PUBLICATIONS

× Societal Impact Statement
Society is increasingly concerned over the environmental impact of diets. Much of this concern is over the environmentally destructive nature of meat production, especially beef and especially in the Amazon. This article aims to understand the production of beef in Brazil through the understudied perspective of forage grasses. In doing so, the article traces who was involved in the importation and improvement of forage grasses in Brazil, why they were involved, and what the consequences of their actions were. By centering forage grasses, we can better understand the potential consequences of seemingly unimportant plant breeding efforts.

Summary
Beef is viewed by many as one of the more environmentally destructive foods today. Whether it is deforestation in the Amazon or concentrated feedlots, the rancher and the cow have come to epitomize the dangers of a global industrial food system. This article looks at the industrialization of beef cattle from another angle, a bit closer to the ground. It looks at the role and circulation of plants and plant breeders in the expansion of beef cattle in the Brazilian tropics.
The article draws on documents collected from the institutional archives of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, known by its Portuguese acronym Embrapa and the Rockefeller Archive Center. Additional archival documents were acquired by a personal contact. Embrapa was established in 1973, but its archives contain documents from Brazilian agricultural research agencies from as far back as 1952. Documents from the Rockefeller Archive Center include research bulletins and reports from Nelson Rockefeller's IBEC Research Institute (IRI), which conducted research on forage grasses from the 1950s until the 1970s.
The article puts forth the argument that imported and improved forage grasses made large-scale cattle ranching environmentally viable and economically profitable in Brazil. One type of grass in particular, Brachiaria, was central in propelling Brazil as the world's largest producer of beef and underpinning perhaps the most environmentally and socially destructive cattle ranching system in the world. Brachiaria was a key biological and technological input to further entrench longstanding structural inequalities of land ownership.
One of the key conclusions of this article is that perspectives from the margins can be illustrative of how seemingly unimportant research (forage grass breeding) can have massive consequences as part of a broader socio-environmental system.

× Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is reflected across policy priorities at global and national levels. Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) seeks to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Moreover, the Government of Guatemala, through the Presi dential Secretariat for Women (SEPREM), has supported these priorities through the National Policy for the Promotion and Comprehensive Development of Women and the Equality of Opportunities Plan 2008-2023, particularly under its Equitable Economic and Productive Development policy line, which gives the agenda a thematic focus on women’s economic empowerment. Both policy instruments are designed to guide public institutions in achieving the goals that have been set by the Council of Minis ters of Women of Central America and the Dominican Republic (COMMCA). Economic empowerment is one of the main lines of policy action under the Regional Policy on Gender Equality and Equity of SICA (PRIEG/SICA). As such, women’s economic empowerment is being prioritized at the national level in Guatemala, and also at the regional level across Central America and the Dominican Republic.

× Este trabajo es el segundo producto de la consultoría de corto plazo para analizar los programas y pro yectos de Honduras y sugerir opciones hacia el futuro. Acá se complementa información sobre gasto público agropecuario desde 2015 hasta 2018. Un aspecto central del análisis del gasto público es definir el ámbito de análisis, en términos del tipo de sectores cubiertos, y de las entidades públicas involucradas. En el caso de Honduras en los últimos años se han llevado a cabo revisiones de gastos del sector público1 (individualmente, o como parte de estu dios regionales) cubriendo diferentes aspectos (ver, por ejemplo, Banco Mundial, 2015; BID, 2006; An son and Zegarra, 2008; del Cid, Pagoaga, y Núñez, 2017; Izquierdo, Loo-Kung, y Navajas, coordinado res, 2013). Estos trabajos contemplan en detalle diferentes componentes individuales que podrían ser considerados como una parte solamente de una noción amplia de desarrollo agropecuario, rural y de seguridad alimentaria y nutricional (DARSAN).2 Por su parte, ICEFI (2014) e IFPRI (2017) han tomado una visión amplia del gasto público analizado en DARSAN. En el caso de ICEFI (2014), cubre varios países en América Central (incluido Honduras)3 para el período 2007-2011, y se centra en el gobierno central, con menor consideración de entidades descentralizadas. En el caso de IFPRI, 2017, la clasifi cación del gasto es más detallada, abarca 2015-2016 y cubre el gobierno central y entidades descentra lizadas. 4 Recientemente, la UTSAN ha completado un estudio del gasto relacionado con la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional (SAN) que cubre temas similares a este trabajo. Al momento de escribir este análisis no se ha podido conseguir el trabajo detallado de la UTSAN. Sin embargo, basado en presen taciones se comentan más abajo las diferencias en el tratamiento de los gastos considerados. La organización del documento se describe a continuación. Primero, se discute brevemente la cobertura sectorial que se va a utilizar para guiar el análisis del gasto público en desarrollo agropecuario, rural y de SAN. El período temporal es 2015- 2018. Se presentan los bloques de actividades y de gastos que se van a analizar, procurando delimitar lo que se considera gasto público en relación al ámbito definido, y qué aspectos quedan fuera del análisis. Segundo, se procede a presentar la información del gasto público en general como marco de gasto en DARSAN. Tercero, se analiza el gasto para cada uno de los cinco componentes de DARSAN identificados en este trabajo. Cuarto, se presentan algunas conclu siones finales.

× This paper examines the continuing effects of COVID-19 and exposure to weather extremes on income, dietary, and migration outcomes in the rural area of Guatemala. We rely on a comprehensive longitudinal survey of 1,612 smallholder farmers collected over three survey rounds in 2019, 2020, and 2021. We find improvements in incomes, food security, dietary diversity, and animal source foods (ASF) consumption in 2021 relative to 2020, but with levels still below pre-pandemic ones in 2019. We also find a substantial increase in the intention to emigrate that was not observed in the onset of the pandemic. In terms of the channels mediating the variations in dietary diversity and migration intentions, income shocks seem to have played a role, in contrast to direct exposure to the virus, local mobility restrictions, and food market disruptions. Importantly, households exposed to ETA and IOTA tropical storms, in addition to COVID-19, were considerably more prone to exhibit larger increases in the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecure episodes and larger decreases in their diet quality and ASF consumption. The study provides novel evidence on vulnerable households’ wellbeing in the aftermath of a global crisis, including the effects of compound shocks.

× The IDB-funded PFPAS program has provided an important financial injection into Nicaragua’s agricultural research system during 2013–2018. The program has made important strides in rehabilitating some of INTA’s run-down research infrastructure, in offering degree and short-term training to research staff, and in strengthening linkages between agricultural research and producers. Notwithstanding the important achievements of PFPAS, Nicaragua’s agricultural R&D investment levels remain too low to provide the necessary technological solutions to enhance agricultural productivity and reduce rural poverty. As of 2020, the country invested just 0.22 percent of its agricultural GDP in agricultural research, which is insufficient to effectively address the many challenges the agricultural sector is facing. Nicaragua lacks a critical mass of highly qualified agricultural researchers. Building on the achievements of PFPAS, continued and accelerated training of young researchers to the MSc and PhD level remains critical. In addition, local university programs in agricultural sciences need to be strengthened so that more scientists have the opportunity to pursue higher level degrees in-country.

× Bolivia’s agricultural R&D spending is characterized by considerable year-toyear fluctuations. The costs of R&D programs, running the day-to-day operations of laboratories, and muchneeded capital investments are chiefly funded by donors and development banks. Dependence on this type of funding—which by nature is volatile and ad hoc—makes the country somewhat vulnerable to funding shocks. Bolivia’s agricultural research spending has not kept pace with growth in agricultural output. The country’s agricultural research intensity ratio—that is agricultural research spending as a percentage of agricultural GDP—halved from 1.0 to 0.5 percent during 2015–2020. Bolivia’s agricultural research investment is too low to effectively address farm productivity challenges of the rural poor and threats posed by climate change. Compared with most countries in South America, Bolivian agricultural R&D agencies employ relatively few researchers with PhD degrees. In addition, a considerable portion of the most highly qualified researchers are set to retire in the coming decade. The country will need to recruit and train the next generation of agricultural researchers without delay and provide the necessary conditions to maintain their commitment over time.

× The IDB-funded PFPAS program has provided an important financial injection into Nicaragua’s agricultural research system during 2013–2018. The program has made important strides in rehabilitating some of INTA’s run-down research infrastructure, in offering degree and short-term training to research staff, and in strengthening linkages between agricultural research and producers. Notwithstanding the important achievements of PFPAS, Nicaragua’s agricultural R&D investment levels remain too low to provide the necessary technological solutions to enhance agricultural productivity and reduce rural poverty. As of 2020, the country invested just 0.22 percent of its agricultural GDP in agricultural research, which is insufficient to effectively address the many challenges the agricultural sector is facing. Nicaragua lacks a critical mass of highly qualified agricultural researchers. Building on the achievements of PFPAS, continued and accelerated training of young researchers to the MSc and PhD level remains critical. In addition, local university programs in agricultural sciences need to be strengthened so that more scientists have the opportunity to pursue higher level degrees in-country.

× Bolivia’s agricultural R&D spending is characterized by considerable year-toyear fluctuations. The costs of R&D programs, running the day-to-day operations of laboratories, and muchneeded capital investments are chiefly funded by donors and development banks. Dependence on this type of funding—which by nature is volatile and ad hoc—makes the country somewhat vulnerable to funding shocks. Bolivia’s agricultural research spending has not kept pace with growth in agricultural output. The country’s agricultural research intensity ratio—that is agricultural research spending as a percentage of agricultural GDP—halved from 1.0 to 0.5 percent during 2015–2020. Bolivia’s agricultural research investment is too low to effectively address farm productivity challenges of the rural poor and threats posed by climate change. Compared with most countries in South America, Bolivian agricultural R&D agencies employ relatively few researchers with PhD degrees. In addition, a considerable portion of the most highly qualified researchers are set to retire in the coming decade. The country will need to recruit and train the next generation of agricultural researchers without delay and provide the necessary conditions to maintain their commitment over time.

× Recent global crises have led to diverse impacts across the world’s low- and middle-income regions, reflecting local conditions and differing policy responses. These effects are often compounded by more local shocks and crises, including prolonged conflict and violence, natural disasters, and fragile economic and governance systems. This section examines the impacts of recent food crises to identify both future risks and promising policy options that could improve early warning, immediate response, and resilience building in each region.

× Transformation of the agri-food system (AFS) is a leading pathway to achieve the USG Global Food Security Strategy Objective 1 of “Inclusive agriculture-led growth”. The AFS encompasses the primary agricultural sector, as well as all upstream and downstream agriculture-related activities. An expansion of the AFS’s off-farm components is central to the process of agricultural transformation and is strongly associated with economic development. The Percent change in value-added in the agri-food system (AgGDP+) and Employment in the agri-food system (AgEMP+) indicators are useful to track this process.

× The economies of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay), major agricultural exporters still recovering from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, have benefited from the rise in international prices accompanying the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With the war disrupting global supplies, the net exporting countries of the region have the opportunity to increase their exports. If these countries, especially Mercosur members, can boost production enough to offset the loss of Ukraine exports, it would go a long way toward stabilizing markets and world food security.
However, like the rest of the world, these countries are operating in the difficult current environment of global economic slowdown, rising energy and fertilizer prices, and rising inflation. In this post, we examine responses of Southern Cone countries to the disruptions in agricultural markets caused by the war, and their prospects going forward.

× Colombia has focused on deepening the understanding of its vulnerability and risk to climate change. The Third National Communication on Climate Change (TCNCC) of 2017 shows that 13% of the departments are in the very high category of climate vulnerability. In addition, all of its territory has some level of threat due to climate change and 56% of the departments are in the very high threat category, as shown in its NDC 2020. One of the major concerns is that most of the country's emissions are generated by three important sectors: Agriculture, Land Use Change and Forestry, and Energy. These sectors are also highly vulnerable to climate impacts. The country has developed a significant number of policies and programs focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation, which take into account all stakeholders involved, from the public sector to the private sector and civil society recognizing that the implementation of the actions that the country has established is the responsibility of all actors.

× La igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de las mujeres y niñas se ve reflejado en distintas prioridades de políticas a nivel global y local. El Objetivo de Desarrollo Sostenible 5 busca lograr la igualdad de género y empoderar a todas las mujeres y niñas. De forma correspondiente, el Gobierno de Guatemala por medio de la Secretaría Presidencial de la Mujer (Seprem) ha impulsado el tema, tanto a través de la Política Nacional de Promoción y Desarrollo Integral de las Mujeres y su Plan de Oportunidades PNPDIM-PEO 2008-2023, dentro el Eje de Desarrollo Económico y Productivo con equidad; así como también en la agenda temática de empoderamiento económico de las mujeres. Ambos instrumentos son orientadores de las instituciones públicas, a la vez que, dentro de las acciones que se han coordinado desde el Consejo de Ministras de la Mujer de Centroamérica y República Dominicana (COMMCA), el empoderamiento económico es uno de los ejes de la Política Regional de Igualdad y Equidad de Género del SICA (PRIEG/SICA). Así, el empoderamiento económico de las mujeres es una prioridad a nivel nacional en Guatemala, pero también a nivel regional.

