Acute food insecurity continued to rise in 2020, driven by the pandemic shock, ongoing conflicts, and extreme weather. The number of people needing urgent food and livelihood assistance hit a five-year high. The 2021 Global Report on Food Crises (published by the Food Security Information Network for the Global Network Against Food Crises) finds that at least 155 million people experienced acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse — up about 20 million from 2019. Africa is disproportionally affected, with close to 98 million people facing acute food insecurity last year. Other parts of the world are suffering too, with Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, and Haiti experiencing major conflict-related food crises.
Most food crises are protracted, severely eroding the resilience of agrifood systems and further fueling conflict and civil strife. Reversing the current alarming trends will require much greater effort to build resilient agrifood systems that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable.
This policy seminar focuses on experiences and strategies that can both build food system resilience and help prevent conflict.
Introductory Remarks
- Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI
Overview of 2021 Global Report on Food Crises
- Lavinia Antonaci, Technical Coordinator, Technical Support Unit of the Global Network Against Food Crises (Presentation)
- Domenica Sabella, Food Security Information Network Communications Officer, World Food Programme (Presentation)
Keynote Addresses
- Jim Barnhart, Assistant to the Administrator, Bureau of Resilience and Food Security, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
- Giampiero Muci, Senior Policy Officer, Sustainable Agri-food Systems and Fisheries, Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
Panel Discussion
- David Alpher, Conflict and Violence Prevention Integrator, Bureau for Conflict Prevention, USAID
- Tanya Boudreau, Deputy Chief Of Party, Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) (Presentation)
- Clemens Breisinger, Senior Research Fellow and Middle East and North Africa team leader, IFPRI
- Dominique Burgeon, Director, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Geneva
- Arif Husain, Chief Economist, World Food Programme
- Martien van Nieuwkoop, Global Director, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, The World Bank
Closing Remarks
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Jocelyn Brown Hall, Director, FAO ‘s Liaison Office for North America
Moderator
- Rob Vos, Director of Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI