International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2014. Highlights of recent IFPRI food policy research for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2014: Reducing poverty and hunger through food policy research. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/128118

In the wake of the food crises of the early 1970s and the resulting World Food Conference of 1974, a group of innovators realized that food security depends not only on crop production, but also on the policies that affect food systems, from farm to table. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was founded in 1975 and for the past four decades has worked to provide partners in donor and recipient countries with solid research and evidence on policy options. IFPRI was fortunate to have as its first board chairman, world-renowned Australian economist Sir John Crawford, who was a passionate advocate for international agricultural research and an architect of CGIAR, of which IFPRI is a member. Agriculture and rural development play a critical role in alleviating poverty and undernutrition. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has focused its efforts on three pillars of food security: improving agricultural productivity, increasing rural livelihoods, and improving community resilience. This demonstrates Australia’s commitment to serving the needs of the poorest and constructing the building blocks of global food security in the long term. In 2013–2014, the Australian government’s spending on food security is expected to total more than 316 million Australian dollars. Working with many longstanding partners, such as the government of Australia and its Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), IFPRI’s research focuses on sustainable agricultural growth that engages the private sector, country-led strategy development, investment in agricultural research, provision of safety nets to strengthen resilience, prioritization of nutrition interventions for women and children, design of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, and partnerships with other stakeholders in global movements, such as Scaling Up Nutrition. IFPRI, and its partners, help to improve programs and initiatives for vulnerable people. By serving as a trusted voice on food policy issues, IFPRI works to change mindsets and provide evidence on how to improve food and nutrition security. Together, IFPRI and the Australian government support cutting-edge research and measurable targets for increasing agricultural productivity. This brochure highlights some of the key collaborations betweenIFPRI and the Australian government. This brochure highlights key collaborations between IFPRI and the Australian government, often in partnership with other institutions.

For more than two decades, IFPRI’s research and policy analysis have been a resource for Bangladesh in making impressive strides in ensuring food security and reducing poverty. Working closely with the Bangladesh Ministry of Food and Disaster Management and its Food Planning and Monitoring Unit, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, BRAC, CARE International, and civil society organizations, IFPRI has supported Bangladesh in its goals of improving nutrition, women’s empowerment, social protection, and coping with natural disasters. IFPRI looks forward to deepening its collaboration with these and other partners through its Policy Research and Strategy Support Program and complementary initiatives, and to enhancing long-term capacity in policy analysis and evidence-based research. Such strong collaborative efforts have translated and will continue to translate research into policy action that will help accelerate Bangladesh’s progress in ending hunger and undernutrition.