Global Food Policy Report 2018

April 16, 2018 - Last update: February 10, 2023

The year 2017 was marked by increasing uncertainty amid mixed signs of progress. The world enjoyed a strong economic recovery, but global hunger increased as conflicts, famine, and refugee crises persisted. The global landscape continued to change, as antiglobalization sentiment threatened international trade and investment as well as the flow of people and knowledge. With the withdrawal of the United States from major international agreements, Britain’s “Brexit,” and rising anti-immigration rhetoric in many countries, the world began to step away from decades of global integration that have yielded unprecedented reductions in poverty and malnutrition. The 2018 Global Food Policy Report reviews the major policy developments of 2017 and highlights challenges and opportunities ahead, with an in-depth look at the concerns raised by antiglobalism and how global integration can be harnessed to benefit our global food system.

IFPRI’s flagship report reviews the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2017, and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2018 at the global and regional levels. This year’s report looks at the impacts of greater global integration—including the movement of goods, investment, people, and knowledge—and the threat of current antiglobalization pressures.

“Global cooperation to enact policies that leverage the benefits of globalization while minimizing its risks will be key to achieving food security and nutrition sustainably”

Shenggen Fan, IFPRI Director General and SUN Movement Lead group member

The 2018 Global Food Policy Report also presents data tables and visualizations for several key food policy indicators, including country level data on hunger, agricultural spending and research investment, and projections for future agricultural production and consumption. In addition to illustrative figures, tables, and a timeline of food policy events in 2017, the report includes the results of a global opinion poll on globalization and the current state of food policy.