Nutrition

BY BART MINTEN, ALEMAYEHU SEYOUM TAFFESSE AND SMITA AGGARWAL

Not long ago, teff—the gluten-free, nutrient-rich, 3,000-year-old grain native to Ethiopia—had its media moment as the world began to recognize the nutritional potential of this poppy-sized staple. Teff was called the next “supergrain,” joining the select club of popular exotic grains such as quinoa, farro, and millet.

Teff plays a leading role in both the diets and the economy of Ethiopia. While the crop’s potential to expand into lucrative domestic and global export markets is large, however, little investment has been made to expand the crop’s productivity to take advantage of these opportunities. A new book from IFPRI, The Economics of Teff: Exploring Ethiopia’s Biggest Cash Crop , takes a look at the challenges faced by teff producers and how governments and private sector actors can work together to expand the crop’s role in global food markets.

Forty percent of children under the age of five in Zambia suffer from stunting. To address this worrying trend, policymakers have placed food and nutrition security at the forefront of national priorities. At a recent National Food and Nutrition Summit held in Lusaka, stakeholders emphasized the need for a multisectoral approach to end malnutrition and improve food sustainability in the country.

The conference, supported in part by IFPRI’s Food Security Portal, brought together a number of participants from government ministries and agencies and development organizations.

A new Ethiopia has emerged in recent years. A potent combination of increased agricultural productivity, urbanization, and economic growth has improved the standard of living for many Ethiopians. As a result, diets are changing as well, but not entirely in positive ways. Ethiopians are eating more calories on average and more diverse foods, but are still far short of recommended levels of dietary diversity, even as they may soon face overnutrition problems like overweight and obesity.

Globalization has played a key role in the sustained economic growth seen in Africa south of the Sahara in recent years, according to IFPRI’s 2018 Global Food Policy Report . However, rising protectionism and anti-globalization in some developed countries could pose a threat to further economic growth and development in the region.