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Ethiopia is currently experiencing the worst drought in 30 years, as failed spring rains combined with El Nino conditions to severely weaken the summer harvests that feed 80-85 percent of the country.  However, experts have been quick to emphasize that the current situation will in no way reach the crisis levels seen during the 1984 drought and subsequent famine.

When it comes to household nutrition, mothers matter.

That is the takeaway message from a new working paper from IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program (ESSP) . Using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), the paper examines the impact that female empowerment – specifically, access to and control over household income and resources and role in household and agricultural decision-making –  has on women’s and children’s dietary diversity and nutritional status in rural Ethiopia.

As developing country incomes rise and populations become more urbanized, food markets are seeing more demand for higher value and processed foods. At the same time, trade liberalization and increased foreign direct investment have stimulated changes in many countries’ food value chains, making it easier for modern markets to access a reliable supply of high-quality goods. These supply- and demand-side transformations have led to a strong new trend throughout developing regions – the growth of the modern supermarket.

Africa saw strong economic growth between 2001 and 2010, averaging 5.3 percent, but that growth has often not reached poor rural populations. As the sector that supports the livelihoods of 90 percent of Africa’s population and employs 70 percent of the region’s poorest communities, agriculture stands to play an enormous role in increasing sustainable, inclusive economic growth on the continent.

Macroeconomic policies (monetary and fiscal policies, exchange rate policies, and trade policies) can significantly impact agricultural development and food security, and vice versa. This complex relationship is the subject of a new book , Macroeconomics, Agriculture, and Food Security: A Guide to Policy Analysis in Developing Countries , written by IFPRI Visiting Senior Research Fellow Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla.