The Work We Do - Ep1. How to Build Resilient Agrifood Systems. Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist.

About this episode

The episode discusses the interconnectedness of agrifood systems, global markets, and food security with Máximo Torero.

In this first episode of The Work We Do, we speak with Máximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Máximo served as the Director of Markets, Trade and Institutions Division at IFPRI and later as an Executive Director for the World Bank representing several South American countries. The conversation explores how agrifood systems, global markets, financing, and macroeconomic stability are deeply interconnected, and why food security is not only a humanitarian concern but a central pillar of economic and political resilience, promoting national security. Máximo explains how countries can better protect themselves against food crises through smarter investment, early action, and risk-informed policies, and why prevention is far more effective than crisis response. The episode also unpacks the links between hunger, migration, and conflict, and the role international institutions play in stabilizing agrifood systems and reducing systemic risk in an increasingly volatile global environment. Máximo also offers a glimpse into how his upbringing in Peru and his early years as a researcher have shaped his career and worldview. Follow…

People in this episode

Guest: Máximo Torero

Topics covered

• agrifood systems
• food security
• economic resilience
• migration
• conflict
• international institutions

Keywords

• agrifood systems
• food security
• economic resilience
• migration
• conflict
• international institutions
• risk-informed policies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, IFPRI, World Bank

Places: Peru

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