Delivering GM crops to poor farmers
A new IFPRI policy brief makes recommendations to biosafety regulators
Despite their potential to help reduce food insecurity and poverty in the developing world, a new generation of genetically modified (GM) crops—including varieties of cassava, sorghum, millet, and other subsistence crops designed to tolerate drought and resist bacteria and viruses—have been slow to reach developing countries’ small-scale farmers, who are precisely those who could potentially benefit the most from these novel products.
IFPRI Researcher Alerts The Economist to Link between China’s Frugality and Shortage of Brides
The Economist magazine, citing work by IFPRI research fellow Xiaobo Zhang, reports that China’s skewed sex ratio is having some unexpected consequences. “It has probably increased China’s savings rate,” the magazine says, because parents with a single son save to increase his chances of attracting a wife in the country’s ultra-competitive marriage market. Zhang and fellow researcher Shang-Jin Wei of Columbia University compared the savings rates of households with sons against those of families with daughters.
Weather securities research among winners of 2010 MIF competition
“Using Simple Weather Securities to Insure Rain-Dependent Farmers in Ethiopia” an IFPRI proposal in collaboration with Nyala Insurance S.C., Ethiopia is among the winners of the 2010 MIF competition.
Congratulations to IFPRI researchers, Ruth Vargas Hill and Miguel Robles, whose proposal, was selected among the 20 finalists from a pool of 800 applicants in the 2010 MIF competition.
Reducing Poverty and Hunger in Yemen
Dialogue with Clemens Breisinger, Research Fellow, Development Strategy and Governance Division:
Why is IFPRI now focusing on Yemen?
IFPRI Director General comments on Haiti earthquake
IFPRI’s Director General, Shenggen Fan, has issued a statement expressing sadness at the situation in Haiti, and promising to redouble the Institute’s research efforts in the area of recovery and rebuilding food security after crises.
Extend Doha's potential gains to world's poorest and most vulnerable
Recent analysis from IFPRI concludes that the expected gains from the December 2008 Doha proposal – while limited – are positive, and that concluding the Round in 2010 is important to secure trade and growth during the incoming global recovery period. However it can be improved by specific steps to address the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable economies.
IFPRI Researchers among finalists in 2010 MIF competition
Congratulations to IFPRI researchers, Ruth Vargas Hill and Miguel Robles, whose proposal, “Using Simple Weather Securities to Insure Rain-Dependent Farmers in Ethiopia,” is among 20 finalists in the 2010 MIF competition.
The competition is intended to foster fresh ideas on how innovative financing mechanisms can be used to better solve development challenges at local, country, regional, or global levels, with the goal that successful innovations can be scaled up and replicated broadly.
Agriculture and Forestry Groups Release Joint Statement for Negotiators at COP-15
Stakeholders representing agricultural and forestry interests, including IFPRI, released a joint statement on December 14 at the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen. The statement emphasizes that forestry and agriculture are where poverty reduction, food security, and climate change come together and urges negotiators to address them in an integrated fashion to ensure that the livelihoods of poor farmers in developing countries are not devastated in the future.
USDA Secretary Vilsack Affirms US's Commitment to Agriculture and Food Security in Developing Countries
Climate Change a "Defining Issue" That Will Have "Real Consequences on Food Production"
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack underlined the importance of climate change in agricultural adaptation and mitigation at Agriculture and Rural Development Day in Copenhagen on December 12, 2009. He pledged the US’s commitment to support poor farmers in developing countries as they battle food insecurity and poverty. The full text of his remarks can be found on the USDA website.
Promoting Profitable Agricultural Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change – The Triple Challenge
IFPRI Side Event Sparks Lively Debate on the Viability of these Goals
Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the agricultural sector in Africa, while also helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate change as they increase their incomes, was the topic of IFPRI’s side event at the international climate change negotiations (COP-15) on Friday, December 11. IFPRI Senior Research Fellow Claudia Ringler gave an overview of climate change’s negative impacts on crop production, food prices, trade, and child malnutrition in Africa.
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IFPRI is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
IFPRI is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)