World Food Policy WFP Volume 4, No. 2, Spring 2018 | Page 11

World Food Policy • Vol. 4, No. 2 / Spring 2018
Global and Regional Perspectives of
Food Economy and Policy 1
Mark W. Rosegrant 2
Abstract
Despite progress in much of the world, food insecurity remains
high, especially in Africa and South Asia. Significant challenges
to progress on food security remain, including rapid population
growth and urbanization leading to changing diets, climate change,
and increasing water scarcity. This paper describes the status and
challenges to food security and models the impact of policies and
investments to make better progress in reducing hunger. The re-
sults indicate that significant reductions in hunger can be made
by boosting crop and livestock productivity through enhanced
investment in agricultural research; increased investment in rural
infrastructure, including roads and electricity, to reduce post-har-
vest losses and improve value chain efficiency; and investments in
irrigation and water use efficiency.
Keywords: Food security, climate change, public investment, agri-
cultural research, rural infrastructure
Perspectivas globales y regionales de la
política y economía alimentaria
Resumen
A pesar de los avances en gran parte del mundo, la inseguridad ali-
mentaria sigue siendo alta, especialmente en África y el sur de Asia.
Siguen existiendo importantes desafíos para avanzar en la seguri-
dad alimentaria, incluido el rápido crecimiento de la población y la
urbanización que conlleva cambios en las dietas, el cambio climáti-
co y el aumento de la escasez de agua. Este documento describe el
estado y los desafíos a la seguridad alimentaria y modela el impacto
de las políticas e inversiones para lograr un mejor progreso en la
reducción del hambre. Los resultados indican que se pueden lograr
1
2
Paper presented by Mark W. Rosegrant during the 2017 World Food Policy Conference.
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
7
doi: 10.18278/wfp.4.2.2