2017 Global Food Policy Report Examines Food Security and Urbanization

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),  in collaboration with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bioversity International, and other partners, has released the 2017 Global Food Policy Report, which examines the impact of rapid urban growth on food security and nutrition while considering how food systems can be transformed to improve the future. The full report is broken up into chapters that highlight global food policies and investigates the impact of rapid urbanization on local and global food systems. A regional section in the report expands upon food security in different areas around the globe.

Data tables and visualizations are presented for several key food policy indicators per country, such as agricultural spending and research investment, projections for future agricultural production needs, and the current state of civilian hunger. The report includes the results of a global survey on urbanization and the current state of food policy. More than 1,300 individuals representing more than 100 countries responded to the 2017 Global Food Policy Report’s survey.

The report concludes that the world must move forward with its commitments on the United Nation’s (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending hunger, achieving food security, and promoting sustainable agriculture by strengthening the ties between rural and urban areas to end hunger and malnutrition. The IFPRI also suggests some policy changes that countries and global leaders can implement to improve food security in the future.

Shenggen Fan, Director General, explains IFPRI’s goals for this publication: “I hope this report is met with interest not only by policy makers who shape the food policy agenda, but also by business, civil society, and media, who all have a stake in food policies that benefit the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.”