Policy seminar: Unpacking the impacts of COVID-19 on economies, food systems, and poverty in African and Asian countries

Countries around the world have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing lockdowns and other social distancing measures. Agrifood systems and food supply chains—although generally exempt from restrictions—have nevertheless experienced disruptions and global market instability. An Aug. 11 virtual policy seminar organized by IFPRI and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) explored recent findings of IFPRI-led, PIM-supported work measuring the pandemic’s impacts on economies and food systems in Nigeria, Myanmar, and Sudan.

PIM Director Frank Place opened the seminar noting that as governments are evaluating whether and for how long to continue current pandemic policies or to make adaptations, IFPRI’s expertise in modeling and demand-driven policy support has been in especially high demand.