Resilient food systems. Zoonoses transmission. Food safety in fresh-food markets. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, phrases that had most often been found in research papers suddenly emerged on the front pages of newspapers and in trending topics on social media. Countries, corporations, and consumers alike struggled to understand not only how to cope with the threat of the disease itself, but also with meeting basic needs, such as food security, nutrition, and health, as lockdowns and mobility restrictions reshaped the world in very unequal ways, seemingly overnight. As a consortium working across five flagship research areas to address some of the world’s greatest challenges in nutrition and health, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) was uniquely prepared to support policymakers and partners in low- and middle-income countries in their COVID-19 response and recovery efforts and to contribute research evidence on ways to build back better toward a more equitable, food secure, and sustainable future.

Resilient food systems. Zoonoses transmission. Food safety in fresh-food markets. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe, phrases that had most often been found in research papers suddenly emerged on the front pages of newspapers and in trending topics on social media. Countries, corporations, and consumers alike struggled to understand not only how to cope with the threat of the disease itself, but also with meeting basic needs, such as food security, nutrition, and health, as lockdowns and mobility restrictions reshaped the world in very unequal ways, seemingly overnight. As a consortium working across five flagship research areas to address some of the world’s greatest challenges in nutrition and health, the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) was uniquely prepared to support policymakers and partners in low- and middle-income countries in their COVID-19 response and recovery efforts and to contribute research evidence on ways to build back better toward a more equitable, food secure, and sustainable future.

Food systems are changing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries. These countries seek food-based solutions for better nutrition and health of all people while addressing challenges of sustainability, inequity, and malnutrition. The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) works to develop evidence to support policies and actions for healthier food systems. A4NH is a consortium of seven managing partners, led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). This report summarizes 2019 research results from A4NH, across five research flagships, and highlights the partnerships through which research has led to outcomes in five focus and more than two dozen other partner countries.

In 2020, PIM findings contributed to seed policies in Nepal and Uganda, Malawi’s extension strategy and approval of insect-resistant cotton, a nationwide program aimed at improving the effectiveness of public service delivery in Uganda, social protection programs in Egypt, and school gardens for better nutrition in Papua New Guinea. At the global level, PIM research was used to shape strategic decisions of organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GIZ, the Inter-American Development Bank, the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the World Bank and the World Health Organization. PIM tools were incorporated in universities’ curricula in India and South Africa. Examples of PIM innovations scaled up by partners in 2020 are private sector seed marketing in Ethiopia, picture-based insurance in Ethiopia, India and Kenya, and tools for inclusive governance of natural resources in India and Peru.

IFPRI’s 2020 Annual Report presents highlights from our research work around the world. Cutting-edge research on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and related policies, and on our strategic research areas—climate resilience and sustainability, healthy diets and nutrition, inclusive and efficient food systems, institutions and governance, and rural transformation, as well as cross-cutting work on gender—is helping to inform policies and programs to end hunger and malnutrition.