Food safety is the absence of chemical and/or biological toxins in food that can affect consumer health. Only safe foods meet dietary needs and contribute to active and healthy lives for all individuals. However, each year, over 400,000 deaths are caused by foodborne illnesses (WHO, 2023). Foodborne illnesses have been recognized as a significant public health issue in the … [Read more...] about World Food Safety Day: Towards Safe Food for All
Lina Salazar
Lina Salazar is a senior economist for the Environment, Rural Development and Disaster Risk Management Division of the Inter-American Development Bank. She has a PhD in Economics from the American University in Washington DC, with specialization on rural development, gender economics and project impact evaluation. Over the past six years she has lead the design and implementation of several impact evaluations of rural development programs with the purpose to identify effective strategies to improve agricultural productivity, income and food security of small land holder producers in the Latin American and the Caribbean region (i.e. Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Mexico). Her research also expands to topics related with disaster risk management and gender issues. Currently her work at the IBD entails leading the design of agricultural projects (i.e. Haiti, Bolivia, Peru) and the impact evaluation agenda for interventions in the agricultural sector. Previously, Ms. Salazar has worked in the Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the FAO in Rome, Italy as well as in the Impact Enhancement Division of the International Potato Center in Lima, Peru.
How the War between Russia and Ukraine Might Affect Your Dinner in Latin America and the Caribbean
Agricultural commodity prices have been very volatile since the early 2000s, peaking in 2008, then declining sharply until 2010 before starting to rise again (i). In 2012, prices reached a new peak caused by a historic drought in the United States, but then remained low over 2015–2019, a period that also saw a restocking of inventories of soybean, wheat, and corn. In stark … [Read more...] about How the War between Russia and Ukraine Might Affect Your Dinner in Latin America and the Caribbean
Improving Food Security through Women’s Empowerment
Food security goes far beyond having enough food. Food security refers to "the situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (FAO, 2006). That is, being able to access food of high nutritional quality regularly, … [Read more...] about Improving Food Security through Women’s Empowerment
Yes, we can!… Measure Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture!
When we talk about women’s empowerment, it is difficult to grasp what we actually mean. Does it refer to women’s attitude towards gender violence? Or does it mean women’s economic independence and decision-making power? Does it perhaps imply access to productive resources, education and other opportunities? Or might it mean control over time? Or does it concern all these … [Read more...] about Yes, we can!… Measure Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture!
Community irrigation with a watershed approach: a technological leap forward for sustainable agriculture in Bolivia
Irrigation plays a vital role in the productivity of the agricultural sector and food security stability. Access to irrigation increases agricultural production and productivity, allowing farmers to expand the number of planting and harvesting cycles on the same plot, within the same agricultural year. This increase in agricultural production translates into greater food … [Read more...] about Community irrigation with a watershed approach: a technological leap forward for sustainable agriculture in Bolivia