This 2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report is the fourth in an annual series that provides a comprehensive overview of major food policy developments and events. In this report, distinguished researchers, policymakers, and practitioners review what happened in food policy in 2014 at the global, regional, and national levels, and—supported by the latest knowledge and research—explain why. This year’s report is the first to also look forward a year, offering analysis of the potential opportunities and challenges that we will face in achieving food and nutrition security in 2015.

The year 2014 was marked by advances and setbacks in agriculture, food security, and nutrition. The Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015 was achieved. World food prices fell to their lowest level since 2010. Nutrition remained prominent: the Second International Conference on Nutrition in Rome proposed actions to end malnutrition, membership in the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement expanded, and new research highlighted the importance of factors such as water and sanitation and the role of women in battling malnutrition. Debate began on the draft post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, sharpening the world’s focus on the building blocks of food and nutrition security. Significant commitments to combating climate change were made, particularly by China and the United States. Middle income countries, home to the majority of the world’s hungry and malnourished people, continued their efforts to improve food security and nutrition at home, with Brazil and China, for example, expanding investments in agriculture and knowledge and technology transfers with the global South.

At the same time, 2014 also offered a reminder of the world’s continued vulnerability to shocks and risks. The largest-ever outbreak of Ebola in West Africa infected more than 20,000 and killed over 8,000 people. Equally important is that hundreds of thousands have suffered and will continue to suffer from hunger and malnutrition due to disruptions in food production, marketing, and trade. This will cause long-term damage to the potential health and wellbeing of poor and hungry people, particularly women and children. Conflict—including continued civil war in Syria and turmoil in Iraq, Libya, and Yemen—highlighted the security risks and deteriorating physical conditions faced not only by refugees but also inhabitants of neighboring countries. Extreme weather conditions and climate change threatened all regions of the world, from low rainfall in the Sahel to drought in Central America and natural disasters in Asia. Smallholder farmers, who produce much of the food consumed in Asia and Africa south of the Sahara, remain most vulnerable to these types of shocks.

The year 2015 now offers a window of opportunity to reshape the global development agenda. If the momentum garnered for food and nutrition security in 2014 can be leveraged into post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals that enhance or foster holistic and comprehensive nutrition investments, policies, and programs, the international community may soon have a chance to end hunger and malnutrition once and for all.

Topics covered in the 2014–2015 Global Food Policy Report were the result of consultations with top experts in the field. For inclusion in this annual report, a topic has to represent a new development in food policy or a new way of looking at an important food policy issue; the topic has to be international in scope, such as by affecting several countries or stakeholders; and assessments and recommendations must be backed by evidence based on high-quality research results or expert judgment. It is for this reason that the chapters of this report capture the depth, relevance, and breadth of food policy issues in 2014 and provide an outlook on the major challenges and opportunities for 2015. Supplemented by our first-ever opinion survey on national and global food policies and hunger and malnutrition, the report paints a full picture of food policy for 2014–2015.

I hope that this report is met with interest not only by the decisionmakers who set the food policy research agenda for 2015 and beyond but also by media, nongovernmental organizations, and broad groups of civil society who have just as big a stake in food policies that benefit the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

I welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions at ShenggenFan-GFPR@cgiar.org.

SHENGGEN FAN
Director General