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2016 Global hunger index: Getting to zero hunger
No full textThe developing world has made substantial progress in reducing hunger since 2000. The 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that the level of hunger in developing countries as a group has fallen by 29 percent. Yet this progress has been uneven, and great disparities in hunger continue to exist at the regional, national, and subnational levels. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) of getting to Zero Hunger while leaving no one behind, it is essential to identify the regions, countries, and populations that are most vulnerable to hunger and undernutrition so progress can be accelerated there. Across regions and countries, GHI scores vary considerably. Regionally, the highest GHI scores, and therefore the highest hunger levels, are still found in Africa south of the Sahara and South Asia. Although GHI scores for these two regions have declined over time, the current levels are still on the upper end of the serious category, closer to the alarming category than to the moderate. Further, although Africa south of the Sahara has achieved the largest absolute improvement since 2000 and South Asia has also seen a sizable reduction, the decline in hunger must accelerate in these regions if the world is to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.PRIFPRI2; B Promoting healthy food systems; compact2025DGO; CKM; PHN
Comparing apples to apples: A new indicator of research and development investment intensity in agriculture
No full textIt has been apparent for more than a century that future economic progress in agriculture will be driven by the invention and application of new technologies resulting from expenditure in research and development (R&D) by governments and private firms. Nevertheless, it is conventional wisdom in the economic development literature that there is a significant underinvestment in agricultural R&D in developing countries. Evidence supporting this belief is provided, first by a vast literature showing returns on R&D expenditure to be so high as to justify levels of investment in multiples of those actually found, and second, from available data showing low research effort in developing countries as measured by the intensity ratio (IR), that is, the percentage of agricultural gross domestic product invested in agricultural R&D (excluding the for-profit private sector). This paper argues that the IR is an inadequate indicator to measure and compare the research efforts of a diverse group of countries and proposes an alternative index that allows meaningful comparisons between countries. The proposed index can be used to identify potential under-investors, determine intensity gaps, and quantify the R&D investment needed to close these gaps by comparing countries with similar characteristics. Results obtained using the new R&D intensity indicator with a sample of 88 countries show that the investment effort in developing countries is much higher than the one observed using the conventional IR measure. The new measure finds that countries like China, India, Brazil, and Kenya have similar levels of R&D intensity to those in the United States. To close the R&D intensity gap measured by the new index, developing countries will need to invest US21.4 billion invested on average during 2008–2011, an increase of 33 percent of total actual investment.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; A.3 Science, Technology, and innovation Policy; ASTIEPTD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Indice de la faim dans le monde 2016: Atteindre l’Objectif faim zéro
No full textLes pays en développement ont fait des progrès considérables dans la réduction de la faim depuis 2000. L’Indice de la faim dans le monde 2016 (GHI) montre que le niveau de la faim pour l’ensemble des pays en développement a diminué de 29 %. Mais les progrès ont été inégaux et de grandes disparités persistent entre les régions mondiales, les pays ainsi qu’à l’intérieur des pays. Pour atteindre l’Objectif de Développement Durable 2 (ODD 2) de Faim Zéro et pour ne laisser personne pour compte, il est essentiel d’identifier les régions, les pays et les populations qui sont les plus vulnérables à la faim et à la dénutrition et d’accélérer les progrès dans ces domaines. Les scores GHI varient fortement entre les pays et les régions. A l’échelle régionale, ce sont encore l’Afrique subsaharienne et l’Asie du Sud qui présentent les scores GHI les plus importants, et par conséquent les niveaux de faim les plus élevés. Bien que les scores GHI pour ces régions aient diminué au fil du temps, ils sont toujours « graves » : plus proches de la catégorie alarmante que de la catégorie modérée. Certes, l’Afrique subsaharienne a réalisé la plus grande amélioration depuis 2000 et l’Asie du Sud a connu une réduction importante, mais la baisse de la faim doit s’accélérer dans ces régions pour atteindre l’Objectif Faim Zéro.PRIFPRI2; B Promoting healthy food systems; compact2025DGO; CKM; PHN
Economic development and nutrition transition in Ghana: Taking stock of food consumption patterns and trends
No full textAlong with high economic growth over a period of somewhat more than the past three decades, poverty, household food insecurity, and undernutrition have substantially declined in Ghana. Ghana was one of the first African countries that achieved the first MDG, that of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. Recently, Ghana achieved (lower-) middle-income-country status. Economic growth has been accompanied by a structural transformation of the economy and progressing urbanization. Household income growth improves people’s ability to afford nutritious foods and diversified diets, and allows them to utilize superior healthcare and higher education, contributing to healthier and more productive lives for themselves and their children. However, improvements in people’s living standards and changes in their livelihood activities and lifestyle usually also lead to a nutrition transition and give rise to new nutritional challenges, including increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity and related NCDs. To successfully address these new nutritional challenges, governments may need to launch new health and nutrition programs and revisit established food policies that have become inefficient in reducing food insecurity and malnutrition or even detrimental under the new circumstances.PRIFPRI1; ReSAKSSDSGD; WCAO; ESA
Supporting multisectoral action: Capacity and nutrition leadership challenges facing Africa
No full textThe aim of this chapter is to present a forward-looking analysis of need for MSN systems and the required three main capacity areas (technical, managerial, and leadership) for effective MSN action to bring about the desired nutrition outcomes for the continent in a sustained manner. The chapter is structured as follows: First we discuss MSN systems, including MSN structures and the system requirements needed to address both nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions for wellcoordinated horizontal and vertical action in a multisectoral approach.PRIFPRI1; ReSAKSSDSGD; WCAO; ESAO; PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
