FAO Podcasts

Global food markets are facing increasing pressure from conflict, climate extremes, economic uncertainty, and supply chain disruptions. Yet despite these shocks, global food markets often recover quickly and regain their equilibrium. But the resulting food price spikes can have severe consequences for food security, underscoring the importance of international cooperation.

In this episode of The Work We Do, we speak with FAO Senior Economist George Rapsomanikis and Economist Andrea Zimmermann about The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2026. They examine how shocks affect food trade and its implications for food security, what makes global markets resilient, and why international cooperation matters more than ever.

1:40 Are there more shocks?

4:04 Different types of shocks

7:19 Characteristics of resilient markets

9:12 Can markets absorb shocks?

14:15 Ukraine, Hormuz, and trade risks

16:11 How fast does market recover?

20:20 Why food prices remain volatile

21:59 The role of policy and international cooperation

25:07 How can countries build resilience

26:26 Takeaway

The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO) 2026 report: https://doi.org/10.4060/ce0337en

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is disrupting global energy and fertilizer markets. For the hundreds of millions already living in extreme poverty, the effects could be severe. In this episode, Ben Davis, Director of FAO's Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, and Marco Knowles, Senior Policy Officer in the same division, make the case for social protection as a more effective response than the costly subsidies that governments are reaching for.

They challenge the idea that cash transfers are handouts, drawing on rigorous evidence showing that rural households invest them productively in agricultural inputs, education, and local economies. And they explain why targeted social assistance outperforms subsidies in both efficiency and reach. Policy brief: The role of social protection in addressing the impacts of the 2026 conflict in the Middle East – Implications for poverty, food security and smallholder production https://doi.org/10.4060/cd9363en

0:00 Introduction 0:36 Why social protection is urgent now 2:54 Why social protection systems must exist before crises 6:47 Cash transfers are investments 11:37 Social protection vs subsidies 17:44 The politics of cash transfers 25:18 Lessons from COVID-19 28:36 How to finance social protection 31:26 What countries should do now 33:31 Social protection beyond shock response 36:01 Country examples 39:05 What success could look like in 10 years

In this episode of The Work We Do, we speak with Manuel Barange, FAO Assistant Director-General and Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, about the realities behind fisheries, aquaculture and the future of aquatic foods.i

Manuel breaks down the latest findings from The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2026, including the growing role of aquatic foods in global nutrition and food security, and discusses sustainability, fisheries management and how scientists measure fish stocks that cannot be directly counted.

He also reflects on his career, from marine biologist and scientific observer at sea to senior leader at FAO, and shares his advice for young professionals entering the sector. Host :Katrin Park Produced by Eduardo De La Chica Copyright: FAO

00:00 Introduction

00:59 Are we running out of fish?

06:13 How fisheries are measured and managed

15:19 Sustainability, overexploitation and fish stocks

21:30 Fighting illegal fishing through the Port State Measures Agreement

31:19 Key findings from The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture

35:06 Aquaculture, Blue Transformation and the future of aquatic foods

48:34 Manuel's career and advice for young professionals

Sarah Cahill is the Secretary of Codex Alimentarius, the international body that develops the food standards behind much of what we eat, how it is labelled, and how it moves across borders.

In this episode of The Work We Do, Sarah joins us in the Situation Room to discuss the past, present and future of Codex.

We explore how Codex helped countries come together around scientific evidence to protect consumers, reduce foodborne risks and build trust in global food trade. Its work may be invisible to most people, but it sits behind everyday decisions: what appears on a food label, how contaminants are controlled, how additives are assessed, how hygiene rules are applied, and how countries agree that food is safe to trade.

Katrin and Sarah also discuss the difficult process of reaching agreement between countries, why some standards take years to develop, and how science helps create common ground in a world of different regulations, risks and food systems.

Finally, Sarah looks to the future: a warming planet, changing food safety hazards, water scarcity, seaweed, cell-based foods and the new questions regulators will need to answer.

A conversation about the quiet global work that helps keep food safe, and why it shapes our lives more than we realise.

In this episode of The Work We Do, we speak with Lynnette Neufeld, Director of FAO's Food and Nutrition Division, about the complex realities behind today's nutrition challenges.

The conversation explores the double burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition and obesity can coexist within the same country, community, household or even individual. We also discuss why healthy diets costs more and the difficulties of advancing nutrition policies in contexts shaped by conflicting interests, commercial pressure and the need for stronger policy coherence.

Lynnette reflects on her years working on the evaluation of Mexico's landmark conditional cash transfer programme, the mentors and experiences in Latin America that shaped her path from young researcher to senior leader in international nutrition, and her vision for FAO's role in the nutrition agenda: helping shift the focus from simply feeding the world to enabling access to and consumption of healthy diets for all.

