IFPRI Podcast

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IFPRI PolSem: The changing challenges of hidden hunger - 02/03/2020 Feb 04, 2020

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Current global challenges in malnutrition and other development goals call for integrated, multi-sectoral approaches focusing on the entire food system, leading to healthier and sustainable diets for all. Among these challenges is micronutrient deficiency, known as “hidden hunger.” Micronutrients—vitamins and minerals needed in only very small quantities but with huge impacts on human health and development—are a key component of healthy diets. With shifts in food access, eating habits, and climate, hidden hunger is an increasingly common serious health problem for billions of people globally, including in situations of food excess. Unfortunately, most food system approaches pay too little attention to micronutrients, and the global health and development community lacks a basic understanding of how food systems can contribute to the micronutrient quality of diets. For more details about the seminar visit: https://www.ifpri.org/event/changing-challenges-hidden-hunger-micronutrients-within-nutrition-and-development-landscapes Keynote Speaker Saskia Osendarp, Executive Director, Micronutrient Forum Panelists Robert Bertram, Chief Scientist in Bureau for Food Security, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Erick Boy, Head of Nutrition, HarvestPlus Roland Kupka, Senior Adviser, Nutrition Section, UNICEF Marie Ruel, Director of Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division, IFPRI Kristin Sundell, Senior Advocacy Specialist, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Moderator Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Director of Communications and Public Affairs & Chief of Staff in the Director General’s Office, IFPRI

IFPRI PolSem: Trade for Secure, Diverse and Sustainable Nutrition - 01/30/2020 Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

The 2020 Global Forum for Food and Agriculture event “Food for All! Trade for Secure, Diverse and Sustainable Nutrition” brought together 16 Expert Panels hosted by policymakers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders from civil society to discuss the role of international trade in achieving a healthy and sustainable food system. International trade has long helped reduce food insecurity by connecting food-scarce regions to more productive agricultural regions. To meet global goals, trade will also need to increase sustainability of food production and ensure more equitable access to scarce natural resources. In follow-up to the GFFA 2020, IFPRI is hosting a panel to discuss key topics around the role of trade in sustaining food security and nutrition in the face of current challenges to food systems, such as climate change, protectionist tendencies, and economic uncertainty. Panelists will reflect on the trade-related decisions that developing and emerging countries must make as they seek to increase agricultural productivity, improve the functioning of food supply chains, integrate trade rules and environmental controls, and address food loss and waste. For more details about the seminar visit: https://www.ifpri.org/event/trade-secure-diverse-and-sustainable-nutrition-key-messages-global-forum-food-and-agriculture Introduction Friedrich Wacker, Director-General, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture of the Federal Republic of Germany Round Table Markus Brill, Agricultural Attaché, Federal Republic of Germany to the United States David Laborde Debucquet, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Martien van Nieuwkoop, Global Director Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank Group Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI Moderator Valeria Piñeiro, Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI

IFPRI PolSem: Food Systems Dashboard: How it will work - 01/27/2020 Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

Our food systems are bankrupting our health systems, accelerating climate change and using natural resources in an unsustainable way. Most people agree they need to be transformed to change this. But how? Food systems are complex and offer many entry points for change. In addition, the data to describe food systems and their performance is scattered and not interoperable. In effect we are flying blind in our journey to change food systems for the better. The Food System Dashboard (https://bioethics.jhu.edu/research-and-outreach/projects/global-food/current-projects/the-food-systems-dashboard/ ), developed by GAIN and Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with iTech Mission, University of Michigan, and Euromonitor, responds to this challenge. It brings together extant data from public and private sources to help decision makers diagnose their food systems and identify all their levers of change and the ones that need to be pulled first. Following presentation of the Food Systems Dashboard, commentatotors will reflect on data and indicators as well as on implications for developing countries. Speakers - Jessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Global Food & Agricultural Policy and Ethics; Director for Johns Hopkins Global Food Ethics and Policy Program, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) - Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) - Arun Kapuria, CEO, iTech Mission Discussant - Inge Brouwer, Associate Professor of Food and Nutrition Security, Wageningen University & Research, and A4NH Flagship Leader of Food Systems for Healthier Diets - Olivier Ecker, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI - Gina Kennedy, Theme leader, Diet Diversity for Nutrition and Health, Bioversity International Moderator - John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

