Escaping the fragility-poverty trap: New evidence on financing food systems in Africa

Extreme poverty and fragility are increasingly converging, and so must the policies and financing designed to address them. This was the central message of an October 17 policy seminar, Tackling Extreme Poverty and Financing for Food Systems in Africa, organized by IFPRI on the margins of the 2025 World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C.

The hybrid event brought together researchers, policymakers, and development partners from the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and IFPRI to explore new evidence on how fragility, poverty, and food insecurity intersect in Africa, and how financing strategies must adapt to sustain progress in the most vulnerable settings.