strengthen their cooperation for climate action
This post originally appeared on the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security blog.
Global markets can help reduce climate-driven food insecurity
Climate change is almost certain to increase the volatility of agricultural output over the next 30 years—particularly in low-income countries in Africa south of the Sahara and other areas around the world where subsistence farming is a major source of food production. Climate-driven impacts such as droughts and extreme weather events will raise the risk of severe food shortages for smallholder farms and in rural and urban communities throughout those countries.