Blog: Linking food security research to policymaking

Research is leading the effort toward more successful agriculture development through project evaluation and cross-country comparisons aimed at showing policymakers the effectiveness of certain interventions… However, research can only do so much, and political will is “an essential ingredient for elevating food and nutrition security into policy agendas.”…Moving forward, we hope researchers will continue to engage and communicate with policymakers during the design and implementation of policies and programs, focusing on those interventions that offer the greatest potential for improving food security for the world’s poor.

Roadmap to End Hunger Policy Brief

THE ROADMAP APPROACH
The Roadmap to End Global Hunger’s
four pillars capture the whole of what it
takes for households and communities to
achieve sustainable food security.
EMERGENCIES: A
devastating hurricane,
drought, health epidemic
or political crisis can throw
thousands of previously
food secure families into chaos and hunger.
Emergency programs get food assistance
where it’s needed quickly to prevent
widespread hunger and malnutrition.
SAFETY NETS: Every
household faces the risk
of an interruption in its
ability to afford sufficient,
nutritious food caused by
a sudden shock—for example, a lost job,
poor harvest, or illness. Safety nets help
families protect productive assets in the
face of temporary hardship.
NUTRITION: To grow and
remain healthy, people need
not just enough calories, but
the right nutrients. This is
especially true in the 1,000
Days between a woman’s pregnancy and
the child’s second birthday.
AGRICULTURE: Most
hungry people rely on
small-scale agriculture
to make a living and feed
their families. Research
has consistently shown that investing in
agriculture is more effective in reducing
poverty among the poorest people than
investments in other sectors