News Overview

An evidence-based approach to climate change in Central Asia: Tajikistan and the Global Methane Pledge MARCH 26, 2024 BY SURESH BABU AND NANDITA SRIVASTAVA OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Methane is the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide. Global anthropogenic methane emissions are projected to rise by up to 13% between 2020 and 2030 if no action is taken. To catalyze action,

Policy seminar: Reforming agricultural policies to sustainably transform food systems MARCH 27, 2024 BY SWATI MALHOTRA OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 With global food systems facing various stresses—from the Russia Ukraine war to climate change—making them more resilient, health-promoting, and sustainable is more urgent than ever. A key tool in such a transformation is reforming agricultural policies and repurposing agricultural support. This

A changing landscape: Plots, crops, infrastructure, and livestock in the Khatlon Province MARCH 29, 2024 BY ISABEL LAMBRECHT, SARAH PECHTL, KAMILJON AKRAMOV, JOVIDON ALIEV, AND PARVIZ KHAKIMOV OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Tajikistan’s agricultural sector is uniquely shaped by the country’s history and geography. When Tajikistan was part of the former Soviet Union, farming was collectivized. But soon after gaining

BY JOSEPH GLAUBER AND ABDULLAH MAMUN OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Cocoa bean prices have climbed to record nominal levels over the past six months, more than doubling since August 2023 (Figure 1). This price spike has largely been driven by weather-related diseases that have reduced cocoa production in key West African countries accounting for almost three quarters of world

BY ROB VOS OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 The war in Ukraine continues to disrupt the country’s agrifood sector, posing an ongoing threat to food security. Damage to critical infrastructure is hindering agricultural activity and the transportation of essential food to local markets and to export destinations. This situation, together with destroyed livelihoods and high inflation, is hampering access to

BY CHARLOTTE HEBEBRAND AND JOSEPH GLAUBER OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent a shock through global fertilizer markets. All agricultural trade in the region was disrupted for a time, and a number of countries imposed economic sanctions on major fertilizer producers Russia and its ally Belarus (the latter already targeted pre-invasion by European

BY JOSEPH GLAUBER AND WESTON ANDERSON OPEN ACCESS | CC-BY-4.0 Parts of Southern Africa have been experiencing a severe drought since late 2023, fueled in large part by the ongoing El Niño Southern Oscillation. Falling harvests have led to disaster declarations in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe and affected countries across the region. In particular, maize yields have fallen sharply,

PRESS RELEASE April 11, 2024, Hanoi, Vietnam: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today in Hanoi. IFPRI’s delegation was received at Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. IFPRI’s Director General, Johan Swinnen, and IPSARD’s Director General, Tran Cong Thang,