Using quantitative tools to measure gender differences within value chains
No full textChapter 14 (Madrigal and Torero) sheds light on an important issue that is not captured by any of the previous approaches: Most value-chain impact evaluations fail to look at effects disaggregated by gender. This is an important oversight, because in most value chains men and women play different roles, and failure to account for gender in a randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental, or participatory intervention may significantly alter the results of these studies. To resolve this gap in the literature, the authors focus on several tools and metrics to incorporate gender in value-chain impact evaluations. The Oaxaca Blinder decomposition analysis allows for proper measurement of wage gaps between men and women by controlling for other observable variables; the Duncan Index and Access to Work Equality Index measure occupational segregation and differential access to employment.PRIFPRI1; CRP2; C Improving markets and tradeMTID; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
An empirical study for Malawi
No full textWidespread malnutrition in developing countries calls for appropriate strategies, presupposing good knowledge about nutritional impacts of policies. Little previous work has been carried out in this direction, especially with respect to micronutrients. We use representative household data from Malawi and develop a demand systems approach to estimate income and price elasticities of food demand and nutrient consumption. These estimates are applied for policy simulations. Given multiple nutritional deficiencies, income-related policies are better suited than price policies to improve nutrition. Although consumer price subsidies for maize improve calorie and mineral consumption, they can worsen vitamin consumption in urban areas.Non-PRIFPRI1; GRP32DSG
Impacts and policy responses
No full textRecent dramatic increases in food prices are having severe consequences for poor countries and poor people. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that food prices rose by nearly 40 percent in 2007 and made further large jumps in early 2008. Nearly all agricultural commodities-including rice, maize, wheat, meat, dairy products, soybeans, palm oil, and cassava-are affected. In response to the price hikes, food riots have occurred in many developing countries, including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, C�te d'Ivoire, Egypt, Haiti, Indonesia, Senegal, and Somalia. According to the FAO, 37 countries are now facing food crises.Non-PRIFPRI1; IMPACTEPT
Hausse des prix alimentaires et actions stratégiques proposées: Que faire, par qui et comment
No full text"La complexité des causes de la crise actuelle en matière d’alimentation et d’agriculture exige une réponse exhaustive. Compte tenu de l’urgence de l’aide à apporter aux personnes et aux pays dans le besoin, le premier ensemble d’actions stratégiques (train d’actions d’urgence) comprend des interventions qui peuvent avoir un impact immédiat: 1. étendre le champ des réponses d’urgence et de l’assistance humanitaire aux personnes ne bénéficiant pas de la sécurité alimentaire et aux groupes susceptibles de menacer la légitimité du gouvernement; 2. lever les interdictions et les restrictions appliquées aux exportations agricoles; 3. lancer des programmes de production alimentaire à impact rapide dans des zones clés ; et 4. modifier les politiques en matière de biocarburants. Un second ensemble d’actions stratégiques (train d’actions de résilience) comprend les mesures suivantes: 5. calmer les marchés en mettant en place une réglementation de la spéculation orientée vers le marché, des stocks de céréales publics partagés, un financement renforcé des importations alimentaires, et une aide alimentaire fiable; 6. investir dans la protection sociale; 7. augmenter l’échelle des investissements en faveur d’une croissance agricole soutenue; et 8. mener à bonne fin le cycle de Doha des négociations de l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC). Les investissements nécessaires à la mise en oeuvre de ces actions demandent des ressources supplémentaires. Pour les mobiliser, les responsables des politiques peuvent envisager quatre sources possibles : les pays qui bénéficient de l’explosion mondiale du commerce des produits de base ; la communauté des pays bailleurs de fonds, tant traditionnels que nouveaux ; la taxation progressive, directe ou indirecte, et la réaffectation de la dépense publique dans les pays touchés ; et la mobilisation du financement provenant du secteur privé, notamment en améliorant les services bancaires desservant le secteur agricole." -- from TextNon-PRIFPRI1CO
Results from a policy analysis matrix
No full text"Recent increases in cereals prices raise questions about agricultural priorities in Ghana. This report presents an application of the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to the problem of identifying opportunities to enhance agriculture’s contribution to economic growth and poverty alleviation in the country. The PAM is a budget-based method that was applied to study the social and private profitability of six maize production systems and six rice production systems. The results indicate that all twelve of the systems contribute to national economic growth and private income generation among farmers, at least under the high cereals prices that prevailed in 2007. Maize systems show a higher rate of return (lower cost/benefit ratio) than rice systems. If prices returned to lower levels experienced in 2005, however, rice systems would be privately and socially unprofitable. Return to the still lower prices of 2002 would leave both the maize and rice systems unprofitable. The PAM was also used to assess the impact of alternative interventions for increasing profitability in the face of lower output prices. The results suggest that higher adoption of input technologies could make maize profitable under a very wide range of prices. However, fertilizer prices are not likely to be the constraining factor input adoption as the price of fertilizer has little impact on farm profitability given current levels of fertilizer use. Rather, further research is needed to determine how to promote improved maize production technology. For rice systems there appears to be room to enhance profitability through post-farm interventions to reduce processing losses and to improve the quality of locally grown rice. Rice systems would be profitable under very low output prices if Ghana achieved the processing conversion rates and milled rice quality found in other countries." -- from textNon-PRIFPRI1; GSSP; DCADSG