Editor’s Note: A new report from IFPRI reflects on 50 years of food policy and highlights the urgent need for bold, evidence-based strategies to tackle today’s most pressing food systems challenges. As climate change, inequality, and malnutrition worsen, the report sets out six research priorities to ensure food systems nourish people and the planet through to 2050.
To mark its 50th anniversary, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has launched the 2025 Global Food Policy Report, Food Policy—Lessons and Priorities for a Changing World, a comprehensive reflection on five decades of food policy evolution and a call to action for a research agenda that meets the demands of the next generation.
The report, co-edited by Johan Swinnen, IFPRI Director General, Christopher Barrett, and Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley, Professor of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, and Chair of IFPRI’s Strategy and Program Council, highlights how food systems have transformed dramatically since IFPRI’s founding in 1975—from the early days of the Green Revolution to today’s complex challenges driven by climate change, rising inequality, persistent hunger and rapid technological innovation.
Drawing from IFPRI’s own extensive research and that of its global, national, and local partners, the report provides a long-view analysis of policy’s role in shaping healthier, more equitable, resilient, and sustainable food systems.
“The report is both a retrospective and a roadmap,” said Johan Swinnen. “It looks back to understand how far we’ve come and looks ahead to identify the critical priorities for policy research to help navigate today’s pressing food systems challenges.”
“We know that policies play a critical role in the fight against hunger and malnutrition and that innovations cannot scale without an enabling policy environment,” Ismahane Elouafi, CGIAR Managing Director, pointed out. “For the past 50 years, IFPRI has worked closely with partners around the world to generate vital evidence that informs policy decisions and frameworks to address these challenges while also fostering a more integrated management of water, energy, food and environmental systems.”
From 1975 to 2025: A changing landscape
In 1975, over one-third of the developing world’s population faced hunger and agricultural policy was dominated by state intervention. Over the decades, liberalisation, globalisation and innovation reshaped the agrifood landscape—leading to significant gains in food availability and poverty reduction, while greater attention was given also to policies to combat environmental degradation and promote improved nutrition. The 21st century has brought new hurdles such as more frequent climate shocks, rising conflicts, growing inequality and persistent malnutrition in all its forms—all slowing previous progress on reducing hunger and poverty.
The report traces how IFPRI and the broader policy research community have responded to—and often anticipated—these shifts by expanding the scope of research from agricultural production to agrifood value chains, and entire food systems, including processes that influence nutrition, food, health, sustainability, community development and agriculture.
A food policy research agenda for the future
Looking ahead to 2050, the report identifies six broad priorities for food policy research:
- Strengthening resilience and inclusion in food systems everywhere, with special attention to conflict- and disaster-affected regions and vulnerable groups.
- Improving diets and nutrition by addressing the root causes of poor food environments and enabling healthier choices.
- Harnessing new technologies responsibly, including digital innovations and AI, while ensuring equitable access and inclusion.
- Engaging the private sector to expand investment in food systems innovation, from R&D to sustainable value chains.
- Mobilising and reforming existing public spending, including repurposing agricultural support to align with sustainability and nutrition goals.
- Fostering interdisciplinary research and policymaking, breaking down silos between agriculture, health, environment and trade.
The report also underscores the importance of building local research capacity and partnerships to support evidence-based policymaking in low- and middle-income countries.
A legacy of impact—and a new call to action
Since its founding, IFPRI has been a pioneer in the field of food policy, developing empirical tools, frameworks and strategies to inform decision-making globally. But as the world confronts worsening challenges—from climate change and geopolitical tensions to an uncertain trade environment and declining development assistance—the need for strong, policy-relevant research is more urgent than ever.
“We are once again at an inflection point,” said Chris Barrett. “The coming decades will require bold ideas, new partnerships and rigorous research to support the transformation of food systems that nourish people and the planet.”
The 2025 Global Food Policy Report invites researchers, policymakers and development practitioners to engage with its findings and collaborate on a shared agenda for change.