00:00 Evidence over interests 00:45 Intro 00:59 The double burden of malnutrition 04:44 Policy responses 08:20 Why unhealthy food is cheaper 12:54 Nutrition beyond health 14:41 Ultra-processed foods 19:08 Commercial pressure 22:39 The role of advertising 25:30 Governments, business and civil society 30:14 Healthy diets and misinformation 32:51 FAO's role in nutrition 39:02 Mexico's cash transfer programme 42:17 Evaluation and implementation 49:00 Latin America and mentorship 01:10 Healthy diets

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since February 28. As of May 18th, 2026, it remains shut. The chokehold on global energy and fertilizer supplies keeps expanding through agrifood systems worldwide.

In this special episode of The Work We Do, we discuss the short, medium, and long-term structural policy solutions to the global agrifood impacts of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In this episode of The Work We Do, we sit down with Charles Spillane, Chief Scientist at FAO.

Charlie traces how his upbringing on a farm in Ireland and an early interest in science fiction shaped his techno-optimistic worldview and his belief in the power of science and innovation to improve society.

He discusses why scientific advances often fail to reach smallholder farmers, what it takes to close the gap between knowledge and adoption, and how financial, institutional, and systemic barriers can be addressed.

Charlie explores the growing role of data in agriculture, including questions of ownership and governance, and the limitations of current research funding models. And he shares vision for a more effective, future-ready agrifood science system.

00:00 Inequality and progress

01:00 From farm to FAO

08:28 Innovation in context

11:11 The technology gap

12:24 Data and control

16:00 The digital divide

21:10 Climate trade-offs

27:07 Science funding

32:46 Why FAO

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since 28 February. As of 13 April, vessels are still not moving in meaningful numbers. The last ships to leave before the blockade are now reaching their destinations, meaning the real supply gap is only beginning to materialise.

Key messages:

• Before the conflict began, the strait carried 30-35% of global crude oil, 20% of natural gas, and up to 30% of internationally traded fertilizers.

• Food commodity prices have not risen yet because existing stocks are absorbing the shock. But if the strait traffic does not resume, the shocks to energy and fertilizer markets will translate into higher commodity and retail prices later in 2026 and into 2027.

• The crop calendar is the key constraint. As planting seasons begin, farmers must choose between absorbing higher input costs or reducing fertilizer and other input use. They need targeted, timebound support, as do low-income countries relying on food and fertilizer imports.

• The disruption is not contained to the Gulf or South Asia. It is moving from east to west and from south to north. Export restrictions by major producers risk compounding the supply shortfall.

• With diplomatic solutions and the right policy, there is still time to contain the current situation and prevent it from turning into a global food crisis.

This episode was recorded on 11 April 2025.Host: Katrin ParkProduced by: Eduardo De La ChicaCopyright: FAO

In this episode, we sit down with David Laborde, Director of the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

David shares his journey as a trade economist and how it has shaped his approach to today's agrifood systems. We discuss the role of trade in food security and the true cost of the food we consume.

We also dive into the art of policymaking in complex systems, from balancing competing priorities to managing unintended consequences to navigate difficult tradeoffs.

0:57 How Does a Trade Economist End Up at FAO?

6:14 How Does Trade Affect Food Security and Nutrition?

8:45 Is Local Food Actually Better?

11:57 Does Trade Make You Vulnerable?

17:53 Does Trade Keep Peace?

24:28 Are We Giving Away Our Resources?

33:14 What Is the True Cost of Food?

36:43 Can Subsidies Fix Agrifood Systems?

44:43 On Navigating Complex Tradeoffs

50:13 Towards a Global Social Contract

Middle East is increasing risks for global energy, fertilizer, and agrifood systems.

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical chokepoints for oil, gas, and fertilizer shipments, are already pushing up energy and agricultural input costs worldwide. Because energy and fertilizer markets are closely linked to food production, these shocks can quickly spread through global agrifood systems. At the same time, possible shifts toward biofuel production could further increase food price volatility. Import-dependent countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, are especially exposed to these risks.

In the short term, measures such as diversifying trade routes, strengthening market monitoring, supporting farmers, and providing targeted assistance to vulnerable countries can help stabilize supply chains.

Diplomatic efforts to ensure the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz also remain critical for protecting global energy markets and food security.

Timestamps:

00:34 Impacts of the conflict so far 03:48 Regional impacts 08:01 How long can the system absorb the shock? 13:19 Economic modelling scenarios 18:03 How this conflict differs from Ukraine 22:52 Policy recommendations

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