BY TIMOTHY KAROFF Millions of people in Africa rely on informal trade for their livelihoods. In some African countries, the share of informal exports nearly surpasses the share of formal exports. Nevertheless, data surrounding informal trade remains scarce. This problem of invisibility makes it difficult for researchers and policy makers to understand the realities of informal trade, including the daily
BY TIMOTHY KAROFF On Jan. 1, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) formally took effect. The AfCFTA’s 55 countries make it one of largest free trade areas in the world, and it could increase the continent’s total real income by $445 billion by 2035, according to a World Bank estimate. However, whether countries reap these benefits depends on how
BY SWATI MALHOTRA The Ceres2030 project has shown the urgent need for additional investments—a yearly average of $14 billion from donors and $19 billion from low-income countries for the next decade—to meet Sustainable Development Goal 2, ending hunger by 2030, and to build more sustainable food security. But how should that money be spent? The latest cost report from Ceres2030 (led by IFPRI, the International Institute for
Children’s heights are a bellwether indicator for all the things that can go wrong, or right, in society. As IFPRI researcher Jef Leroy put it, poor child growth is like a smoke alarm: It tells you there is a fire burning somewhere. Then it can take some detective work to figure out where that fire is, its source, and to identify
BY SIDDHARTHA BASU, ALAN DE BRAUW, KHIN PWINT OO AND RUSSELL TOTH Surrounded by some of the largest consumer markets in the world, at the nexus of important trade routes, and with its own growing consumer markets, Myanmar has tremendous potential as an agricultural producer. Yet one persistent obstacle is the agricultural sector’s lack of access to financial services, which
BY FRANCESCA EDRALIN When Ellen Piwoz joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2007, the global nutrition field seemed to be struggling. The community “lacked a common narrative and agenda for action,” she said. It was also difficult to engage outsiders who did not understand the nutrition community’s techno-speak, and the field was also critically underfunded with a narrow donor base. Over the
By SOKHNA SALL SECK Empowering women and girls and the recognition and respect of their rights is critical to secure, sustainable and equitable global food systems. A Nov. 23 virtual discussion, co-hosted by IFPRI and the World Economic Forum (WEF), identified evidence on what works in advancing those goals and how food systems transformation can also contribute to to gender equality. The event was part of
BY KEIJIRO OTSUKA AND SHENGGEN FAN While agricultural development has long been linked to increased food production and availability, improved farming productivity, and increased incomes for small farmers, the changing global landscape has resulted in agriculture playing a larger role in many other areas of human well-being, including reducing poverty, providing adequate nutrition, improving environmental sustainability, and promoting equity and