By Steven Were Omamo October 2, 2025 This post first appeared on the Africa Food Systems Forum website. Over 60% of Africa’s people are under 25. By 2035, more young Africans will join the workforce each year than in the rest of the world combined, underscoring the urgency of the 2025 African Food Systems Forum (AFS Forum) theme: “Africa’s Youth: Leading Collaboration, Innovation,
By Katrina Kosec and Lucia Carrillo October 6, 2025 Globally, one in every seven people is now a migrant or a refugee. Displacement has reached record highs, reshaping communities worldwide. As of 2024, close to 120 million people had been forcibly displaced and more than 300 million were living outside their country of birth. By 2050, projections indicate that over 200 million people will be displaced in their
By Eliot Jones-Garcia, Kristin Davis, and Niyati Singaraju October 7, 2025 Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) is gaining traction in agriculture. Conversational agents such as chatbots and voice assistants are being explored as digital extension solutions, promising scalable, personalized advice for farmers that can supplement and support the work of human extension agents. Yet designing and deploying such AI tools presents many
By Hagar ElDidi, Ryan Nehring, and Claudia Ringler October 15, 2025 With a ceasefire declared in the war on Gaza and a peace plan unfolding, attention is turning to the formidable task of rebuilding the Gaza Strip’s shattered infrastructure. Residents continue to face immediate challenges of obtaining water, food, and power. Equally important, the war also accelerated the destruction of the natural
By Katrina Kosec October 14, 2025 The International Day of Rural Women (October 15) highlights the essential roles that rural women play in sustaining households, managing natural resources, and contributing to rural economies. Yet even as they participate extensively in agriculture and local organizations, women’s ability to influence the policies and institutions that shape their lives often remains limited. To design more equitable
By Morgan Boncyk, Jef L. Leroy, Rebecca Brander, Leila M. Larson, Marie Ruel, and Edward A. Frongillo October 22, 2025 Second in a series of posts on IFPRI’s work on growth monitoring and promotion (GMP) supported by the Gates Foundation. Read the first post here. Childhood obesity is a growing concern worldwide, affecting more than 35 million children under 5. Being overweight or obese
By Amy Margolies October 24, 2025 The generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) revolution is not just digital—it is also physical. Data center complexes are expanding globally to meet rapidly increasing computing and data storage demands of generative AI (Figure 1). The extent of AI’s immense energy requirements is still largely unknown, but estimates indicate that by 2026, data centers could consume over 1,000 terawatt-hours
By Juan Pablo Gianatiempo, Jorge Armando Rueda Gallardo, and Valeria Piñeiro October 29, 2025 Food systems, economies, and rural life in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have changed profoundly over the past five decades. Looking forward, the region now faces many challenges, including a rise in extreme weather events, rapid urbanization, resource degradation, and geopolitical tensions. IFPRI’s 2025 Global Food Policy