The April 7 launch of IFPRI’s flagship 2020 Global Food Policy Report—this year focusing on the theme “building inclusive food systems”—occurred as the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to affect food supply chains around the world. These emerging challenges are formidable, and they shine a spotlight on why building more inclusive food systems is a critical task.
“Even in prosperous times and prosperous societies, too many people are still excluded from fully participating in food systems and securing their benefits…in times of crisis, like today, inclusion is an even greater imperative for protecting the most vulnerable,” IFPRI Director General Johan Swinnen said as he opened the online-only global launch event.
As national governments scramble to respond to the pandemic, they must simultaneously grapple with how to sustainably transform their food systems and ensure healthy diets. John McDermott, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), shared examples of such approaches for countries in three broad stages of economic development: Traditional, transitioning, and modernizing.
