Technology

It seems that joint food and energy crises have become the norm: Three have now occurred in just the last 15 years, driven by climate change and other human-made crises such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.

All three crises dramatically pushed up food and energy prices, as well as those of fertilizers, leading to an increase in the number of undernourished people worldwide (Figure 1). The number of hungry has now been on the rise for almost a decade now, and it is unclear if or when the global community will come together to implement interventions to turn this around.

Even as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic dissipate, the world continues to face a severe food security crisis, exacerbated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, putting it further off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2—ending hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030.

Climate change poses a growing threat to efforts to build sustainable food systems. The COVID-19 pandemic and the current Ukraine crisis have further exacerbated global food and nutrition insecurity, leading to significant increases in poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. A July 18 launch event for IFPRI’s 2022 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) in Kathmandu, Nepal, explored the potential for more effective policies and programs focused on climate impacts and food systems.

High food price inflation—driven by disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate shocks, and the war in Ukraine—has made the affordability of food and food insecurity top global concerns. Even before the current rise in prices, 3.1 billion people, about 40% of the global population, could not afford a healthy diet, according to the United Nation’s 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report.

Communications tools, including digital extension tools (DETs) like phone calls and smartphone applications, can be important pathways to help improve farmers’ knowledge and capacity regarding improved agricultural techniques. However, in many middle- and low-income countries, these tools are underutilized, particularly in rural areas. A recent paper published in Global Food Security examined the use of these tools in in Bihar, India to identify why and how farmers and agricultural extension workers do, and do not, choose to adopt them.