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Economic Times reported on India’s new safety net programs that include doing away with the requirement of ration cards or other IDs, and distributing food to anyone who needs it during India’s lockdown. An IFPRI study (see the blog post, How India’s food-based safety net is responding to the COVID-19 lockdown) on how India’s food safety net is responding to COVID-19 notes […]

News Center Maine wrote an article about farmworkers who are essential employees during the coronavirus pandemic. But crowded living conditions could trigger an outbreak that would devastate the food supply.  Former IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan said, “COVID-19 is a health crisis. But it could also lead to a food security crisis if proper measures are not taken.”  […]

CajNews Africa reported on the prices of the staple maize dropping in Malawi as a result of the onset of the main harvest season. This is a major boost for the majority as prices had been at their highest in years during the lean season. IFPRI-Malawi corroborated that the prices were declining as a result of the new produce trickling […]

Telos-eu.com (France) published an op-ed by Senior Research Fellow Antoine Bouet who stated that beyond the health issue, food security could also become an issue as COVID-19 spreads across the continent. He writes, “Africa is dependent on world trade for its food security. Global food production is currently satisfactory; however, some producing countries, in a somewhat irrational panic, are beginning […]

Modern Ghana published an article on the shocking rapid increase in food prices over a number of weeks. The 2020 Global Food Policy Report revealed that lack of infrastructure and skills is holding back the development of food supply chains in low-income Africa and Asia, especially where the potential is greatest: in small towns and intermediate cities near rural farmlands. […]

Yahoo News reported on how USDA is trying to allocate funds to farmers from the latest stimulus package. The calculations based on similar calculations from the previous subsidies might be trickier based on the impact from COVID-19. Senior Research Fellow Joseph Glauber commented, “I am not sure how you would separate out price impacts from COVID versus other market factors.” […]

Yahoo News (UK & Ireland) reported on the country’s requirement to battle the spread of COVID-19 by enforcing a two-week lockdown. Those who live day-to-day as informal food traders and those who rely on these people, the lockdowns have come as a shock as governments attempt to impose WHO social isolation measures. According to Danielle Resnick, a senior research […]

Los Angeles Times reported on how the coronavirus pandemic is short-circuiting the intricate network of producers and suppliers needed to power the global food system.  Senior Research Fellow Joseph Glauber commented that “the system has evolved to be highly efficient; able to get food from Asia or South America onto the grocery store shelves within days. Now we have […]

China Science News published an article on the 2020 Global Food Policy Report. The Report emphasizes that in order to resist the impact of the epidemic, we need to build a food system that is more resilient, more adaptable to climate change, and healthier and more inclusive.  

VocesLatinoamericanas.com interviewed Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean Program on the Spanish-language podcast heard on Soundcloud. Diaz-Bonilla discussed the local currency market and dollar market, food and drug network supply chains, and what needs to be done to successfully emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. He says, “Here survival is at stake, not the change of a government, […]