Food systems lessons from COVID-19: From understanding fragilities to building resilience

Summary: POLICY SEMINAR Food systems lessons from COVID-19: From understanding fragilities to building resilience Co-Organized by IFPRI and the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub MAR 2, 2021 - 09:30 AM TO 11:00 AM EST COVID-19’s impacts on our global food system have affected the food security and nutritional wellbeing of millions of people worldwide, with market closures, supply disruptions, and income and employment losses. Understanding the extent and nature of these impacts will be critical to building resilience to future shocks. At this seminar, researchers from the CGIAR COVID-19 Hub present results from the first global assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 on food systems and their actors. The analysis highlights points of vulnerability and resilience, identifies who suffered and who benefitted, and examines how lockdowns and other policies shaped outcomes. Considering these findings, a panel discussion will offer insights and suggestions on what steps must be taken to avoid these negative impacts in future emergencies. Speaker: Christophe Béné, Principal Scientist, Sustainable Food Systems, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Panelists: Namukolo Covic, Senior Research Coordinator, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health and IFPRI Sophia Murphy, Executive Director, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Thomas Reardon, Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University Closing remarks: John McDermott, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) and co-lead, CGIAR COVID-19 Hub Moderator: Ekaterina Krivonos, Deputy Director, Programs, CGIAR System Organization and co-Chair, CGIAR COVID-19 Hub Links: CGIAR COVID-19 Hub: https://a4nh.cgiar.org/covidhub/ CGIAR Research Program On Agriculture For Nutrition And Health (A4NH): https://a4nh.cgiar.org/ Impacts of COVID-19 on people’s food security: Foundations for a more resilient food system: https://a4nh.cgiar.org/2021/02/25/new-report-from-cgiar-covid-19-hub-offers-food-systems-lessons-from-the-pandemic-insights-for-building-resilience/ More on the seminar: https://www.ifpri.org/event/food-systems-lessons-covid-19-understanding-fragilities-building-resilience Subscribe IFPRI Insights newsletter and event announcements at www.ifpri.org/content/newsletter-subscription