Agriculture and Food Security: blogs

As I write, the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa continues to worsen. Figures from the UN’s Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show that the number of people affected by food shortages in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti has escalated from 10 million to 12.4 million. About 2.3 million of the region's children are acutely malnourished and the UN Children's Fund says more than half a million of them are at risk of death without urgent intervention.&nbsp

Established in 2008, AWARD is a professional development programme that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

By Zachary Ochieng

On June 7, 2011, IFPRI will hold a Policy Seminar on WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support, based on a new book, WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support: Seeking a Fair Basis for Trade edited by David Orden, David Blandford, and Tim Josling (Cambridge University Press, 2011).  To learn more, visit the Food Security Portal Food for Thought blog

As the G20 meetings move forward, the issue of rising food prices and threatened food security remains a top priority. The Food Security Portal, facilitated by IFPRI, has launched a new feature on its homepage designed to track the research that is informing this important discussion.  Learn more at the Food Security Portal Food for Thought blog.