Global Food Policy 2023 Report

• 24 Apr 2023

Recently, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) released the Global Food Policy 2023 report calling for long-term investments in building resilient and equitable food systems, beyond short-term fixes.

• Food insecurity has risen due to a variety of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, natural disasters, civil unrest, and political instability.
• Climate change could lead to as many as 72 million more people undernourished by 2050, and conflict and displacement are also affected by the climate crisis.
• Africa has the highest proportion of food-insecure and undernourished people at 20%, more than double any other region of the world.
• In 2021, 768 million people worldwide were undernourished, well above the 572 million reported in 2014.
• The Russia-Ukraine war and related spikes in food and fertilizer prices worsened food insecurity in 2022, with fertilizer prices rising by 199% between May 2020 and the end of 2022.
• This has increased the number of people at risk of food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition.
• As many as 205 million people in 45 countries experienced crisis-level acute food insecurity or worse in 2022, nearly double the number in 2016.
• A humanitarian-development-peace nexus approach can address the multifaceted nature of food crises more cost-effectively in the short to medium term.
• Governments should foster a business environment that encourages flexibility, technical and financial innovation.
• Investing in early warning systems and strengthening agrifood value chains is essential to support livelihoods and food security during crises.