News Overview

As the magnitude, intensity, and frequency of weather extremes increases uncertainty and risks to livelihoods in developing countries, substantial research has been developed on the detrimental effects of weather shocks on the poor and vulnerable facing acute food insecurity. At the same time, empirical evidence on gender-specific impacts of such shocks on labor use in agriculture remains limited, although more studies focus on gender-differentiated experiences and

BY DALIA ELSABBAGH Investments in agriculture can have broad economic and social impacts. To help developing countries analyze those effects and promote more evidence-based decision-making, IFPRI, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the IFPRI-led CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) created the Agricultural Investment Data Analyzer (AIDA) tool. AIDA is the first online, user-friendly tool that uses

BY HARPINDER SANDHU, WEI ZHANG, HAGAR ELDIDI AND RUTH MEINZEN-DICK Common lands, whether communal forests, pasturelands, or wetlands located close to villages, provide a range of ecosystem services (ES) to local people and society, benefits also known as nature’s contributions to people. They are sources of clean air and water, food and fuel, livelihoods, cultural inspiration, and spiritual fulfillment. According to one estimate, 2.5-3 billion

BY CLAUDIA RINGLER AND RUTH MEINZEN-DICK The theme of World Water Day 2021 (March 22) is “Valuing Water”—recognizing that unless resources are valued, they won’t be used sustainably. But what do we really mean when we talk about water’s value? Water has not one, but many values. Life could not exist without it, and it has profound spiritual, religious, and cultural associations. Water also has

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted urban and rural households throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG). Looking ahead, policy makers and development practitioners must continue to mitigate COVID-19 impacts on PNG households, as well as monitor other potential agricultural production shocks (such as El Niño, African Swine Fever, etc.) that could substantially decrease household income and food consumption. Our recent study simulates the

As COVID-19 continues to affect people around the world, an understanding of the scope of impacts from the pandemic and the lockdowns, mobility restrictions, and other policies enacted in its wake is only beginning to emerge. The CGIAR COVID-19 Hub recently released the first world-level assessment on the impacts of COVID-19 on food security. In a March 2 virtual policy seminar, lead author Christophe Béné, a

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions of social interactions, affecting both the supply and demand for food. These disruptions to jobs, income and food supply magnified and exacerbated existing inequalities. While the emerging urban middle class suffered greater income losses, the poor and vulnerable in rural and urban areas experienced the worst livelihood impacts. Many social programs, including cash transfers,

BY WEI ZHANG AND JESSICA WALLACH Maintaining healthy soils is crucial to long-term agricultural sustainability and food security—yet soils face major stresses worldwide. In 2015, the Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils rated one third of land worldwide as moderately to highly degraded. The impacts are especially serious in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia, where smallholder farmers must contend