× International migration is a recurrent and growing phenomenon and a large share of emigrants originate from rural areas. This study examines the association between climatic stresses and rural emigration in Guatemala. We exploit variations on climatic stress situations and emigration flows at the subnational level and over time to examine whether the observed migration dynamics can be explained by the occurrence of specific adverse weather events. We find that drought periods affect emigration positively the following year, especially among men, while periods of high temperatures and low soil moisture affect male and female emigration negatively. The results are generally not much sensitive to alternative model specifications and estimations. The apparent mixed findings point to both direct effects where climatic stresses may encourage people to migrate in search of better opportunities, as well as indirect effects in the sense that climatic stresses affect agricultural productivity and household liquidity, which may prevent people from migrating despite their willingness to emigrate.

× Ecuador has great climatic variability, due to its geological diversity and variety in altitude and terrain. The country has two seasons: rainy and dry. Ecuador faces a variety of climatic risks such as floods and landslides caused by the increase in annual rainfall during phenomena such as El Niño, as well as droughts that weaken soils and affect agricultural processes. Likewise, there are effects caused by rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and vulnerability of water sources. The sectors that generate the greatest emissions in the country are energy, land use, and agriculture, which are vital for social and economic development. It is important to highlight the efforts made by the country through public policies and other instruments focused on the fight against climate change, which are aligned with its constitution and international agreements. In this way, Ecuador has a bases and guidelines for the development of strategies with an interdisciplinary approach and considering all the actors.

× Brazil has made significant advances in the fight against climate change. The country is highly susceptible to climate impacts due to its geographic location and diverse territory. This territory is exposed to floods, earthquakes, landslides, droughts, and diseases, which put the population and national development at risk. Most greenhouse gas emissions come from three major economic activities: agriculture, land use, and energy. These sectors are highly vulnerable to climate change as they depend on natural resources to function. The country has been working on the creation and implementation of a variety of instruments to reduce emissions and address climate impacts. These instruments take into consideration the public, private and civil society sectors.

× Peru faces a variety of climate risks just like the rest of the countries in the region. Being a country rich in biodiversity and climatic variety, Peru experiences different climatic impacts, which have been increasing in severity over time. These include increased rainfall, increased periods of drought, and soil degradation, among many other effects. For this reason, Peru has implemented numerous measures to fight against the effects of climate change. These measures focus on sectors vital to the development of the country, along with industries and services that are most directly affected by climate change. Actions have utilized international and national instruments strengthened for the current climate crisis, always taking into consideration all parts of the system by carrying out inter-institutional and multilevel interventions.

× How were the governments of three middle-income countries with high levels of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—India, Mexico, and South Africa—able to implement sugar-sweetened beverage taxes (SSBs) despite intense opposition from powerful corporations? Employing a multiple streams analytical framework to explain the agenda-setting process, this chapter highlights several factors that generated supportive coalitions for SSBs, including the importance of transnational advocacy in each country as well as governments’ interest in generating more revenue from the tax. By contrast, regulatory measures to regulate the soda and snack food industries, such as limits on advertising, sales, and food labeling, have been less accepted by the same governments. To explain why, the chapter argues that coalitions around these policies are weaker, regulation generates lower levels of public contestation and visibility, and the prospect for generating government revenue is less pronounced.

× Latin America and the Caribbean is the world's largest net exporting region for agrifood products, yet the region faces immediate challenges to food security. Increasing intraregional trade presents an opportunity to eradicate hunger in the region. This brief provides a synopsis of key findings from a recent FAO-IFPRI report, La Seguridad Alimentaria y el Comercio Agroalimentario en América Latina y el Caribe (Food Security and Agrifood Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean), which examines the potential for expanding intraregional trade in LAC, and offers recommendations on the way forward.

× América Latina y el Caribe es un importante protagonista en la producción y el comercio de productos agroalimentarios, ya que es el principal exportador neto de estos productos. La región cuenta con los recursos naturales (tierra, agua y energía renovable) y la capacidad necesaria para producir alimentos de manera sostenible y para satisfacer sus necesidades y abastecer al mundo. Sin embargo, durante 2021, la inseguridad alimentaria moderada o grave afectó al 40,6% de la población en la región (267,7 millones de personas), cifra considerablemente superior al promedio mundial (29,3%).

Aumentar la productividad es fundamental para mejorar la situación y alcanzar la seguridad alimentaria, pero con frecuencia no es suficiente. El propósito de este estudio es analizar el impacto del comercio intrarregional de alimentos en América Latina y el Caribe y su contribución a la seguridad alimentaria en la región, así como identificar oportunidades para expandir el comercio intrarregional de alimentos nutritivos.

× En el Perú, se estima que hay aproximadamente 6 millones de personas que migraron internamente en algún momento de su vida. Esto equivale al 20.3% de la población, siendo su mayoría originaria de la serranía peruana. Aunque Lima es el principal polo de atracción, en los últimos años, se ha observado un aumento en la migración hacia las regiones de Madre de Dios, Tacna, Arequipa y Moquegua. Entre el 2002 y 2007, Madre de Dios fue el departamento que tuvo la mayor cantidad de migrantes con un saldo migratorio neto de 14,8%.
Comprender los patrones y las decisiones migratorias es complejo, ya que se trata de un fenómeno multidimensional determinado por un amplio conjunto de factores, incluidos factores de empuje, que alientan a las personas a mudarse de su ubicación actual, y factores de atracción, que atraen a las personas a mudarse a una nueva ubicación. Estos factores generalmente se agrupan en cuatro categorías: factores económicos (por ejemplo, oportunidades laborales, salarios); factores ambientales (por ejemplo, disponibilidad de alimentos, clima); factores sociales (por ejemplo, disponibilidad de servicios, calidad de vida); y factores culturales/de seguridad (por ejemplo, estabilidad política, delincuencia).

× Food production includes a complex and varied set of agricultural and nonagricultural activities, involving a growing number of sectors and actors that influence the way food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed. Recently, and especially after the 2021 United Nation Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), it has been proposed that this conglomerate of activities and socioeconomic actors be jointly identified as food systems. National food systems, which exist in each country, are interrelated through trade and other factors with regional food systems and finally with the global food system.
The concept of food systems has been adopted as a useful tool for understanding the multiple and complex interrelations between different production, distribution, and trade partners and for adjusting policy analysis and design to this complex world. The discussions and documentation prepared during the UNFSS process brought to public attention not only the utility and complexity of this concept but also some of the shortcomings of current food production practices. The summit also highlighted an urgent need to establish processes for identifying such shortcomings, their relative importance, and possible measures that would lead to the transformation of national food systems and the global food system.

× Guatemala experiences high and continued chronic malnutrition and poverty rates, with a particular concentration around predominantly rural and indigenous areas in the Western Highlands. Agricultural development is similarly low in the region, with farmers generally cultivating small landholdings, showing low agricultural productivity, and having limited ability for capital investment and an overall lack of market opportunities, combined with a relatively weak government support.
This brief presents the main findings of the impact evaluation of USAID’s Feed the Future (FTF) Guatemala Value Chains Project that aimed to increase agricultural incomes, strengthen resilience, and improve nutritional outcomes of small farmers and their families in the Western Highlands of the country. The Project was created in 2017, building on the successes and lessons learned from the previous five years of implementation of the FTF Initiative in Guatemala, and relying on four expected results: improving agricultural productivity and diversifying income generation alternatives; expanding access to markets; increasing resilience through implementation of climate-smart and nutrition sensitive agriculture; and strengthening the agriculture and food security enabling environment.

× The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on livelihoods and food security across rural populations worldwide. This study offers a long-term assessment of the impacts of the pandemic and the path to recovery among smallholder agricultural households in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. We rely on a unique longitudinal survey of 1,262 households collected over four survey rounds between 2019 and 2022. The results show substantial recoveries in incomes, food security, and dietary diversity in the region by mid-2022 compared to 2020, but at levels still worse than pre pandemic ones. There is also a sustained increase in the intention to emigrate. The households that were initially more affected in terms of food security and nutrition but recovered faster include those located in one (San Marcos) of the three departments and families living above the poverty line, while smallholders affected by the ETA and IOTA tropical storms, non-coffee producers, and indigenous populations have taken longer to recover. In addition, we provide quantitative estimates for a subsample of households interviewed during a fifth survey round at the end of 2022, showing an average decline of about 16 percent in total household income three years after the start of the pandemic, mainly driven by a decrease in agricultural income, combined with a 26 percent increase in expenditures and an important surge in indebtedness. Overall, the study offers valuable lessons regarding the recovery of vulnerable households following a major global crisis and in a context of additional shocks, remarking the importance of continue monitoring the situation of vulnerable households, especially those exposed to recurrent (weather) shocks that also have a more exhausted portfolio of coping mechanisms & express a higher willingness to emigrate.

× Guatemala experiences high and continued chronic malnutrition and poverty rates, with a particular concentration around predominantly rural and indigenous areas in the Western Highlands. Agricultural development is similarly low in the region, with farmers generally cultivating small landholdings, showing low agricultural productivity, and having limited ability for capital investment and an overall lack of market opportunities, combined with a relatively weak government support.
This brief presents the main findings of the impact evaluation of USAID’s Feed the Future (FTF) Guatemala Value Chains Project that aimed to increase agricultural incomes, strengthen resilience, and improve nutritional outcomes of small farmers and their families in the Western Highlands of the country. The Project was created in 2017, building on the successes and lessons learned from the previous five years of implementation of the FTF Initiative in Guatemala, and relying on four expected results: improving agricultural productivity and diversifying income generation alternatives; expanding access to markets; increasing resilience through implementation of climate-smart and nutrition sensitive agriculture; and strengthening the agriculture and food security enabling environment.

× Innovation spaces are often dominated by linear, top-down approaches, with the transfer of technology being seen as the solution to many problems rather than trying to understand which innovation processes people are engaging with themselves. In other words, barriers to progress are typically viewed as issues of technology adoption, not as part of the innovation process itself. This study contributes to changing the paradigm by proposing a living lab approach, which considers innovation as an adaptive process where stakeholders co-produce knowledge and collaborate based on inclusivity and empowerment. Our specific concept for this approach is called a Living Lab for People (LL4P). This conceptual paper outlines a framework to guide the development of a LL4P that remains flexible to be adapted for specific sites. While we seek to identify common denominators, we recognize the necessity for such a framework to remain open enough to be adaptable for varied contexts. Consequently, the framework draws on the living lab literature but tailors existing approaches for sustainable food system transformation and puts people (men, women, and marginalized groups among key food system actors) at the center of innovation processes with a clear intention to address power and social inequity. We draw on specific cases in China, Colombia, Kenya and Vietnam as learning grounds for formulating LL4Ps through locally led innovation processes. Based on our learnings and consultations, we define a LL4P as an inclusive and diverse space for people to advance their socio-technical innovation processes and associated modes of governance within a facilitated organizational structure. The principles of LL4Ps include co-production, gender equality and social inclusion, governance and institutional sustainability to advance existing and novel innovation processes. The practical experiences from applying this framework in the four case studies indicate alternative pathways for transforming the food system toward a sustainable and socially equitable trajectory through the establishment of a LL4P.

× Individual and social preferences have shown to be important factors in individual decision making and general economic performance. Yet, they are usually assumed as given and stable, underestimating their impact in the rhythm of economic recovery after a natural disaster or pandemic. This paper examines the effects of COVID-19 initial confinement on households’ individual and social preferences across small communities in the rural area of Guatemala. We use a comprehensive panel household survey of agricultural smallholders collected during two survey rounds in 2019, prior to the pandemic, and 2020 and find that preferences generally shifted following the onset of the pandemic. We observe a significant increase in risk tolerance, deteriorated perceptions towards trust and generosity, and a higher frequency of emotional issues, while intra-household relationships remain stable. We find that experiencing a household adverse situation, a higher degree of exposure to the virus, and more stringent local confinement measures shaped several of the variations in preferences. The focus of the study on a region with high poverty and malnutrition rates offers important insights of the consequences of confinement on perceptions and attitudes in complex and vulnerable rural contexts during the wake of a public health emergency.

× Background
In June 2016, a comprehensive food policy was implemented in Chile that included front-of-package warning labels on key nutrients of concern (total sugars, added saturated fats, sodium, and calories), child-directed food advertisement bans, and school regulations. The policy was implemented in 3 phases from 2016 to 2019 and the primary objective was to improve children’s food environments. This study’s objective was to assess changes in child and adolescent intake of key nutrients of concern (total sugars, saturated fats, and sodium) at school after the initial implementation of Chile’s Law of Food Labeling and Advertisement.

Methods
Longitudinal study of 349 children from the Food Environment Chilean Cohort (FECHIC) and 294 adolescents from the Growth and Obesity Cohort Study (GOCS). Data were from single 24-hour dietary recalls collected from 2016 to 2019. Fixed-effects models stratified by school, home, and other locations compared nutrient consumption in each year to consumption at the pre-policy 2016 baseline. Nutrient intakes are expressed as percent of total energy.

Results
Compared to 2016 (pre-policy), total sugars consumed by children at school decreased 4.5 [-8.0, -0.9] percentage points (pp) and 11.8 [-15.4, -8.3] pp in 2018 and 2019 respectively. In 2019, children’s saturated fats and sodium intake at school also decreased (1.1 [-1.9, -0.2] pp and 10.3 [-18.1, -2.5] mg/100 kcal respectively). Likewise, in adolescents, total sugars and saturated fats consumed at school decreased in 2018 (5.3 [-8.4, -2.2] pp and 1.5 [-2.7, -0.3] pp respectively). However, consumption of key nutrients of concern at other locations increased after implementation of the policy.

Conclusions
After initial implementation of Chile’s Labeling Law, intake of most key nutrients of concern significantly declined at school. However, we found evidence of compensatory behavior in out-of-school settings. Further research is needed to evaluate what other actions are needed to impact overall diets in the long term both at schools and out of school.

×
Background
Yellow fleshed potatoes biofortified with iron have been developed through conventional breeding but the bioavailability of the iron is unknown.

Objectives
Our objective was to measure iron absorption from an iron-biofortified yellow fleshed potato clone in comparison with a non-biofortified yellow fleshed potato variety.

Methods
We conducted a single-blinded, randomized, crossover, multiple-meal intervention study. Women (n = 28; mean±SD plasma ferritin 21.3±3.3 μg/L) consumed 10 meals (460 g) of both potatoes, each meal extrinsically labelled with either 58Fe sulfate (biofortified) or 57Fe sulfate (non-fortified) , on consecutive days. Iron absorption was estimated from the iron isotopic composition in erythrocytes 14 days after administration of the final meal.

Results
Mean±SD iron, phytic acid and ascorbic acid concentrations in the the iron-biofortified and the non-fortified potato meals (mg/per 100 mg) were 0.63±0.01 and 0.31±0.01 , 39.34±3.04 and 3.10±1.72 , and 7.65±0.34 and 3.74±0.39 , respectively (P < 0.01) while chlorogenic acid concentrations were 15.14±1.72 and 22.52±3.98 , respectively (P <0.05). Geometric mean (95% CI) fractional iron absorption (FIA) from the iron-biofortified clone and the non-biofortified variety was 12.1% (10.3-14.2%) and 16.6% (14.0-19.6%), respectively (P <0.001). Total iron absorption (TIA) from the iron-biofortified clone and the non-biofortified variety was 0.35 mg (0.30–0.41mg) and 0.24 mg (0.20–0.28 mg) per 460 g meal, respectively (P <0.001). Conclusions TIA from the iron-biofortified potato meals was 45.8% higher than from the non-biofortified potato meals, suggesting iron biofortification of potatoes through conventional breeding is a promising approach to improve iron intakes in iron-deficient women (p<0.01). The study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier number NCT05154500).

× Integrated landscape approaches (ILA) aim to reconcile multiple, often competing, interests across agriculture, nature conservation, and other land uses. Recognized ILA design principles provide guidance for implementation, yet application remains challenging, and a strong performance evidence-base is yet to be formed. Through a critical literature review and focus group discussions with practitioners, we identified considerable diversity of ILA in actors, temporal, and spatial scales, inter alia. This diversity hampers learning from and steering ILA because of the intractable nature of the concept. Therefore, we developed a tool—an ‘ILA mixing board’—to structure the complexity of ILA into selectable and scalable attributes in a replicable way to allow planning, diagnosing, and comparing ILA. The ILA mixing board tool presents seven qualifiers, each representing a key attribute of ILA design and performance (for example, project flexibility, inclusiveness of the dialogue, and the centrality of the power distribution). Each qualifier has five (non-normative) outcome indicators that can be registered as present or absent. This process in turn guides planners, evaluators and other participating stakeholders involved in landscape management to diagnose the ILA type, or its performance. We apply the ILA mixing board to three ILA cases in Nicaragua, Madagascar, and the Congo Basin to show some of the many possible configurations of qualifiers on the mixing board. Further application of the tool would allow comparative analysis of the complexity of ILA in a structured and manageable way thereby enhancing the understanding of ILA performance and informing the development of evidence-based land use policy.

× As in other Latin American countries, agricultural activities in Guatemala contribute with 32% of the total employment (65% in rural areas), but only one in every ten individuals employed in these activities are women. This study examines the cultural and economic barriers and opportunities for the participation of women in agricultural (crop and livestock) production systems. We rely on a qualitative approach involving focus group discussions with 15–20 women in each of the eight communities visited in the departments of Chiquimula (Dry Corridor) and Huehuetenango (Western Highlands) in October 2022. The study provides several interesting findings, which generally hold across locations. First, women do not seem to have a strong preference for crop production activities, except harvesting, and only get involved in specifically assigned tasks. This lack of interest and participation in crop-related activities, which can be related to low empowerment levels and traditional stereotypes in the community about gender roles, persist even in locations with a higher emigration of men, where women could be expected to take over traditionally male crop-related tasks. Second, participants carry out a variety of other unpaid activities, including raising small-scale livestock and maintaining home gardens, which they do not recognize as formal, income-generating occupations despite their more active role. Third, women consider the commercialization of their products a persistent challenge as they do not have access to markets beyond their community, which additionally results in a deterrent to applying for credits due to a generalized fear of defaulting. Despite their day-to-day economic hardship, participants’ main aspirations point to generating more income in non-crop-related activities, mainly livestock farming and raising, or, alternatively, emigrating to provide a better future for their children. These findings remark the importance of offering extensive support to women to not only start new activities, as it has been the case of several public and private initiatives in the area, but help them through continuous extension services on production, storage, and commercialization; management and accounting; and financial literacy, as well as on building agency capacity through existing women groups and organizations and enabling the environment for improved access to markets and credit.

× Climate change affects men and women differently, and pre-existing gender disparities may worsen. We use a gendered computable general equilibrium model linked with microsimulations to assess the distributive effects of climate change in Bolivia. Two scenarios are evaluated. The first scenario addresses capital and land damages, while the second analyses the decrease in agricultural production yields. We find that both scenarios have negative impacts on the Bolivian economy. The scenarios drive down employment and increase the burden of domestic work, especially for women. Furthermore, both simulations reveal negative impacts on poverty, with women in rural areas being the most affected.

× Objective: To assess the association between child ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and home-school learning environment characteristics during school closures due to the COVID-19
pandemic in schoolchildren with low- and middle-income in Chile.
Design: Cross-sectional. UPF consumption was collected using the Nova screener. We apply the structured days hypothesis (SDH) to assess home-school learning environment characteristics with three constructs that summarized school preparedness for online teaching and learning, school closure difficulties for caregivers, and child routine. We explored associations between child UPF consumption and home-school environment characteristics using multivariate linear regression analyses after controlling for child demographic and school characteristics.
Setting: Low- and middle-income neighborhoods in southeastern Santiago, Chile.
Participants: Children from the Food Environment Chilean Cohort (n 428, 8-10 years old).
Results: Based on the Nova score, child mean consumption of UPF was 4.3 (SD 1.9) groups. We found a statistically significant negative association between child routine for eating, play, and study, and child UPF consumption when we adjusted for child ociodemographic (Model 1: -0.19, (95% CI -0.40 – 0.02)) and school characteristics (Model 2: -0.20, (95% CI -0.41 –0.00)). Associations between school preparedness for online teaching or school closure difficulties and UPF were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: Variations in child routines during the COVID-19 pandemic were negatively associated with UPF intake in schoolchildren with low- and middle-income. Our findings are consistent with the SDH, suggesting the school environment helps regulate eating behaviors. Future research should evaluate what happens when children return to in-person classes at school.

