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The Hill (USA) published an op-ed by Senior Research Fellow Ruben Eccheverria. He writes, “from panic-buying in Europe to bans on rice exports in Asia and rising food prices in Africa, the fragility of our global food system has been exposed by the coronavirus pandemic. …Yet, out of the urgency and necessity created by the shock of COVID-19, we have […]

El Pais published an op-ed by Senior Research Fellow Stuart Gillespie. Gillespie offers hopeful recommendations. “We are facing a critical moment in history when we can turn adversity into an advantage and build a better world. To do this we need to transform global and national food systems and put the health of people and the planet ahead of short-term benefit.” 

Rappler (Philippines) in an opinion piece stated that the right to food and a nation’s capacity to produce domestic food should not be decided by market forces. IFPRI’s research was quoted in the article (see the blog post, Poverty and food insecurity could grow dramatically as COVID-19 spreads by Senior Fellows David Laborde and Will Martin, and Division Director [MTID] Rob Vos), poor communities will […]

Ethiopia Observer published an opinion article referring to IFPRI’s 2013 review that indicates that nearly all available peer-reviewed publications on Bt cotton in South Africa (mainly focusing on smallholder farmers) report yield increase with the use of Bt cotton compared to conventional varieties.  

The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, USA) published an article on the COVID-19 pandemic and the domino effect of a health crisis — a collapsing economy, rising unemployment, and disruptions to the food supply are all upending the developed world. MTID Director Rob Vos states while the world has had this many hungry people before, the speed and pace of the pandemic-triggered collapse […]

Caixin (China) published a news report on COVID19’s impact on food safety. The article quoted Senior Research Fellow, David Laborde, who said policies, such as export restrictions, are based on panic purchases and will cause shortages. He said that the current situation is controllable if policymakers in various countries “take action based on evidence rather than fear.” Laborde recommends that policymakers in various […]

Food Tank Live presented a podcast interview with Senior Research Fellow and former Director General of CIAT, Ruben Echeverria. He discusses the global south and developing countries where farmers faced a slew of challenges before COVID-19 and now even more. Echeverria says, “Every crisis is an opportunity to rethink things. The new generation thinks that food comes from somewhere; they’ve lost the connection […]

Reuters published an article on migrants in the Middle East who have been hit hard with the COVID-19 spread. IFPRI states that Egypt is bracing for a triple whammy: a collapse in tourism and falling foreign remittances – which make up nearly 9% of GDP – and Suez Canal revenues. Senior Research Fellow Clemens Breisinger commented, “Even in an optimistic […]

VRT News (Belgium) interviewed Director General Johan Swinnen on the COVID19 impacts on food security. In the interview, Swinnen said, “There is currently no problem with food production, but it is not getting to consumers. These problems are much greater in poorer countries.” Republished in Vilt (Belgium)

Reuters published an article on the various trade issues arising from COVID-19. While there is an urgent need to ensure poor consumers can still access food, governments also need to ensure that policies on trade and markets enable the food system to cope with future shocks and volatility. The article referred to IFPRI’s new tracker, food export policy tracker that is tracking food export […]