Zero Hunger
Foreword
In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in how trade is understood, regulated, and practiced. Instead of being primarily a means of spurring economic growth or advancing political relations, trade has also proven its potential as a powerful tool for tackling environmental and social ills. Achieving those goals, however, is not clear-cut, and finding the right policy prescription so that these efforts do not inadvertently cause harm requires data, consultations and coordination with supply and value chain actors, and a clear understanding of which practices work best, and where.
Our research: the forces shaping children’s diets
This chapter introduces the urgent and growing problem of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents worldwide.
Une urgence éducative
Le système éducatif haïtien périclite, et c’est l’avenir de toute une génération qui est en jeu.
Analyse de situation : un pays au bord du gouffre
On estime que 6 millions d’Haïtiens, soit plus de la moitié de la population, et 3,3 millions d’enfants, ont besoin d’une aide d’urgence.
The impact on children’s health and nutrition
more than 1 million children face critical levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above).
Introduction
This analysis triangulates women’s testimonies and key-informant interviews with secondary literature on gender and food security in Sudan.
Acknowledgements
The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and the International Trade Centre are deeply grateful to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs for its financial support of the global data collection on voluntary sustainability standards and the production of this publication.
Project partners
The International Trade Centre, founded in 1964, is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Its aim is for businesses in developing countries to become more competitive in global markets, to speed up economic development, and to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Selected commodities grew again in 2023
This chapter examines the harvested area and the production volume of the selected commodities on an aggregate level. As multiple certification remains an issue for some commodities, global totals were computed by adding the country minimums4 (leading to a global minimum value for each commodity), the country maximums5 (leading to a global maximum value for each commodity), and the country minimum–maximum averages6 (leading to a global average value for each commodity).
Executive summary
The concept of a ‘sustainability standard’ has evolved from a mere buzzword into a crucial pillar of global trade. Sustainability standards are important in international trade due to their role in promoting ethical business conduct, preparing businesses for upcoming mandatory regulations, fostering harmonization in global trade, and driving innovation. As the world continues to prioritize sustainability, these standards serve as a potential framework upon which a more environmentally conscious and socially responsible global economy can be built.
Development of the selected standards
This chapter examines the selected sustainability standards on an aggregate level, considering the full range of commodities each standard certified (and not only the selected nine commodities covered in this report). For this purpose, this chapter focuses on variables for which an aggregation across commodities is meaningful – namely, a standard’s certified area and its producers/certificate holders.
Cropping System Diversification in Eastern and Southern Africa
Crop diversification is an important policy objective to promote climate change adaptation, yet the drivers and impacts of crop diversification vary considerably depending on the specific combinations of crops a farmer grows. This paper examines adoption determinants of seven different cropping systems in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, and the impact of their adoption on maize productivity and income volatility – using a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model. These cropping systems consist in different combinations of four categories of crops: dominate staple (maize), alternative staples, legumes, and cash-crops. The study finds that relative to maize mono-cropping systems, the vast majority of systems have either neutral or positive effects on maize productivity, and either reduce or have neutral effects on crop income volatility. In particular, cropping systems that include legumes produce better outcome in most cases than those that feature cash crops. From a policy perspective, three recurrent determinants of diversification are found. First, private sector output market access is an important driver of diversification out of maize mono-cropping. Policies crowding in private output market actors can help to promote a wide range of more diverse cropping systems. Second, proximity to public marketing board buying depots discourages the adoption of more diverse cropping systems. Therefore, reforms to these institutions must be part of any diversification strategy. Finally, in all countries and for all systems, land size is a key determinant of adopting more diverse systems. Thus, land policy is an integral element of any boarder diversification strategy.
Food Security and Armed Conflict
Significant progress has been made in improving global food security, yet some countries still face severe challenges. In some cases, violent armed conflict has potentially contributed to local food insecurity due to disruption of food production and agricultural markets. Despite the relevance of this topic in context of tracking global food security, there is a paucity of empirical work examining this cross-country variation. Therefore, this study uses country-level data, covering 106 countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America between 1961–2011, to estimate the relation between conflict and food security. Results show that conflict is associated with a large estimated reduction in the national dietary energy supply and highlight the negative correlation between conflict and food security, illustrating how certain types of conflict could potentially undo years of progress.