× This report presents a comprehensive analysis of public agricultural research and development (R&D) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), focusing on the contextual factors influencing agricultural R&D investment and their implications for agricultural productivity growth. The analysis combines new data for ten LAC countries collected by the International Food Policy Research Institute's (IFPRI's) Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) program with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with existing ASTI and other datasets. By integrating these various datasets, the report provides an in-depth examination of recent trends in public agricultural research spending, capacity, and outputs across the LAC region. Despite the demonstrated high returns on agricultural R&D investments, LAC countries continue to lag in allocating sufficient resources to this critical area. The traditional agricultural research model faces major challenges in keeping pace with the evolving agricultural landscape and food system more broadly.

× Introduction
Infant and neonatal mortality estimates are typically derived from retrospective birth histories collected through surveys in countries with unreliable civil registration and vital statistics systems. Yet such data are subject to biases, including under-reporting of deaths and age misreporting, which impact mortality estimates. Prospective population-based cohort studies are an underutilized data source for mortality estimation that may offer strengths that avoid biases.

Methods
We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group, including 11 population-based pregnancy or birth cohort studies, to evaluate the appropriateness of vital event data for mortality estimation. Analyses were descriptive, summarizing study designs, populations, protocols, and internal checks to assess their impact on data quality. We calculated infant and neonatal morality rates and compared patterns with Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data.

Results
Studies yielded 71,760 pregnant women and 85,095 live births. Specific field protocols, especially pregnancy enrollment, limited exclusion criteria, and frequent follow-up visits after delivery, led to higher birth outcome ascertainment and fewer missing deaths. Most studies had low follow-up loss in pregnancy and the first month with little evidence of date heaping. Among studies in Asia and Latin America, neonatal mortality rates (NMR) were similar to DHS, while several studies in Sub-Saharan Africa had lower NMRs than DHS. Infant mortality varied by study and region between sources.

Conclusions
Prospective, population-based cohort studies following rigorous protocols can yield high-quality vital event data to improve characterization of detailed mortality patterns of infants in low- and middle-income countries, especially in the early neonatal period where mortality risk is highest and changes rapidly.

× Adolescent and young women face grave nutrition challenges, but limited evidence exists on solutions to improve their diets. Action-research was done over 3 years (2020–2022) in secondary cities of Colombia (Medellin) and Vietnam (Thai Nguyen) to identify nutrient deficits in adolescent and young women diets; elaborate food-based recommendations to improve their nutritional status using Optifood linear programming; and engage respondents in incorporating suggested recommendations to their diet using a Social Innovation Challenge approach. A total of 1001 respondents were interviewed in Vietnam, 793 in Colombia. The probability of nutrient inadequacy in both locations was highest for iron and calcium, followed by the risk of deficiency for several other vitamins and minerals. Social Innovation Challenge teams (11 in Vietnam, 9 in Colombia) were created and supported in developing solutions to improve diets and tackle those deficiencies. Awards and resources were transferred to the most promising solutions to enable their implementation. Pre/post measurements of the interventions’ impact using the Global Diet Quality Score as outcome metric showed significant improvement in the diets of Challenge participants. After introducing a series of companion articles that offer detailed results on those various steps, this paper draws strategic lessons from an action-research perspective.

× Background
Zinc-biofortified potatoes have considerable potential to reduce zinc deficiency because of their low levels of phytate, an inhibitor of zinc absorption, and their high consumption, especially in the Andean region of Peru.

Objectives
The purpose of this study was to measure fractional and total zinc absorption from a test meal of biofortified compared with regular potatoes.

Methods
We undertook a single-blinded randomized crossover study (using 67Zn and 70Zn stable isotopes) in which 37 women consumed 500-g biofortified or regular potatoes twice a day. Urine samples were collected to determine fractional and total zinc absorption.

Results
The zinc content of the biofortified potato and regular potato was 0.48 (standard deviation [SD]: 0.02) and 0.32 (SD: 0.03) mg/100 g fresh weight, respectively. Mean fractional zinc absorption (FZA) from the biofortified potatoes was lower than from the regular potatoes, 20.8% (SD: 5.4%) and 25.5% (SD: 7.0%), respectively (P < 0.01). However, total zinc absorbed was significantly higher (0.49; SD: 0.13 and 0.40; SD: 0.11 mg/500 g, P < 0.01, respectively). Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate that biofortified potatoes provide more absorbable zinc than regular potatoes. Zinc-biofortified potatoes could contribute toward reducing zinc deficiency in populations where potatoes are a staple food. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT05154500.

× Two previous reports (Díaz Bonilla, Laborde and Piñeiro, 2021, and Diaz-Bonilla, Flores, Paz, Piñeiro, and Zandstra, 2021) covered the evolution and impacts of the pandemic on food systems in Guatemala until the time of their writing (which together covered from the start of the pandemic in early 2020 until about October 2021. This third report concludes the analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food systems in Guatemala. It summarizes the previous reports and updates the analysis until the end of May 2022. However, this country and its food systems have also been affected by other events since the pandemic started in early 2020. Between 3 and 17 November 2020, tropical storms Eta and Iota hit Guatemalan territory with heavy rains that led to floods and mud landslides, affecting 16 of the country's 22 departments. Later, in 2021 the strong world economic rebound due to expansionary fiscal and monetary policies in the USA and many other developed and developing countries combined with persistent strains on value chains due to COVID19 to lead to increases in transportation costs and the prices of food, energy, and fertilizers. In the case of agricultural products, those increases were com-pounded by adverse climate events in some important producers, particularly in South America. Finally, the Russian-Ukraine Conflict (RUC) on February 24, 2022, has added further pressures on the prices of energy, fertilizers and food products including wheat and vegetable oils.
Therefore, the pandemic's specific impact on Guatemala's food systems has been interacting with the other developments mentioned, making it very difficult to differentiate among them. Policymakers, how-ever, need to respond to the overall impact of the conditions affecting the population, whatever the leading causes may be. Therefore, this final report, while emphasizing those aspects linked to the pan-demic, will discuss the conditions in Guatemala considering those other factors.
This report is structured as follows. First, it summarizes the main policy responses, costs, and financing related to the COVID-19 shock. Second, it brings up to date the evolution of the pandemic, using differ-ent indicators. Third, it updates the evolution of key economic and nutritional variables. Fourth, there is a brief discussion of the implications of RUC for food systems.. Fifth, the report continues with a more specific analysis of the evolution of some food value chains that are central for food consumption in Guatemala. The next section discusses policy considerations for health, poverty and nutrition, and food value chains, based on the updated analysis of the previous sections, including cost and financial as-pects. A final section concludes.

