Reducing hunger and undernourishment is a global priority and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the ambitious target of eradicating hunger entirely by 2030. Using the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook to 2024, this paper provides projections on the availability of calories at the...

Public stockholding remains a major concern in multilateral negotiations on agricultural trade liberalisation. This paper focuses on identifying alternative policies to buffer stockholding. It first positions buffer stocks within the range of policies aimed at price stabilisation and food...

The key contribution of this report lies in developing a typology to structure the components of the enabling environment for agricultural growth and competitiveness, and in constructing an illustrative Agricultural Growth Enabling Index (AGEI) to summarise a wide array of available information...

West African households were particularly affected by the food price crisis of 2007-08. As these households depend on markets for two-thirds of their food supplies, prices have become a key determinant of access to food. However, food prices are 30-40% higher in sub-Saharan Africa than in the...

During the commodity price spikes in 2007-08 and 2010-11, several countries implemented temporary export restrictions on staple foods in an attempt to protect domestic consumers from rising and volatile prices. The impacts of these policies, however, are not limited to the countries that are...

Integrating gender dimensions into early warning systems is critical to support equitable crisis prevention and response. This paper investigates the extent to which food and nutrition security early warning systems (FNS EWS) in the Sahel and West Africa are gender-responsive and highlights...

Driven by urbanisation and income growth, the West African food economy has radically changed over the past 60 years. The food economy, including all activities involved in producing food, from production to processing, transport and distribution totalled USD 178 billion in 2010, equal to 36% of...

Fueled by a burgeoning population, urbanisation and income growth, West African food demand is rapidly transforming, with striking increases in total quantities demanded, growing preference for convenience, diversification of diets towards more perishable products, and an increased concern for...

The bio-economy is gaining increasing prominence in the policy debate, with several countries developing bio-economy strategies to decouple economic growth from dependence on fossil fuel, as well a pathway to supporting some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and commitments under...

The food economy is the biggest employer in West Africa accounting for 66% of total employment. While the majority of food economy jobs are in agriculture, off-farm employment in food-related manufacturing and service activities is increasing as the food economy adapts to rapid population...