News Overview

by Alan de Brauw OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 The mobile money revolution has begun to substantially increase financial access around the world. Mobile money accounts allow people previously excluded from the formal financial sector to access savings accounts, make payments to merchants, and make person-to-person transfers, among other services. Research has shown that mobile money access can have important effects on key

BY JOSEPH GLAUBER, DAVID LABORDE, AND JOHAN SWINNEN The Russia-Ukraine war has focused global attention on the key economic roles of those countries play as major exporters of agricultural commodities. Over 2019-2021, they accounted for 12% of global agricultural trade on a kilocalorie basis, with a combined market share of 34% for wheat, 26% for barley, 17% for maize, and 75% for

Outlook India cites reports that “the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a press release stating that the maximum temperatures are likely to be above normal by three to five degrees over much of India’s Northwest, Central, and Western parts in March. IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report cautioned that 90 million Indians might be pushed towards hunger by 2030 due to climate change-induced

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has projected that farmers should expect to pay as much as K37 000 to buy one bag of fertilizer under the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) in the 2023/24 farming season. The projection means the government will have to spend K238 billion on AIP to subsidize 1.7 million farming households, writes The Nation (Malawi). IFPRI research also

The world is currently facing a massive food crisis that some have described as the worst since World War II, writes Globe Echo (UK). “The International Food Policy Research Institute warns that food prices will continue to rise this year, unless there is significant debt relief and support from the international community”. “As the Russian war in Ukraine enters its second year, fears

Climate crisis may undo last century’s achievement in curbing extreme hunger, writes Down to Earth (India). “Besides the conflicts, climatic events and rising food prices have played a major role in pushing this population into this desperate situation. Food price rise has massive impacts. On average, “a 5 percent increase in the real price of food increases the risk of wasting by 9

by Swati Malhotra OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 March 30 is the International Day of Zero Waste, which aims to raise awareness about food waste and its consequences, and to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns towards a circular economy and advancement of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Food loss and waste remains a global problem and a pressing challenge in making agrifood systems efficient

by Katrina Kosec and Cecilia Hyunjung Mo OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Since the COVID-19 pandemic, global income inequality has again started to rise—a trend exacerbated by the food and fertilizer crisis caused by Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine (The Economist 2022). Increasingly common disasters (many climate-related) across the globe – such as Pakistan’s devastating 2022 floods, ongoing severe drought in the