× Two previous reports (Díaz Bonilla, Laborde and Piñeiro, 2021, and Diaz-Bonilla, Flores, Paz, Piñeiro, and Zandstra, 2021) covered the evolution and impacts of the pandemic on food systems in Honduras until the time of their writings (which together cover from the start of the pandemic in early 2020 until October 2021). This third report concludes the assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food systems in Honduras, recapitulating the previous ones and updating the analysis until the end of May 2022. This country and its food systems, however, have been also affected by other events since the pandemic started in early 2020, such as the tropical storms Eta and Iota in November 2020. Subsequently, in 2021 the strong world economic rebound due to expansionary fiscal and monetary policies in the USA and other countries, generated strains on value chains, leading to increases in transportation costs and the prices of food, energy and fertilizers. In the case of agricultural products, those increases were compounded by adverse climate events in some important producing areas, particularly in South America. Finally, the Russian-Ukraine Conflict (RUC) on February 24, 2022, has added further pressures on prices of energy, fertilizers, and some food products (such as wheat and vegetable oils). Therefore, the specific impact of the pandemic on food systems in Honduras has been interacting with the other developments mentioned. From the point of view of policymakers, they need to respond to the overall impact of the conditions affecting the population, whatever the converging main causes may be. Therefore, this final report, while emphasizing those aspects linked to the pandemic will also discuss the overall conditions in Honduras, affected by those many factors. This report is structured as follows. First, it summarizes the main policy responses, costs, and financing related to the COVID-19 shock. Second, it brings up to date the evolution of the pandemic, using different indicators. Third, it updates the evolution of key economic and nutritional variables. Fourth, there is a brief discussion of the implications of RUC for food systems. Fifth, the report continues with a more specific analysis of the evolution of some food value chains that are central to food consumption in Honduras. The next section discusses policy considerations for health, poverty and nutrition, and food value chains, in light of the updated analysis. A final section concludes.

× The MitigatePlus: Low-Emission Food Systems Initiative aims to contribute to low-emission food systems development and reduce net annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) from food systems. It forms part of CGIAR’s new Research Portfolio, delivering science and innovation to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis.

× La iniciativa MitigatePlus: Sistemas Alimentarios Bajos en Emisiones tiene como objetivo contribuir a la reducción de las emisiones anuales de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) en los sistemas alimentarios. Esta iniciativa forma parte del nuevo portafolio de Investigación del CGIAR, que produce ciencia e innovación para transformar los sistemas alimentarios, terrestres e hídricos en un contexto de crisis climática.

× Farm size and land allocation are important factors in explaining lagging agricultural productivity in developing countries. This paper examines the effect of land market imperfections on land allocation across farmers and aggregate agricultural productivity. We develop a theoretical framework to model the optimal size distribution of farms and assess to what extent market imperfections can explain non-optimal land allocation and output inefficiency. We measure these distortions for the case of Guatemala using agricultural census microdata. We find that due to land market imperfections aggregate output is 19% below its efficient level for both maize and beans and 31% below for coffee, which are three major crops produced nationwide. We also observe that areas with higher distortions show higher land price dispersion and less active rental markets. The degree of land market distortions across areas co-variate to some extent with road accessibility, ethnicity, and education.

× Multistakeholder platforms (MSPs) are the subject of increasing attention and investment in the domain of collaborative natural resource governance, yet evidence-based guidance is slim on policy and investment priorities to leverage the MSP approach. We provide a comparative analysis of eight landscape-level MSPs spanning seven countries (Peru, Brazil, India, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and a cross-border case from Kenya and Somalia), representing a diversity of resource systems covering forests, rangelands, and multiuse agricultural landscapes. Applying an adapted social-ecological systems framework, our synthesis identifies the influence of these MSPs on patterns of stakeholder interaction and draws implications for the design and organization of MSPs that are both appropriate and effective. From the cases, we distill lessons addressing: (1) how to design an MSP in relation to the governance context, including the fit between institutional and ecological dimensions of the system and with attention to cross-scale linkages; (2) how to implement inclusive processes that address power inequities, including through capacity building and procedural rules; and (3) how to support adaptive learning to expand the MSP’s influence over time, including monitoring outcomes, adapting the scope of stakeholder engagement, and investing in MSP durability.

× Agricultural commercialization, or the transition from growing crops for home consumption to growing some or all crops for sale, enables farmers to earn cash income that they can use to buy food in markets. This additional income may enable smallholders to purchase more healthy and/or unhealthy calories in the market, impacting their nutrition. While previous studies have examined the impact of commercialization on undernutrition, this study analyzes the impact of commercialization on overweight and obesity. Survey data from smallholder coffee farmers in rural Guatemala is used to estimate the impact of commercialization on body mass index for male and female household heads. Additionally, we explore the different pathways through which commercialization can impact nutrition, including household calorie availability, crop production, income, and gender. The empirical analysis employs an instrumental variable approach to control for endogeneity issues. Our estimation results suggest that commercialization, both in general and through dependence on coffee, leads to overweight and obesity in more commercialized households. Further, our analysis shows that while there is no relationship between commercialization of crops in general and household calorie availability, coffee dependence lowers household calorie availability. We also find that coffee dependent households decrease their production diversity and do not earn more agricultural income, both of which may negatively contribute to their nutrition. As rural areas become increasingly integrated with markets, understanding the transmission channels between agricultural commercialization and nutrition is critical.

× The debate concerning the need for significant transformations towards more nutrition oriented, environmentally sustainable and inclusive food systems has generated increased attention towards agroecology in recent years. Literature on this subject has already demonstrated that transitions to agroecology will be context specific, as countries and regions have distinctive visions for the future of agriculture and food systems, unique starting points, and will therefore define their own transition pathways. This paper assesses how different policies (consumer oriented; producer oriented; market and food environment oriented; macro and trade oriented; and cross-cutting policies) can affect incentives for agroecology. It provides examples of policies and related actions taken by national, regional and city governments that intend to promote one or more agroecological principles. The assessment reveals that, until now, few countries have embarked on a broad set of reforms with sustained commitments. Many of these policies are new, weakly institutionalized and supported by limited budgets, making it difficult to analyze their actual effects. Because of this, there is very little research on how effective they have been in promoting agroecological transitions or the objectives that agroecology aims to achieve. Consequently, the paper’s main recommendation is for research to fill this gap so that future policy formulation and implementation can be better informed by experiences from different countries.

