Food security, as defined by the United Nations Committee on World Food Security, means that all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic conditions. A lot has changed since 1974, when FAO began reporting on the magnitude of hunger in the world. The world population is growing steadily and is increasingly urbanized. Technology is constantly evolving and the economy is increasingly globalized.
At the same time, there are worrying global trends in malnutrition, including a rapid increase in overweight and obesity, even though forms of malnutrition persist. The way in which food is produced, distributed and consumed around the world has also changed dramatically. This very different world requires new ways of thinking about hunger and food insecurity. The IFPRI is part of a network of international research institutes funded in part by the CGIAR, which in turn is funded by governments, companies and private foundations and the World Bank.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies in order to promote the adoption of innovations in agricultural technology.
