Rethinking Food Crisis Responses Report.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) organized a hybrid launch event for its 2023 Global Food Policy Report in collaboration with the University of Nairobi through the department of Economics and Development Studies and as part of the CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) seminar series on May 19, 2023 at 2.00pm to 4.00pm in the University of Nairobi-UoN Towers.

The 2023 Global Food Policy Report, IFPRI’s flagship report, provides a broad set of evidence-based recommendations for better predicting and preparing for crises, addressing crises when they occur and building equity and resilience of food systems.

In 2022, the world faced multiple crises. Disruptions to food systems from the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, major natural disasters, civil unrest and political instability, and the growing impacts of climate change continued, as the Russia-Ukraine war and inflation exacerbated a global food and fertilizer crisis. The growing number of crises, their increasing impact, and rising numbers of hungry and displaced people have galvanized calls to rethink responses to food crises, creating a real opportunity for change.

 Now is an opportune moment to create a more holistic, long-term approach to food crisis response by building on existing innovations and exploring new solutions. Traditional crisis response has focused on humanitarian and emergency food aid, but a more systematic and sustainable approach is needed to address more frequent, compounding, and protracted crises. Many tools are already available to the international community and national governments to help them predict, monitor, and respond to crises, and also to govern for long-term resilience and equity. Identifying the most promising options and integrating them into a more permanent response to food crises can reduce the short- and long-term impacts of shocks to food systems

The Kenya discussion of IFPRI 2023 GFPR presented key findings and recommendations of the report at global and regional levels. A distinguished set of discussants then presented their reflections on the report and provided insights on crisis response and resilience building in Kenya.