The hungry season—a period of shortfalls in food and savings before the following harvest—is a common feature of life for rural families in many developing countries. To make up for these shortfalls, many farmers turn to casual wage labor to buy food or cut back on investments that could increase next year’s yields. While both decisions keep a family fed, they also compromise the family’s potential. Recent research support by USAID has found a way to mute these impacts and set families up for a better future. 

This Agrilinks webinar, co-hosted by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Markets, Risk and Resilience at UC Davis, and the Center for Effective Global Action at UC Berkeley, presents new research supported by USAID. This randomized controlled trial in Zambia found a way for smallholder farming families to reallocate their savings across the year, reducing hunger while setting themselves up for higher future yields. A simple, inexpensive budgeting intervention stretched farmers’ savings by roughly one extra month while increasing farm yields by 9 percent in the following year. 

While the challenge of the hungry season has previously been met with interventions that increase income such as credit or incentives for migration, this modest budget intervention addresses one of the hungry season’s root causes, which is lack of savings. Treating the hungry season as a savings problem can complement existing policies that seek to support families through shortages while also establishing a foundation to improve their future welfare.

This Agrilinks Webinar will provide clear evidence of the impacts attained within the scope of this research project and describe the real development potential of this cost-effective program on household resilience. 

Please click here for more information.

A new study finds that sustainable food system transformation can be achieved in the next decade in Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria by increasing public investment by US$10 billion per year (on average from 2023 to 2030) and implementing a more effective portfolio of interventions that achieve multiple outcomes.  

In an ambitious effort, researchers from IFPRI and IISD, engaged closely with the government, donors, and stakeholders in each country, synthesized the evidence, and then applied sophisticated macro- and microeconomic modeling techniques to identify pathways to provide affordable and healthy diets to all people in an environmentally sustainable way. 

 Join us to learn more about the findings. 

Introduction

• Sean Woolfrey, Senior Advisor & Research Coordinator, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

Presentation of the report: Evidence-based and costed deep dives for achieving sustainable food systems

• Alan de Brauw, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI
• Livia Bizikova, Lead II, Monitoring and Governance, Tracking Progress program, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
• Francine Picard, Co-Founder and Director of Partnerships, Shamba Centre for Food and Climate
• Carin Smaller, Co-Founder, Executive Director, Shamba Centre for Food and Climate

 Reactions: From evidence to action

• Willem Olthof, Deputy Head of Unit, DG INTPA, European Commission
• Doshanie Kadokera, Economist, Malawi
• Kathrin Weny, Senior Policy Officer, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Moderator

• Valeria Piñeiro, Acting Head of the Latin American region & Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about one-third of all food produced around the globe is lost or wasted. This is particularly egregious in a world where one in nine persons is food insecure, and widespread food affordability concerns in low- and middle-income countries have resulted from COVID-related value chain disruptions and the global impact of the war in Ukraine. 

This annual event will take stock of efforts around the world to tackle food loss and waste through initiatives like Champions 12.3, a coalition of leaders from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 by 2030.

The seminar will also take a closer look at fruits and vegetables, which are among the healthiest but most wasted foods. Given their perishable nature, great care, attention, and cooperation along all parts of fruit and vegetable value chains are required to reduce food loss and waste.

Welcome

• Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI
• Jacob Jensen, Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark

Keynote Address

• Maximo Torero, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Panel Discussion

• Rob Vos, Director, Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI
• Muhammad Yakubu Bubayaro, Founder/CEO, Bunkasa Agritech 
• Shannon Sajdak, Senior Sustainability Manager, Apeel
• Signe Frese, Director of CSR and Quality, Coop Denmark

Closing Remarks

• Liz Goodwin, Senior Fellow and Director Food Loss and Waste, World Resources Institute (WRI)

Moderator

• Luciana Delgado, Senior Research Analyst, IFPRI

Groundwater development is key to accelerating agricultural and overall economic growth, fight climate change, and generate employment in Africa. However, there is also a need to improve groundwater institutions to grow equity and environmental sustainability in groundwater use. This session discusses the African Ministers' Council on Water’s (AMCOW) groundwater program with case studies on the benefits of groundwater development as well as institutional advances in several African countries.

