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San Jose Mercury News published an article on the COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerabilities to farmworkers and the food supply. Former Director General Shenggen Fan stated that “COVID-19 is a health crisis. But it could also lead to a food security crisis if proper measures are not taken.” Republished in East Bay Times, Center for Health Journalism 

Reuters published an op-ed by Director General Johan Swinnen. As the world battles the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social and economic disruption it is generating, concern about the impact it will have on food systems is growing. Swinnen discussed findings and recommendations from the 2020 Global Food Policy Report. The Report states that inclusive food systems play a critical role in […]

The New York Times reported on the global food crisis, a result of the COVID-19 health crisis. Director General Johan Swinnen, stated that there is no shortage of food globally, or mass starvation from the pandemic — yet. But logistical problems in planting, harvesting and transporting food will leave poor countries exposed in the coming months, especially those reliant […]

Business Mirror (The Philippines) published an article on how the Philippines must invest to improve its data system as a tool to prevent food crises as it is currently blind on the extent and degree of food insecurity in the country, according to the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC). The GRFC is a joint assessment of acute […]

The Conversation (Africa) published an op-ed by Senior Research Fellow Stuart Gillespie. He wrote that the epidemic and malnutrition, together, will generate long-wave impacts, for years to come. They are also likely to interact with each other – badly. “This will be particularly true in countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Many of these countries’ governments, health and […]

Ghana Times reported on the COVID-19 pandemic. A community spread of the pandemic in Ghana could create a situation comparable to the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak which disrupted food systems and increased food insecurity in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea between 2013 and 2016. The 2018 IFPRI Report,  Competitiveness of the Ghanaian vegetable sector, reported increasing annual imports […]

Dhaka Tribune reported on recommendations to strengthen food systems in the wake of COVID-19. The CGIAR centers made the following statement: “As seen in the response to the social distancing challenges currently affecting boro harvest, scale-appropriate farm mechanization options will also become increasingly important to assure timely operations.” The statement was jointly signed by representatives including IFPRI-Bangladesh Country Representative Akhter Ahmed. Republished […]

Tekk.TV (Germany) published an article on the 2020 Global Food Policy Report that states to build more resilient, climate-friendly, and healthier food systems that help people weather these types of shocks, policymakers must make sure that these systems are inclusive. Director General Johan Swinnen said, ”Food systems offer opportunities to improve food and nutrition security, generate income, and drive inclusive economic growth, but […]

The Conversation published an op-ed by Research fellow Yanyan Liu and coauthors about the importance of accurate precipitation measurements that are essential to farmers to monitor crop yields. Farmers also rely on rain-fed agriculture. The researchers used commercial microwave links – wireless connections between mobile phone towers – from different locations in the world, as an effective low-cost way to […]

20 minutes.fr published an article on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The food crisis, which had already worsened in 2019, could worsen due to the coronavirus epidemic. According to IFPRI (see blog post, How much will global poverty increase because of COVID-19?) each point of global recession plunges 14 million people into poverty, including 9 million people […]