BEIJING—More than 400 policymakers and experts from around the world are gathering in Beijing today for the three-day conference, Taking Action for the World’s Poor and Hungry People, to assess progress achieved in reducing global poverty and hunger and to identify new approaches for improving the welfare of the world’s most deprived people.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—High-level policymakers, development experts, and civil society members from across Asia and the world today called for new approaches and actions to reduce poverty and hunger in rural Asia at an international forum.

The two-day policy forum, Agricultural and Rural Development for Reducing Poverty and Hunger in Asia: In Pursuit of Inclusive and Sustainable Growth, is organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

By Joachim von Braun, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute

Tomorrow, Norman Borlaug will receive the Congressional Gold Medal, recognizing his efforts to alleviate hunger and poverty in the world. He was a seminal figure in the Green Revolution, which led to dramatic increases in the productivity of small-scale farmers, saving millions from hunger, especially in Asia and Latin America. His early work focused on developing varieties of wheat that were high yielding, disease resistant, and adaptable to a variety of growing conditions.

By David Orden, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute

Major changes are on the horizon for sugar, one of the world’s most highly protected agricultural commodities. A recent shift in European Union (EU) policy, which could significantly reshape sugar markets in both industrialized and developing countries, is receiving scant attention in the U.S. Current protectionist measures greatly restrict access to sugar markets worldwide, distort global competition, and lower prices and revenues for many competitive, low-cost producers and exporters.