IFPRI Book Launch: Youth and Jobs in Rural Africa - 01/21/2020 Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

The share of working-age young people in Africa south of the Sahara has risen due to past declines in mortality coupled with high fertility. This “youth bulge” has created a sense of urgency among national governments and the international development community as the prospect of widespread youth unemployment in Africa, and the social instability and political unrest it could bring looms closer. As a result, African governments are under pressure to create more and better jobs for the region’s young and rapidly growing population. Although the scale of policy reforms and actions needed to address Africa’s youth bulge is daunting, there is an increasing alignment of interests and incentives: African governments have made youth employment a policy priority, and African youth are demanding policies that improve their job prospects. This creates promising opportunities to enact policies that effectively address rural youth employment—policies that are grounded in local evidence rather than stylized facts. This book is freely available for download at http://www.ifpri.org/publication/youth-and-jobs-rural-africa-beyond-stylized-facts Speakers James Thurlow, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI (Presentation) Valerie Mueller, Nonresident Fellow, IFPRI (Presentation) Discussant Rui Benfica, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Moderator Danielle Resnick, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

IFPRI PolSem: Gender Equality in Rural Africa: From Commitments to Outcomes - 11/26/2019 Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

Gender equality has been recognized as an important goal in itself as well as important to achieving other development objectives, such as reducing hunger and poverty. This is true worldwide and especially so in rural Africa, where women play an important role in the agricultural sector. Gender-sensitive policies and programming are central to effectively advancing the Malabo Declaration’s agricultural transformation agenda. But what is the progress in achieving gender equality? What are the major challenges, and what are the effective means of overcoming those challenges? Seminar ( https://www.ifpri.org/event/gender-equality-rural-africa-commitments-outcomes ) speakers will address these questions and discuss the findings and recommendations of the 2019 Annual Trends and Outlook Report, Gender Equality in Rural Africa: From Commitments to Outcomes. The report takes an in-depth look at gender in Africa by examining the intersections of gender and 1) context and institutions, 2) assets, 3) shocks and resilience, 4 livelihood strategies, 5) income and control of income, and 6) well-being. The report is produced by the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) http://www.resakss.org/, which provides data and analyses to inform the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). ReSAKSS is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

IFPRI PolSem: Transforming Africa’s Food System with Digital Technologies - 11/26/2019 Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

African countries have made considerable progress in increasing agricultural productivity and reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. But continued population growth, urbanization, changing diets, and climate change are putting pressure on food systems not only to provide more food but also to make more diverse and nutritious foods available and accessible. New digital technologies and services are already making an impact on how food is being produced, processed, marketed, traded, and consumed across the continent. How African countries position themselves to harness and deploy digital technologies will determine the future competitiveness of African agriculture and its contribution to African economies. This seminar ( http://www.ifpri.org/event/transforming-africas-food-system-digital-technologies ) will explore how African countries can develop a “digitalization ecosystem” to help foster growth and competitiveness in the continent’s value chains. Participants will also discuss the institutional and policy innovations that have already been implemented by African governments as well as efforts by the private sector and ag-tech startups to increase the development and use of digital tools and services in agriculture. Speakers Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa, IFPRI Debisi Araba, Regional Director for Africa, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Katrin Glatzel, Program Head, IFPRI Farbod Youssefi, Program Manager, World Bank Group Moderator David Spielman, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI Q&A

IFPRI PolSem: Food System Transformations: National Actions in a Globalized World - 11/14/2019 Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