The importance of groundwater development for water and food security in Africa

• H.E. Dr. Seleshi Bekele, Ambassador of Ethiopia to the US

Africa’s groundwater development program

• Rashid Mbaziira or Moshood Tijani, African Ministers' Council on Water

Groundwater development potential in Africa

• Ramon Brentführer, Policy Advice Groundwater bei BGR, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources

The economy-wide benefits of accelerating groundwater development in Senegal and Uganda

• Angga Pradesha, Senior Scientist, IFPRI
• Hua Xie, Research Fellow, IFPRI

The groundwater governance toolbox: Elements to increase sustainability of groundwater use in Africa

• Hagar ElDidi, Senior Research Analyst, IFPRI

Panel Discussion

• Niokhor Ndour, Director of Resource Management and Planning, Ministry of Water and Sanitation, Senegal
• Julius Aheebwa, Water Officer, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda
• Mure Agbonlahor, Agricultural Production and Marketing Officer, African Union Commission
• Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Moderator

• Claudia Ringler, Deputy Director of Environment and Production Technology Division, IFPRI

One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war continues to affect global markets. World stock levels remain tight, and while prices have fallen back to pre-war levels, much uncertainty remains. This seminar will examine how the war has affected global markets, particularly wheat markets. Speakers will discuss the war’s impacts on Ukraine’s producers, wheat buyers and importers in the MENA region, and households in Egypt and Yemen. In addition, the discussion will address export restrictions and sanctions that have exacerbated price levels and volatility.

This is the second event in the IFPRI-AMIS seminar series on Making sense of food and Agriculture Markets.

Please click here to see a replay of the event.

Welcome Remarks

• Seth Meyer, Chief Economist, USDA and AMIS Chair

Panelists

• Nicholay Gorbachev, President, Ukrainian Grain Association (UGA)
• Eren Günhan Ulusoy, Director, International Association of Operative Millers Eurasian Region (IAOM)
• Sikandra Kurdi, Research Fellow, IFPRI
• David Laborde, Division Director, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Closing Remarks

• Joseph Glauber, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and Secretary, Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS)

Moderators

• Erin Collier, Economist - Markets and Trade - Social and Economic Development Stream, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Joseph Glauber, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and Secretary, Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS)

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is the first-ever direct measure of women’s empowerment and inclusion in the agriculture sector. In response to demand from designers and implementors of agricultural development projects, IFPRI developed the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) to track the impacts of these projects on women’s empowerment.

To monitor and evaluate nutrition-sensitive and market inclusion interventions, IFPRI developed two sets of add-on indicators that are designed to complement the pro-WEAI in assessing women’s health and nutrition-related agency and to identify the constraints that women face as value chain and food system actors. The project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index for health and nutrition (pro-WEAI+HN) includes the pro-WEAI indicators plus additional indicators capturing women’s health and nutrition agency. The pro-WEAI for market inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI) includes the pro-WEAI indicators plus additional indicators to investigate barriers to market access and inclusion for different value chain actors. Both sets of add-on indicators were validated using cognitive interviewing and qualitative work, and the health and nutrition indicators have also undergone psychometric validation. 

This Policy Seminar will introduce the new health and nutrition (HN) and market inclusion (MI) indicators and explain how they can guide nutrition-sensitive and market inclusion elements of agricultural development projects. A panel of stakeholders-project implementors, researchers, and donors-will offer comments on these new tools and their relevance. 

Opening Remarks

• Purnima Menon, Senior Director for Food and Nutrition Policy, CGIAR; Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI 

Keynote Speakers

• Shakuntala Thilsted, Director, CGIAR Nutrition, Health & Food Security Impact Area Platform
• Inge Brouwer, WUR and IFPRI, CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation (SHiFT) 

Pro-WEAI+HN

• Jessica Heckert, Research Fellow, IFPRI

Pro-WEAI+MI

• Hazel Malapit, Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI 

Panel Discussion

• Elizabeth Kirkwood, Research Fellow, the Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney
• Rahma Adam, Social Inclusion & Market Scientist, and East & Southern Africa Regional Focal Point for the One CGIAR Research and Development Initiatives, WorldFish
• Geoffroy Gantoli, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
• David Spielman, Senior Research Fellow/Program Leader-Rwanda, IFPRI

Closing Remarks

• Farzana Ramzan, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Moderator

• Dan Gilligan, Deputy Director of Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, IFPRI

Please join us for a presentation by Xinshen Diao and James Thurlow with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on their latest round of country impact modeling. 

This analysis examines the impact of recent and potential global shocks on poverty, hunger, and diets across 17 countries. These shocks include the COVID-19 pandemic, high global commodity prices, and a potential global economic slowdown in 2023.

This presentation will provide an overview of the analyses completed to date as well as a moderated discussion on the implications for the USAID response. We look forward to you joining the conversation.

Please click here for a link to the full event recording and to answers to questions that were not covered during the event.

A high-performing, resilient, and competitive agrifood processing sector can create remunerative employment opportunities, link producers to growing and lucrative urban markets, and help to ensure that consumers have access to sufficient and healthy food. Africa’s food processing sector is growing in response to growing demand for processed and high-value foods in the continent. However, processing firms, many of them small and informal enterprises, still face serious constraints. The 2022 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) examines Africa’s agrifood processing sector and its role in sustainable food systems on the continent. The report examines available evidence on the current status and performance of the sector, discusses key challenges, and identifies required policy actions to maximize its contribution to achieving sustainable food systems for all.

Please join us for this seminar where key research findings and policy recommendations of the 2022 ATOR will be presented and discussed by a distinguished panel of representatives from academia, the private sector, and international and regional organizations engaged in strengthening Africa’s agri-food processing sector.

Welcome Remarks

• Johan Swinnen, Managing Director of Systems Transformation, CGIAR and Director General, IFPRI
• Godfrey Bahiigwa, Director of Agriculture and Rural Development, African Union Commission (tbc)

Setting the Scene

• Ousmane Badiane, Executive Chairperson and Acting Managing Director, AKADEMIYA2063

Key Research Findings and Recommendations

• Getaw Tadesse, Director of Operational Support, AKADEMIYA2063

Panel Discussion

• Thomas Reardon, Nonresident Fellow, IFPRI
• Janet Edeme, Head of Rural Development Division, Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE)
• Atsuko Toda, Director of Agricultural Finance and Rural Development, African Development Bank
• Dejene Tezera, Director of Department of Agribusiness Development, UNIDO
• Ashish Pande, Country Head, Olam Nigeria

Moderator

• Charlotte Hebebrand, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, IFPRI

The World Health Organization estimates that every year, 600 million people become ill and many die because of unsafe food. Up to 38% of those affected are children under five years of age, and 53% were people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address this gap, the EatSafe Innovation Challenge aims to encourage the development of food safety solutions or safer food products with the goal of improving food safety for consumers in traditional markets, a setting where the majority of LMIC consumers access nutritious foods. 

 This webinar is the second part of a series highlighting the importance of innovative solutions in food safety, and their applicability to low- and middle- income countries, specifically in traditional markets and along the food value chain. In the first part of the series, participants learned about consumer-centered approaches to food safety research. In this session, speakers will share on the application, implementation and practice of innovative solutions for food safety, including highlights from finalists of the EatSafe Innovation Challenge. A special focus will be on traditional markets, a setting where most people in low- and middle-income countries access fresh, nutritious food. 

Find out more about speakers here.

The new Kenyan government faces a complex domestic and global environment. Rapid population growth and urbanization with limited structural transformation present major challenges to Kenya’s ability to achieve food security for all and become a higher-middle-income country in the medium term.  If recent economic trends are any indication, the country risks not having enough jobs to support the projected increase in the labor force. Another key consideration for the Kenyan government is how to feed the country’s rapidly growing population in an increasingly volatile global environment complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The government is widely expected to address these challenges with a new set of policies and programs as part of its Bottom Up Economic Plan. This seminar will discuss results from an ongoing effort by KIPPRA and CGIAR’s National Policies and Strategies Initiative to model the expected impacts of implementing the plan on key socioeconomic outcomes such as the food system, diets, jobs, poverty, and inequality. To highlight the important links between the plan and food systems transformation, the seminar will also present recommendations from a new policy brief entitled “Transforming Food Systems in Kenya for a New Era of Growth and Prosperity.”

Welcoming remarks

• Rose Ngugi, Executive Director, KIPPRA
• Channing Arndt, Senior Director, Transformation Strategies, CGIAR and Director, Environment and Production Technology Division, IFPRI

Keynote address 

• Njuguna Ndung’u, Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning (Invited)
• Mithika Linturi, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (Invited)

Estimated impacts of implementing the Bottom Up Economic Plan on food systems and social outcomes

• KIPPRA/IFPRI

Transforming food systems in Kenya: Policy options for a new era of growth and prosperity

• Joseph Karugia, Principal Scientist – Agricultural Economist and Policy Expert, ILRI/CGIAR

Panel discussion and reflections on the study  

Q&A

Closing remarks

• Clemens Breisinger, IFPRI Country Program Leader & Lead, CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies
• Rose Ngugi, Executive Director, KIPPRA