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AT A GLANCE • Since the last update on March 9, 2023, the agricultural, cereal, and export price indices closed 3 percent, 2 percent, and 2 percent lower, respectively. • Domestic food price inflation remains high in almost all low-, middle-, and high-income countries. • One year after the invasion of Ukraine, a recent International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)…

The war in Ukraine sent shock waves throughout the global economy, in particular through trade disruptions of food and fertilizers from two of the world’s main breadbaskets, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This left millions of people in developing and least developed countries at the frontline of a food and price crisis. In July 2022, two agreements were signed: one is the…

What’s the Farm Bill? The Agriculture Improvement Act, or “Farm Bill,” is the most important legislation shaping United States food systems. Passed only twice per decade, the bill determines how we grow, distribute, and dispose of food in the U.S. Over the next five years, the U.S. federal government will spend more than $700 billion through the Farm Bill, including in critical…

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday (29 March) adopted by consensus and to cheers a resolution calling for the world body’s top court to outline legal obligations related to climate change. Pushed for years by Vanuatu and Pacific islander youth, the measure asks the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to lay out nations’ obligations for protecting Earth’s climate, and the legal…

We were on the ground at The Economist’s 8th annual Sustainability Week, soaking up the planet-centric action and listening to some of the world’s biggest business and thought leaders speak about sustainability. What were some of the takeaways from this year’s summit? When it comes to taking responsibility for tackling climate change, no one is exempt. Both a commitment to change and…

Between 2018 and 2022, Southern Madagascar experienced a prolonged drought as rainfall became scarcer amid a changing climate. Food security was devastated and widespread hunger ensued to reach near-famine proportions. The impoverishment and health impacts of malnutrition and stunting caused by these lean years will be felt for years to come. Drought takes a toll on social…