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Improving global food security and ending hunger worldwide are daunting tasks, and policymakers striving toward these goals face many obstacles, from changing climate conditions to increasing financial speculation to highly concentrated export markets. These factors and more can contribute to high, and highly volatile, food prices, threatening global food security and causing widespread human suffering.

GIEWS has released the October 2011 Crop Prospects and Food Situation report. The report cites improved prospects for global cereals production, based on higher expectations for rice and wheat. September saw a sharp fall in the price of all cereals except rice. This decrease was triggered by a number of factors, including the general global economic slowdown.

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FEWS NET has released its Global Price Watch for September 2011, citing continuing high prices in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Africa's newest nation, South Sudan, is also facing increased prices on some staple goods due to conflict and trade restrictions. Global rice prices saw a moderate upswing, due in part to Thailand's new rice price subsidy.

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FEWS NET has released a food security alert for West Africa to establish a context for regional agricultural production and food security prospects for the 2011/12 consumption year. The report's key messages include:

In the most likely scenario, crop production in the region will be less than last year’s bumper harvest (59 million tons) but near the 2005/06-2009/10 average (~50 million tons).

The HarvestChoice AgMarketFinder Tool is a collaborative development innovation from IFPRI , Esri , and SpatialDev .