Myanmar has experienced a sequence of dire crises beginning in 2019 including the unexpected closure of a principal trade route, COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, and a military coup leading to years of disruptions in the banking and tra

In August 2023, we surveyed 388 active rice millers from 13 states and regions across Myanmar to learn more about the impacts of the current political and COVID-19 crises.

The sub-national Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan enacted Farm Services Centers Act, 2014, to establish Model Farm Services Centers (MFSCs) and Farm Services Centers as “one stop-shop” based on public-private partnership principle to s

Myanmar initiated economic and political reforms in 2011, ushering in a period of rapid economic transformation. The country experienced strong annual average economic growth of close to 7 percent between 2011 and 2019.

Bangladesh experienced strong annual economic growth of 6.6 percent between 2009 and 2019 (BBS 2021). While the global COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant growth slowdown in 2020, growth started to recover in 2021.

Tajikistan experienced strong annual economic growth of 6.8 percent during the 2011 to 2020 period (TAJSTAT 2020).

Nepal experienced annual economic growth of 5.0 percent between 2009 and 2019 (World Bank 2023b).

Agricultural and food system transformation helps increase farm productivity and encourages farmers to participate in updated value chains, adopt newer technologies, thereby helping farmers transform their livelihoods in a sustainable manner.

To document changes in the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food value chains, a phone survey of commodity traders was conducted in April 2023 with a sample of 304 traders in 14 states and regions.

Key Findings

High food prices and supply disruptions triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war are hitting Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries like Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen hard, partly due their heavy dependence on wheat imports.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has roiled agricultural markets, particularly the wheat market, which has seen prices rise by 30% since Russia invaded on February 24.

As the Russia-Ukraine crisis continues to disrupt the global trade of key foods such as wheat and vegetable oils, along with fertilizers, impacts are falling heavily on countries such as Bangladesh.

The Yemen conflict, underway since early 2015, has led to an ongoing, unprecedented humanitarian emergency.

Food system resilience to climate change is uniquely imperative for bringing Sustainable Development Goals within reach and leaving no one behind.

Global agricultural production is undergoing a remarkable shift due to globalization and market liberalization (Setboonsarng et al., 2008).

Agricultural support policies cost more than US$800 billion per year in transfers to the farm sector worldwide.

Remarkable achievements in global food security have been made in the past several decades. Food production has grown significantly and outpaced the population growth.