IFPRI’s South Asia Regional Office (IFPRI-SAO) is organizing a regional launch event of the 2023 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR) on 19 and 20 June in Kathmandu, Nepal in partnership with the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Multiple crises disrupted the global food system in 2022. These include the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, civil unrest, and political instability, the growing impacts of climate change, and the global repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine war. Traditional crisis response focuses on humanitarian and emergency food aid, but a more systematic and sustainable approach is required to address more frequent, compounding, and extended crises, and build greater resilience to food system shocks. Many tools and innovations are already available to predict, monitor, and respond to crises, as well as to govern long-term resilience and equity, though more solutions need to be explored. Identifying the most promising options and integrating them into a more permanent response to food crises can mitigate the short- and long-term impacts of shocks to food systems.
 
Though the food systems in South Asia have proven to be resilient in many ways, with every situation faced, there are lessons learnt and new methods and innovations explored for future preparedness. The panel discussions on various aspects of ‘Building Resilient Food Crisis Response in South Asia’ will see policymakers and stakeholders from countries across the region coming together to share their experiences and deliberate on how diverse policy responses can help reduce the immediate and longer-term impacts of food crises and improve livelihoods, incomes, and promote food and nutrition security.