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Financial Nigeria republished an opinion piece co-authored by Director General Shenggen Fan on the importance of rethinking the food system when tackling climate change. The article described how the food system is a key contributor to climate change, driven in large part by food waste and emissions from animal agriculture. Ultimately, the authors called for […]

Guatemala’s Prensa Libre reported on the recent finding that Guatemalan women’s average height has increased an average of one centimeter over the past fifty years, making them the shortest female population in the world. The article explained the connections between stature and other indicators of health and quality of life and quoted Senior Research Fellow […]

Navbharat Times (Lucknow, India) reported on the recent IFPRI-South Asia Region’s “Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on Million Farmers School in Uttar Pradesh: Evolution, Impact, and Way Forward” meeting. The workshop assessed the program and how well India’s Department of Agriculture makes farmers aware of their objectives. The workshop also examined differences in the cultivation of trained farmers […]

Nigeria’s Vanguard reported on the sixth annual Agricultural Policy Research Network (a program supported by IFPRI) forum in Abuja, where APRNet urged the federal government to invest in agricultural research through infrastructural development. The article described the recommendations outlined by the forum’s speakers, including the need for research institutes to deliver more innovative solutions. The […]

China’s Xinhua reported on the remarks of China Program Leader and Senior Research Fellow Kevin Chen at the recent Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF). In the article, Chen noted that Africa could learn from China’s use of information and communication technology for agriculture. Chen added that political instability Africa’s biggest challenge to implementing policy reforms […]

Voice of America (VOA) published an online feature story on a novel approach to funding small farmers called Risk Contingent Credit Scheme (RCC). Led by IFPRI’s Liangzhi You, RCC offers farmers insured loans that help them purchase farm inputs, while also cushioning them against potential losses accrued from crop failures. 

September 5, 2019, Washington, D.C. – The Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) announced today the appointment of Johan “Jo” Swinnen as the institute’s next Director General. Swinnen will begin his tenure on January 7, 2020, succeeding the current Director General, Shenggen Fan, who is completing his term. “Jo brings to […]

In 2001 when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), NPR reports, one trade deal was that China purchase 5.3 million tons of rice from the US. According to IFPRI researcher, Joseph Glauber, “In the rice world, that’s a lot of rice. … China just wasn’t importing [it].” After several years and litigation with the WTO, US […]

Xinhuanet.com (China) published an article on an innovative program, Risk-Contingent Credit (RCC) that helps farmers by giving vouchers for high-quality inputs (seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides) and agronomic training. IFPRI researcher, Liangzhi You, explains that the project also incorporates an insurance firm and a banking institution to help farmers gain benefit from their farming activity.

Africa Business Insight reported on a new book, titled Ghana’s Economic and Agricultural Transformation: Past Performance and Future Prospects, by Xinshen Diao, Danielle Resnick, Peter Hazell, and Shashidhara Kolavalli that integrates economic and political analysis to explore the challenges and opportunities of Africa’s transformation. The book examines Ghana’s overall economic performance and an in-depth empirical analysis of performance of the broader economy and […]