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Dear Development Partners and Colleagues,
It is with a hopeful heart that I write this message, bidding adieu to an eventful year. Our commitment to systems transformation was swept into action at the end of 2023 by the strides made in the fields of climate action, energy transition, food system transformation and equitable health systems at the recently concluded 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28). While there is now a significant change in the discourse, a lot depends on the next steps as well. But one thing such events reiterate is the importance of partnerships across sectors when it comes to the global development agenda. The IFPRI-South Asia Office (SAO) has been fortunate to be able to foster such partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders in 2023. I take this opportunity to thank all our partner institutions—Regional Economic Cooperations (REC), academic institutions and think tanks, as well as policy makers representing various government agencies—for your invaluable and tireless support, which I am positive will continue in 2024 and beyond.
Our work in 2023 focused on expanding our policy and research engagements, strengthening institutional capacities, and facilitating knowledge exchange on issues of agri-food, environment and climate, markets, and trade in the region. In Nepal, our team supported the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Nepal Mission to align the Feed the Future country plan with the revised Global Food Security Strategy Refresh plan. In partnership with the Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), the team conducted national and provincial levels stakeholder consultations and rigorous analysis to provide recommendations to the USAID mission. The 2023 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR), IFPRI’s annual flagship publication, was launched in Nepal in the presence of Hon’ble Narayan Kaji Shrestha, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister. IFPRI along with CGIAR and a range of regional and global co-hosts also organized the ‘Delivering for Nutrition in South Asia' conference in Nepal, on the theme 'Equity and Inclusion'. Another fruit of academic labor, a special issue for the Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy journal was released last year. With a focus on the impacts of COVID-19, the issue offers progressive insights for policymaking in South Asia.
At the regional level, IFPRI and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Secretariat signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, aimed at achieving sustainable and inclusive agri-food transformation in the region; the MoU was approved at the second BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture in late 2022. Activities under the MoU include research on informal trade and eight-digit disaggregated trade data, the regional conference and workshop on environment and climate change(ECC) in Bhutan and capacity development initiatives. We also organized a policy roundtable in Sri Lanka with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agriculture Centre (SAC), under the project on scaling-up climate smart agriculture in South Asia. In partnership with the CGIAR Initiative on Seed Equal, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (ICAR-NIAP), and the Federation of Seed Industries of India (FSII), we organized discussions on the national seed sector and its policy environment at the national seminar on ‘Regulations and Governance Issues on the Indian Seed Sector’ in New Delhi, India. At the subnational level, our foresight and policy modeling team organized modeling workshops and engaged with state governments to support state-specific development strategies and policy analysis.
The year ended on a high note with the signing of a Statement of Intent (SoI) with the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) to further strengthen India’s policy and program frameworks. In 2024, we are now looking forward to supporting the local, national, and regional food systems via deepening our research engagements with national research partners, think tanks and bodies like SAARC, BIMSTEC and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and facilitating knowledge exchange via south-south cooperation.
With your support and cooperation, we hope to continue delivering on our shared goals for a healthier, sustainable, and inclusive world for all. On behalf of IFPRI-SAO, I extend my warmest wishes for a healthy and happy new year.
Shahidur Rashid
Director, IFPRI-South Asia
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