'Transforming food systems in times of global disorder' with Dr Johan Swinnen

Forthcoming Event

Date
 26 March 2026, 5:00pm - 6:15pm
Registration Required

Location
 Gillis Lecture Theatre, Balliol College
Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BJ

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Dr Johan Swinnen will examine how shifting geopolitics, conflicts, trade disruptions, and changes in the food development finance landscape have affected progress on hunger and nutrition for transforming food systems and what the implications are.

Dr Swinnen will explore how global shifts are reshaping our ability to achieve food and nutrition security for all. Discussing trends from the 1960s to the present, he will analyse the evolution of geopolitics and disruptions, and their relationship to undernourishment, malnutrition, and the rising cost of a healthy diet. He will explain why, under current trajectories, reaching Sustainable Development Goal 2 of Zero Hunger does not seem viable. He will also discuss the ways in which shifting geopolitics, trade disruptions, and changes in development finance have intensified food price shocks and vulnerabilities. Dr Swinnen will conclude by highlighting the need to mobilise more effective financing, repurpose public support, strengthen agriculture R&D, and catalyse greater private sector investment, in order to build more resilient and inclusive food systems.

REGISTRATION

  • Please note that this is an in-person only event.  To attend please scroll down and fill in the registration form at the bottom of the page
Johan Swinnen bio pic

Dr Johan Swinnen
Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute

Johan Swinnen has been Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2020.  From 2005 to 2019, he was Professor of Economics & Director of the LICOS Centre for Institutions & Economic Performance at KU Leuven (Belgium) and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels. Prior to this he was Lead Economist at the World Bank between 2003 and 2004 and Economic Adviser to the European Commission between 1998 and 2001.  He has been a Visiting Professor at various universities and is a frequent adviser to institutions such as the World Bank, OECD, FAO and EBRD.  Dr Swinnen completed his PhD at Cornell University and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Göttingen and the Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra. He is a fellow of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) and of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE).  He also served as President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists between 2012 and 2015.  Dr Swinnen has published extensively on agricultural & food policies, international development, political economy, institutional reforms, trade, and global value chains. He has received a series of awards for his books including The Political Economy of Agricultural and Food Policies (2018) and COVID-19 and Global Food Security (2020), both received awards from the AAEA and EAAE. 

In-Person Registration

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