Washington, DC, USA – The annual Tropentag conference, a premier interdisciplinary event focusing on tropical and subtropical agriculture, natural resource management, and rural development, will take place from September 20 to September 22, 2023, in Berlin, Germany.

The flagship Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) calls for the diversification of import sources to mitigate the adverse effects of the Ukraine crisis.

CNBC Africa interviewed John Ulimwengu, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow and the technical editor and lead researcher of the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2023, launched on September 6 at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF). . 

"Across south and south-east Asia, unpredictable weather is threatening supplies of rice, a staple food for more than half the world’s population.

"Analysts say that Russia's inability to enforce a real blockade of Ukrainian ports may eventually push it to come back to a deal, as Ukrainian farmers remain the biggest losers from the lack of one", writes The New Arab.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative enabled Ukraine to export more than 30 million tonnes of grain from three Black Sea ports, but Russia withdrew from the initiative in July," writes RFI (an outlet of Agence France Presse).

September 5, 2023, Washington, DC: A comprehensive package of nutrition education interventions delivered through public primary schools can significantly improve dietary practices among adolescents, according to a new study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health.

"Erratic climate conditions - including the driest August in more than a century - have sent food prices spiraling above 11% in India, which is a major player in global agri-trade," writes the BBC News, India in a piece on India’s exportation of rice and other products. 

"From Indian rice to Australian wheat, climate change is hitting yields, adding to food shortages and price spikes caused by the war in Ukraine. But there’s a way around it, analysts say," writes Al-Jazeera. 

Abdullah Al Mamun (IFPRI) spoke with NPR about the Indian export policies and what prompted the disruption in rice crops over the past year.

IRC mentions IFPRI in an article on its anniversary featuring organization's history, achievements, and partnerships over the past 90 years.  

"The world is facing unprecedented threats to food security, following the Kremlin’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the onset of El Niño,

In a follow-up to an earlier Bloomberg story on India's rice ban, the Bloomberg newsletter discusses “how extreme weather and food prote

Nikkei (Japan) quotes IFPRI's Director of Communications and Public Affairs Charlotte Hebebrand who noted, "Russia is clearly concerned about fertilizer exports. With rising fertilizer prices and ongoing conflict in Ukraine, securing revenue through exports has become even more crucial."

"Experts are warning of a new normal in which food supplies — and prices — could be rocked more regularly," writes the New York Times in a

"A surge in rice prices to the highest level in almost 15 years is renewing fears that food costs are going to get a lot more expensive for the world’s poorest people," writes Bloomberg (reposted by

Last month, the Indian government announced an abrupt ban on exporting non-basmati white rice, which raised fears of destabilizing rice supplies in certain parts of the world," writes CNN in a story

"What happens when India bans exports of a food staple that is essential to the diets of billions around the world?" writes the BBC. "India is the world's top rice exporter, accounting for some 40% of the global trade in the cereal.

Following Russia's withdrawal from the grain agreement, "Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, and other lower-income Middle Eastern countries like Lebanon and Pakistan worry about what comes next," writes

Three Russian cruise missiles struck hangars and silos in Ivushka as well as the main port in Odesa.