April 14, 2026 – Conflict in the Middle East: Reverberations for Food Systems
With support from the CGIAR Science Program on Policy Innovations; the CGIAR Science Program on Food Frontiers and Security; the Food Security Portal (FSP); and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
April 15, 2026 – Sustaining Momentum for Nutrition Financing in the Global Development Agenda
35th Annual Martin J. Forman Memorial Lecture
April 16, 2026 – Agricultural Insurance: Innovations, Policies, and Pathways to Scale
Co-organized by IFPRI, CGIAR, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
April 17, 2026 – Data in Action: Getting Ahead of Crises
Launch of the Next Generation HungerMapLIVE | Co-organized by IFPRI and the World Food Programme (WFP)
*Click on the titles to access the event recordings and other resources.
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Highlights from April 14-17 events featuring Renaud Seligmann (World Bank), Ismahane Elouafi (CGIAR), Carola Alvarez (IFAD), Berber Kramer (IFPRI), Cindy McCain (World Food Programme), and speakers and guests of the 35th Annual Martin J. Forman Memorial Lecture with keynote speaker Éléonore Caroit (France).
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The ongoing conflict in the Gulf region and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have roiled energy and fertilizer markets. IFPRI’s early analysis examines how these have already impacted food systems, and possible longer-term consequences, should trade disruptions continue. Our researchers continue to keep a close eye on this important set of topics.
To learn more, read our most recent blogs on the topic:
We held 2 public policy seminars to unpack the implications of this crisis, see the recordings here:
In parallel, IFPRI experts have been actively engaging with international media to provide evidence‑based insights on emerging risks and policy implications related to the conflict. A short selection below and more on our website under In the News.
New York Times – War in the Middle East threatens global food production
NYT cited IFPRI research published in Food Policy last year (Vos, Glauber, Hebebrand, Rice), highlighting how conflict‑driven fertilizer price spikes are disrupting global food production—hitting African farmers particularly hard.
Al Jazeera – Counting the Cost – Could Iran war trigger the next global food shock?
In a video interview, Joseph Glauber outlined how escalation around Iran could reverberate through global fertilizer and food markets, potentially triggering a new food price shock via prolonged disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.
BBC – Focus on Africa – Middle East conflict and food security in Africa
In a podcast interview with the BBC, Oliver Kirui emphasized Africa’s heavy dependence on imported fertilizer (over 80%), warning that current supply shocks could quickly translate into higher food prices and heightened food insecurity across the continent. (Read summary here)
Deutsche Welle – How farmers are rising to a fertilizer shortfall
DW quoted Joseph Glauber and Avinash Kishore in the article on how farmers are responding to a global fertilizer shortage triggered by the war in Iran, noting that options like switching to less fertilizer‑intensive crops are not feasible for many producers, particularly rice farmers in Southeast Asia.
NPR – How the Iran war threatens global food supply
Avinash Kishore warned that shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz are tightening fertilizer supplies and raising prices, fueling uncertainty among Indian farmers ahead of critical planting seasons and posing risks for low‑income households across South Asia.
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Strengthening women’s and girls’ climate resilience through social protection
Systemic inequalities in access to resources, services, and decision‑making limit women’s and girls’ ability to adapt to climate change. Melissa Hidrobo, Valerie Mueller, Shalini Roy, Elizabeth Bryan, and colleagues present a new conceptual framework showing how social assistance programs can strengthen women’s and girls’ coping, adaptive, and mitigative responses to climate hazards. ( Food Policy)
Ozone pollution reduction partially offsets the negative impact of climate change mitigation efforts on global hunger
New research with contributions from IFPRI’s Abhijeet Mishra, Timothy Sulser, and Keith Wiebe finds that reducing ozone pollution could lower the number of people at risk of hunger by 8.4 million by 2050—offsetting about 15% of the negative food security impacts associated with climate mitigation efforts aligned with a 1.5°C target. ( Nature Food)
Nutrition gains from integrated agriculture and health interventions in Burkina Faso
New research by Lilia Bliznashka, Elodie Becquey, Marie Ruel, Deanna Olney, and colleagues found that adding nutrient supplements and water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions into gender-sensitive agriculture programs can significantly improve young children’s iron and vitamin A status, especially when support starts at 6 months of age and covers the whole complementary feeding period until 23 months of age. ( Journal of Nutrition) ( Press-release)
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For more frequent updates on the latest peer-reviewed publications from IFPRI researchers, read and sign up for our weekly newsletter on LinkedIn, Weekly Reads from IFPRI.
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May 4, 2026, 9:30 – 10:30 am (US/Eastern)
Leveraging Automatic Speech Recognition and Farmer-Generated Data for Insight, Inclusion, and Impact
Co-organized by IFPRI and CGIAR Program/accelerator Digital Transformation | Webinar Series – AI for Food Systems Research
May 5, 2026, 9:00 – 10:30 am (US/Eastern)
Counting the Cost: School Meal Programs in the 21st Century
Co-organized by IFPRI and the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition
May 12, 2026 | 9:30am – 11:00am (US/Eastern)
Success Pathways for Scaling Biofortified Crops
Co-organized by IFPRI and HarvestPlus, in collaboration with HarvestPlus Solutions
May 14, 2026, 9:00 – 10:00 am (US/Eastern)
When Data Is Everywhere: Digital Research Methods Transforming Food Systems Science
Co-organized by IFPRI and CGIAR Program/accelerator Digital Transformation | Webinar Series – AI for Food Systems Research
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💻 Blog Series: AI For Food Systems Research
Generative AI-powered voice technology in agricultural advisory services: Lessons from India
By Suresh Babu and Praveen Ramadugo
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Agricultural Extension
Co-designing AI agents for agricultural policy
By Kristin Davis, Eliot Jones-Garcia, Hlamalani Ngwenya, Arielle Rosenthal, Amanda Grossi, and Mia Speier
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
⚡ Blog Series: Conflicts and Other Shocks Impacting Food Systems
The hunger crisis is set to get worse in West and Central Africa—why and what to do about it
By Oliver Kiptoo Kirui and Chibuzo Nwagboso
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Food Crises Fragility and Conflict Climate Change
How warring factions gained influence in Sudan’s food system – and what it means for the current conflict
By Danielle Resnick, Hala Abushama, Khalid Siddig, and Oliver Kiptoo Kirui
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Fragility and Conflict Food Systems
Beyond the harvest: Uncovering the hidden risks driving poverty and hunger in developing economies
By Askar Mukashov and Eleanor Jones
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Food Crises Fragility and Conflict Markets and Value Chains Poverty
🌱 Blog Series: Financing Food System Transformation
Financial standards can help foster green investment in the agrifood transition
By Reyes Tirado
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Climate Change Markets and Value Chains
Scaling up crop insurance in Africa for climate resilience and agricultural transformation
By Ruth Hill and Berber Kramer
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Food Systems Fragility and Conflict Insurance and Risk
🔍 Research Posts
Putting women at the center of agrifood transformation: Lessons from Odisha, India
By Bhumika Mishra, Vandana Vidhani, Devesh Roy, and Mamata Pradhan
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Food Systems Gender Governance
A new tool enables policymakers to measure the reach of biofortification programs
By Richard Alioma, Rita Wegmüller, Bho Mudyahoto, James P. Wirth, Wolfgang Pfeiffer, Munawar Hussain, Erick Boy, and Jen Foley
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Biofortification Nutrition
Irrigation as a service: Expanding water access for smallholder and women farmers
By Hagar ElDidi, Elizabeth Basauri Bryan, and Claudia Ringler
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Gender Water and Irrigation Policy and Institutions
How AI can help reduce food loss and waste in Nigeria’s tomato value chain
By Futoshi Yamauchi, Aoi Fukuhara, Dauda Bawa, Caleb Olanipekun, and Olufemi Popoola
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Food Loss and Waste
How school meals are transforming education in Zamfara State, Nigeria
By Oliver Kiptoo Kirui, Chibuzo Nwagboso, Asabe Maidawa, and Aisha Ololade
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Nutrition Social Protection
How women view marriage and childbearing decisions: Recent WEMNS evidence from Liberia and Sierra Leone
By Emily Myers and Flor Paz
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Gender
How rural women in Odisha, India, are navigating climate change
By Abhijit Mohanty, Somyashree Tripathy, and Trinath Taraputia
🏷️IFPRI Topics: Climate Change Gender
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World Health Day 2026: Trade wars reshape nutrition security opportunities Nutrition Insight interviewed Purnima Menon on how human health threats have risen amid climate impacts, environmental degradation, geopolitical tensions, and shifting demographics, and the impact of global shocks on global economies and nutrition. Menon discussed how IFPRI research has shown that food chains in war-affected areas can either make fragility worse or help people cope, and how policies and codes of conduct, such as on feeding infants and young children in emergency or conflict settings, can help prevent exploitation of crisis situations.
Can cash and therapy work in conflict settings? VoxDev published this article by Melissa Hidrobo, Harold Alderman, Daniel Gilligan, Jessica Leight, Heleene Tambet, and co-authors on a randomized evaluation of a cash and psychological intervention in Ethiopia that shows that the joint intervention is needed to improve both mental health and economic outcomes, but the effectiveness of the combined intervention is diminished by active conflict.
IFPRI–Dvara E‑Registry climate-smart agriculture lending innovation selected for global climate finance incubation IFPRI and Dvara E‑Registry’s innovative Insurance Backed Loans for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Adoption initiative has been selected by the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance as one of eight global climate finance solutions to enter its 2026 incubation cycle.
Keeping seeds, feeding families: The quiet labour of women farmers Indian Express quoted Mamata Pradhan in the article looking at how women farmers are quietly safeguarding India’s food systems against climate uncertainty. “Women may carry the responsibility for food production and household nutrition, but they often lack the authority and resources needed to make key decisions,” Pradhan said. (Read more here).
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The Niger River is a key lifeline for approximately 160 million people in the nine countries that share the basin’s water and related resources in West Africa. The region’s immediate welfare and long-term development depend on improving the management of the resources and ecosystem services of the Niger River Basin. To achieve this, IFPRI has supported a key regional governing body, the Niger Basin Authority, in developing a sustainable management strategy using the Water-Energy-Food-Environment (WEFE) Nexus approach—which considers synergies and trade-offs across interconnected sectors, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of investments.
Read the new story by Maria DiGiovanni and Claudia Ringler, part of our “Making a Difference” series.
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