Food and Agriculture
Hunger levels have been rising for the past five years. Almost 690 million people go to bed hungry every night. COVID-19 could push 130 million more people into hunger by the end of 2020 unless action is taken. Food production and agriculture matter: they provide livelihoods for more people in the world than any other sector.
We provide high-quality advice to governments and parliamentarians to strengthen countries’ food security and livelihoods and to improve the quality of public and private investment in agriculture and food systems, while protecting land rights and responsibly managing natural resources.
We also seek to make food systems and value chains more resilient to climate change. Our experts support governments in implementing policies and regulations that enable food systems and communities to absorb climate shocks.
See Our Projects
Ending Hunger Sustainably
Ceres2030 is a novel partnership between academia, civil society, and economists, bringing together three institutions who share a common vision: a world without hunger, where small-scale producers enjoy greater agricultural incomes and productivity, in a way that supports sustainable food systems.
Model Agreement for Responsible Contract Farming
Offering a simple and practical legal tool for buyers and producers to improve their business relations and to help make responsible agricultural investment a reality.
Working with Parliamentarians in Africa on Investment Policies
Without investment, sustainable development is impossible. Well-planned, high-quality foreign investment in developed and developing countries can help make current economic practices more sustainable.
The ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry
The ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry were prepared for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and were adopted in October 2018 by ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) during their annual meeting, held that year in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Toward More Equitable and Sustainable Trade in Food and Agriculture
IISD’s work on trade in food and farm goods seeks to improve the extent to which trade policy supports sustainable development outcomes and expand the space for informed discussion among a wider set of policy actors.
Investment Capacity Building and Advisory Services
The highly qualified international lawyers of IISD’s Investment Program offer advisory services on international investment treaties and contracts, with respect to investment negotiations, implementation and disputes.
Investment Policy Best Practices Advisory Bulletins
Drawing on public treaty texts and different model investment agreements produced by governments, IISD’s Best Practices Series analyzes the evolving scope and nature of investment treaty negotiations, in particular from the developing country and sustainable development perspectives.
More Resources on COVID-19
The current crisis has underscored the need for policymakers to better understand the linkages between health, ecosystems, and sustainable food and agriculture systems to increase bolster countries’ ability to withstand a variety of shocks and crises (i.e. increase resilience) and respond quickly and effectively.
How Are African Governments Responding to Avert a COVID-19 Hunger Crisis?
This Ceres2030 webinar brought together African ministers responsible for agriculture and trade to discuss the measures their countries are taking to avert a hunger crisis by ensuring that livelihoods are secured and food systems remain functional.
Foreign Investment in Decline
UNCTAD predicted last month that COVID-19 would cause a 40% drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020.
Good Food For All – Averting a COVID-19 hunger crisis
This virtual event is intended to drive investments in the Sustainable Development Goal 2 related to ending hunger via raising awareness of numbers and costs needed.
Events & Publications
Parliamentarians Action #3 | Protecting and Promoting Women’s Land Rights in the Face of COVID-19 and Beyond
The third virtual dialogue in the Parliamentarians' Actions for Gender Equality and Resilient Food Systems in Response to COVID-19 series will be held on September 17, 2020, from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM (CEST).
Multilateral Regulatory Regimes and Plant Breeding
This policy brief reviews some of the issues that developing country governments should consider as they review national seed laws.
Food — from farm to fork and beyond — may be key to Paris emission goals, UN says
Food systems are among the largest anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases. They don’t need to be.
The Sustainable Agriculture Transition: Technology options for low- and middle-income countries
This report reviews how technology is transforming food systems and how policy-makers and investors can best harness the use of modern technologies to bring transformative change.
How Food Export Restrictions Could Worsen a Looming Food Crisis
This policy brief draws on analysis in the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI’s) COVID-19 Food Trade Policy Tracker to examine how food-importing countries could be affected by recent measures to restrict exports.
COVID-19 and Food Export Restrictions: Comparing today’s situation to the 2007/08 price spikes
This policy brief draws on the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI’s) COVID-19 Food Trade Policy Tracker to compare how governments have reacted to the current crisis with how they did during the 2007/08 food price spike.
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Experts
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder
Executive Director, IISD Europe; Senior Director, Economic Law & Policy
Howard Mann
Associate & Senior International Law Advisor
Laura Turley
Associate
Joe Zhang
Senior Law Advisor
Suzy H. Nikièma
Associate
Carin Smaller
Director, Agriculture, Trade & Investment
Francine Picard Mukazi
Policy Advisor
Marina Ruete
Associate
Mohamed Coulibaly
Associate
Sarah Brewin
Associate
Sophia Murphy
Senior Specialist, Agriculture, Trade and Investment
Susan H. Bragdon
Associate
Jonathan Hepburn
Senior Policy Advisor
Livia Bizikova
Lead, Monitoring and Governance, Tracking Progress
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