Food systems in developing countries are undergoing a rapid transformation shaped by global and regional events. But country actions will be critical in shaping future food system outcomes. Some countries are taking a systemic approach to assessing and acting on food system transformation—considering consumption and food environments, food supply and sustainability, health, and socioeconomic outcomes. This seminar ( http://www.ifpri.org/event/food-system-transformations-national-actions-globalized-world ) will introduce this approach, and representatives from Nigeria and Viet Nam will discuss the challenges, opportunities, and trade-offs they encounter in enabling food system actors in their countries. A panel will share insights into how food systems can develop in a healthy, sustainable, and equitable way. Overview -Transforming Food Systems for Healthier Diets: Supporting Actions at a National Scale -Inge Brouwer, Associate Professor of Food and Nutrition Security, Wageningen University & Research, and A4NH Flagship Leader of Food Systems for Healthier Diets Case Studies -Food System Transformation in Nigeria: Opportunities and Challenges for the Private Sector -Adebowale Akande, Senior Scientist, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) -Policy Actions Around Food System Transformation in Vietnam -Phuong Hong Nguyen, Research Fellow, IFPRI Panel -Stuart Gillespie, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI, and A4NH Flagship Leader, Supporting Policies, Programs and Enabling Action through Research -Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Global Director of Agriculture and Food, World Bank Group -Emmy Simmons, Former Assistant Administrator, US Agency for International Development (USAID), and A4NH Independent Steering Committee member Closing Remarks -John McDermott, Director of CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) Moderator -Ruerd Ruben, Research Coordinator of Food Security, Value Chains, and Impact Analysis, Wageningen University & Research, and A4NH Managing Partner Representative Q&A

IFPRI PolSem: Using Malawi’s Community-Based Childcare Center.... 11/6/2019 Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

IFPRI PolSem: Using Malawi’s Community-Based Childcare Centers to Implement an Agriculture and Nutrition Intervention 11/6/2019 This policy seminar ( https://www.ifpri.org/event/using-malawis-community-based-childcare-centers-implement-agriculture-and-nutrition ) focuses on research undertaken in Malawi by IFPRI, the University of Malawi, Save the Children, and University of Washington in support to the Government’s early childhood development program. Community-based early childhood development centers in Malawi have been used as a platform to implement an integrated agriculture and nutrition behavior change intervention. Presentations will explore the findings of a rigorous evaluation on the impact, sustainability, costs, and returns on investment of this initiative. A case study will be also be presented by Research for Development (R4D) on the use of evidence in the policy processes that led to the scale-up of the program across the country. Opening Remarks / Moderator Dan Gilligan, Deputy Director of Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, IFPRI Presenters Aisha Twalibu, IFPRI consultant, formerly Save the Children Aulo Gelli, Research Fellow, IFPRI Amy Margolies, Research Consultant, IFPRI Mary D’Alimonte, Senior Program Officer, Results for Development (R4D) Discussants Julie Ruel Bergeron, Nutrition Specialist in the Human Development Network's Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) Unit, World Bank Group Natalie Roschnik, Senior Nutrition Advisor, Save the Children Closing Remarks Harold Alderman, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

IFPRI PolSem: Crafting the Next Generation of CGIAR Gender Research - 10/30/2019 - CDoss Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

Closing Remarks: Cheryl Doss, Associate Professor and Senior Departmental Lecturer in Development Economics, Oxford University How can agriculture and natural resource management advance gender equality? Asking this question rather than only its inverse — what does gender analysis bring to agriculture and natural resource management? — elevates the objective of gender equality within CGIAR, challenges boundaries in thinking about gender in agriculture, and stimulates new and creative perspectives. Gender researchers from across CGIAR are preparing a landmark publication that synthesizes recent research and sets a forward-looking agenda for gender research in the areas of agriculture and natural resource management. This seminar will share key reflections from the book.

IFPRI PolSem: Crafting the Next Generation of CGIAR Gender Research - 10/30/2019 - PvandeVelde Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

Remarks from External Expert: Patricia van de Velde, Gender Lead of Agriculture Practice, World Bank Group How can agriculture and natural resource management advance gender equality? Asking this question rather than only its inverse — what does gender analysis bring to agriculture and natural resource management? — elevates the objective of gender equality within CGIAR, challenges boundaries in thinking about gender in agriculture, and stimulates new and creative perspectives. Gender researchers from across CGIAR are preparing a landmark publication that synthesizes recent research and sets a forward-looking agenda for gender research in the areas of agriculture and natural resource management. This seminar will share key reflections from the book.

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