20 March 2018: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has released the 2018 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR). The seventh annual report, which was launched in Washington, DC, US, investigates how globalization and antiglobalism sentiments – such as trade protectionism, tightening borders, knowledge flow restrictions, stalled farm policy reforms, and weak global governance – impact food systems and nutrition security.

The preface of the report describes rising antiglobalism as seen in events such as: the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the “Brexit” process in the United Kingdom, and the failure of Member States to reach agreement on a joint declaration at the Eleventh World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference, “leaving issues such as agricultural subsidies and public food stocks unresolved.”

Following a discussion of antiglobalism in the first chapter, the second chapter describes the radical changes to the global food system. Chapter three investigates the free flow of goods, and chapter four discusses investment and local food security. The fifth chapter focuses on how tightening borders threaten food security, while the remaining chapters focus on open access data, domestic farm policy reform, and finally, governance.

The report also presents indicators and regional assessments. In Africa for instance, the report notes that the number of food insecure people living south of the Sahara remains unacceptably high and is set to increase as a result of climate change and weak agricultural and economic growth. In the region, an additional 38 million people are projected to be at risk of hunger in 2050 because of climate change and disruptions to agriculture production in the region.

Speaking on the report, IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan said, “Policies that encouraged globalization through more open trade, migration, and knowledge sharing have been critical to recent unprecedented reductions in hunger and poverty. Enacting policies to leverage the benefits of globalization while minimizing the risks that fuel antiglobalism will be critical to meet the Sustainable Development Goals to end hunger and poverty by 2030.”

Topics reviewed in the GFPR are considered emergent; international; and evidence based, according to IFPRI, a member of the CGIAR Consortium. [Publication: Global Food Policy Report] [IFPRI Press Release, 20 March] [IFPRI Blog on the Report] [IFPRI Press Release on World Water Day]