× To analyze the governance arrangements of an institution it is necessary to understand the history and reasons for its creation, which, among other things, define its nature and the basic pacts and agreements (with the power balances implied) among the main actors involved. This document shows how the IDB emerged from a centuries-long interaction between LAC countries and the United States, on economic, political, and military matters. That dialogue led to the consideration of several regional financial institutions, including the 1940 Inter-American Bank, which was the predecessor of both the World Bank and the IMF. After the IDB was created in 1959, that dialogue was extended since the 1970s to the current partners from Europe and Asia, making the bank a global institution.

× Background: Animal pollination supports agricultural production for many healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, that provide key nutrients and protect against noncommunicable disease. Today, most crops receive suboptimal pollination because of limited abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. Animal pollinators are currently suffering owing to a host of direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures: land-use change, intensive farming techniques, harmful pesticides, nutritional stress, and climate change, among others. Objectives: We aimed to model the impacts on current global human health from insufficient pollination via diet.

× Women’s decisionmaking indicators are widely used in social science research, though insufficient attention is given to measurement issues. We interrogate variations in indicator construction using survey experiments undertaken in the context of transfer programs in Ecuador, Yemen, and Uganda. Findings show that small variations can lead to meaningful differences in how women are ranked on decisionmaking, as well as change conclusions on whether programs have significant impacts on decisionmaking. Results also raise questions as to how well indicators capture dimensions of empowerment as they are not consistently associated with measures of women’s status. Finally, in the context of Uganda, results indicate that measures are susceptible to social desirability bias, however further investigation is needed to assess this potential. We conclude that choices made in indicator construction matter and in the absence of standardized guidance, current practice is ad-hoc. Further, despite the wide use of these indicators, evaluating program success on women’s empowerment solely through standard decisionmaking indicators is not recommended. Finally, measurement innovation utilizing context-specific understanding of intra-household dynamics is needed.

× High kernel-zinc maize varieties are available to consumers in several countries in Latin America to contribute to increase the zinc intake of their populations. Minerals, phytic acid and amino acids retention were measured after processing six maize varieties including three high kernel-zinc, one quality protein maize and two conventional maize. Grain for each variety was processed in duplicate into tortillas, arepas and mazamorra, common maize dishes in the region. To evaluate the effect of processing kernel-zinc maize varieties on zinc retention, varieties were grouped in zinc biofortified maize (ZBM) and non-ZBM. Iron, zinc, phytic acid, tryptophan and lysine concentrations in non-processed maize were 17.1–19.1 μg/g DW, 23.9–33.0 μg/g DW, 9.9–10.0 mg/g DW, 0.06–0.08% and 0.27–0.37%, respectively. In tortillas, the iron, zinc, phytic acid and lysine content did not change (p<0.05) compared to raw grain, while tryptophan decreased by 32%. True retention of iron in arepas and mazamorra was 43.9 and 60.0%, for zinc 36.8 and 41.3%, and for phytic acid 19.3 and 25.1%. Tortillas had higher zinc retention than arepas and mazamorra due to use of whole grain in the nixtamalization process. Therefore, to contribute to higher zinc intake, nixtamalized tortilla prepared with biofortified zinc maize is recommended. Additionally, promotion of whole grain flour to prepare arepas should be explored to enhance the intake of minerals that are usually confined to aleurone layers and germ.

× SARS-CoV-19, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a global pandemic that has placed unprecedented stress on national economies, food systems and healthcare resources in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This region has become an epicenter for the coronavirus, with Brazil and Mexico leading the globe in deaths following the U.S. in death count. Existing surveillance provides a proxy on COVID-19 caseload and deaths; however, these measures make it difficult to identify shifts to the pandemic and changes in the speed and acceleration in COVID-19. Accordingly, we provide an enhanced surveillance system to complement static metrics with dynamic ones that inform hen there are shifts and where explosive growth is likely to occur in LAC.

× This article examines the short‐term effects of the COVID‐19 lockdown on food security and nutrition in rural Guatemala. We rely on a comprehensive panel dataset of 1,824 small agricultural households collected over two survey rounds, on November–December 2019 and May–June 2020. We place special emphasis on changes in agricultural and nonagricultural income sources, including remittances, and changes in dietary diversity, including consumption of animal source foods (ASF) and fruits and vegetables (F&V). We find that COVID‐19 affected the incomes, food security, and dietary patterns of households, with a decrease in ASF diversity and an increase in F&V diversity, and an overall net decrease in dietary diversity across all food groups. Dietary diversity among women in reproductive age, however, remained unchanged, and increased among children under 2 years old. Interestingly, households with relatively higher incomes appear to have reduced their dietary diversity to a larger extent than lower income ones, as well as households located in communities with more severe access restrictions. The focus of the study in a region with a high prevalence of poverty and chronic malnutrition provides an important perspective into the consequences of the lockdown in complex rural contexts with vulnerable populations and contributes to inform eventual recovery measures.

× The book has been prepared by authors from different international organizations – including FAO, IFPRI, UNCTAD and ECLAC, as well as legislators and academics from prestigious Latin American universities – seeking to foster reflections for the Global Food Systems Summit, to be held in September 2021. It contextualizes the region’s food systems within a post COVID-19 pandemic scenario and raises new challenges (and opportunities) for policy makers, decision makers, the private sector, and the general public. Likewise, it offers important reflections on sustainability, from production to consumption, with the call to promote better governance of the global and regional food system. In order to face what some authors have deemed “the Syndemic of the century”, the participation of companies, research centres, academia, NGOs, government agencies and international organizations will be necessary.

× Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the midstream (processors, wholesalers and wholesale markets, and logistics) segments of transforming value chains have proliferated rapidly over the past several decades in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Their spread has been most rapid in the long transitional stage between the traditional and modern stages, when value chains grow long and developed with urbanization but are still fragmented, before consolidation. Most of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and parts of the other regions, are in that stage. The midstream SMEs in output and input value chains are important to overall food security (moving about 65% of food consumed in Africa and South Asia), and to employment, farmers, poor consumers, and the environment. The midstream of value chains is neglected in the national and international debates as the “missing middle.” We found that it is indeed not missing but rather hidden from the debate, hence “the hidden middle.” The midstream SMEs grow quickly and succeed where enabling conditions are present. Our main policy recommendations are to support the SMEs further growth through a focus on infrastructure investment, in particular on wholesale markets and roads, a reduction of policy-related constraints such as excessive red tape, and regulation for food safety and good commercial practices.