The 2019 Global Food Policy Report reviews major food policy developments and events from the past year. In this eighth annual report, leading researchers, policymakers, and practitioners examine what happened in food policy in 2018 and why, and look ahead to 2019.
In 2018, many regions of the world faced increasing rates of hunger—with global undernourishment continuing to rise for the third year in a row—and stagnation in tackling malnutrition. A United Nations report found that conflict and climate change were key factors holding back countries’ progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), though there has been some progress in reducing poverty and under-five mortality and in increasing access to electricity for populations in poor countries. Trade protectionism—especially evident in the trade war between the United States and China—and isolationism gained traction in many countries this year, with mixed impacts for agriculture, but negotiation of key trade agreements in Asia and Africa signaled a pushback to protectionism. Food and nutrition security remained largely on the periphery in many of the year’s high-level meetings, such as the World Economic Forum and the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. However, the international development community rallied support for SDG2–Zero Hunger, highlighted by the IFPRI-FAO global event on Accelerating the End of Hunger and Malnutrition, convened at the end of the year.
This year’s report spotlights the urgent need for rural revitalization to address persistent crises in the world’s rural areas. In recent years, political attention has shifted away from rural areas, and in many developing countries, limited rural employment opportunities, poor access to basic services, and worsening environmental degradation continue to contribute to persistent poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. A systemwide transformation is needed to revitalize rural areas—not only to achieve the SDGs, but more broadly, to make rural areas vibrant and healthy places to live and work.