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Between 2007 and 2008, world governments made decisions that, in conjunction with extreme weather events, turned an already alarming food supply and demand situation into a global food price crisis. This begs the question: How do governments make food policy decisions? Are they driven by data, special interests, theories of change or a combination of the above?

This seminar addressed these questions, which are particularly timely as governments prepare for the next round of predicted food price fluctuations (grain prices in the international market have already become unstable). Will governments be ready to deal with the outcomes?

Per Pinstrup-Andersen, World Food Prize laureate and Professor at Cornell University, shared findings from a recent project, “The Political Economy of Food Price Policy.” This project was undertaken in collaboration with researchers from 14 developing countries and sought to improve the understanding of factors affecting government decision-making related to food policy during periods of food price volatility. Danielle Resnick, research fellow at IFPRI and the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy, then elaborated on a broader conceptual framework of drivers of policy change in agriculture and nutrition. They shared results from these two projects, as well as insights about how interest groups and governments shape food policy.