Compact2025 News in Brief: August 29, 2018

To accelerate progress to end hunger and undernutrition around the world, the News in Brief informs partners on emerging research and innovation, developments in global, regional, and national policies and programs, and timely news and events. Please feel free to share any feedback at IFPRI-Compact2025@cgiar.org. Find the latest developments in Compact2025 here.

Thought leaders call for accelerating the end of hunger and malnutrition

In a series of short videos released in the lead up to the IFPRI-FAO global event in Bangkok, leading scholars and actors from the food security and nutrition arena reflect on the need to accelerate progress to end hunger and malnutrition. The videos include remarks from Shenggen Fan, Director General of IFPRI; Marco Ferroni, Chair of the CGIAR System Management Board; Justin Lin, Director of New Structural Economics, Dean of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development, and honorary dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, China; and David Nabarro, 2018 World Food Prize Laureate.

My Food, My Future short video contest

Contribute to the IFPRI-FAO global event on accelerating progress to end hunger and malnutrition by submitting a short video with your best idea by October 15, 2018.

East Africa Community develops aflatoxin policy

Member states of the East African Community will develop a policy framework to address the threat of aflatoxin contamination. Its aim is to improve food and nutrition security as well as protect human, animal and plant health.

Reducing stunting in Africa

The new World Bank report “All Hands on Deck” reviews multisectoral approaches to reduce stunting in 33 African countries. It finds the greatest reductions in stunting associated with increases in access to three underlying drivers of nutrition: (1) food security, (2) health, and (3) water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

Reduce child stunting through improved access and affordability of animal-sourced foods

There is a strong association between consumption of animal-sourced foods and child growth according to an article by IFPRI and Cornell researchers. As the high prices of these foods restrict consumption, there is an important role for agricultural policies to improve access and affordability of animal-sourced foods in poorer countries.

Reduction of global annual food loss and waste by 42% is possible

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) research estimates that current annual food loss and waste of about $1.2 trillion could be reduced by nearly $700 billion if five key drivers are improved: (1) awareness, (2) supply chain infrastructure, (3) supply chain efficiency, (4) collaboration among groups across the food value chain, and (5) tax and regulatory policies.

Partnering to scale innovation for biofortification

The HarvestPlus 2017 Annual Report summarizes accomplishments in developing and disseminating biofortified crops last year. Thirty-three million people grew or ate biofortified crops in 2017 and 29 new varieties were released around the world.

African Green Revolution Forum 2018

The African Green Revolution Forum 2018 will take place September 5–8 in Kigali, Rwanda, with a focus on enabling new pathways to turn smallholders into sustainable agribusinesses.

Hello Tractor: More than just “Uber for the Farm”

Hello Tractor connects tractor owners to farmers and business-support tools through a digital app. Jehiel Oliver, founder of Hello Tractor, explains in a Forbes interview how the company has expanded upon Uber’s ride-sharing technology to fight poverty and scarcity in Africa’s remote rural communities.

Triple burden of malnutrition poses looming health crisis

A preview of the 2018 Global Nutrition Report during the Crawford Fund Annual Conference showed that 41 countries are dealing with major nutritional challenges in stunting, anemia, and obesity. This number is up from 29 countries facing this triple burden of malnutrition in 2017.

Food systems and diets in Ethiopia

On September 7, the National Information Platform for Nutrition will host a nutrition policy and research seminar on food systems and diets in Ethiopia organized by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and IFPRI. This seminar will be the first in a series of meetings to disseminate research findings to promote nutrition knowledge among decision makers and support interactions between decision makers and researchers.

Highlights from this and past Compact2025 News in Briefs, along with other key resources, can be found at the Compact2025 Knowledge & Innovation Hub resources page.

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