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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Kate Ambler

Kate Amber is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit. Kate’s research broadly focuses on interventions that can increase incomes for smallholders and other microenterprises in agrifood value chains, with a specific focus on the inclusion of women. This includes work on programming in fragile settings, innovations in agricultural finance, and regulatory solutions for food safety. 

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IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Development Strategies and Governance

Patrick Ward

Nonresident Fellow

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Bio

Patrick Ward is a Nonresident Fellow with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, and is working in an outposted capacity.

Publications

Google Scholar Citations

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Publications

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Journal Article

Evaluating the gendered credit constraints and uptake of an insurance-linked credit product among smallholder farmers in Kenya

2025Timu, Anne G.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; You, Liangzhi
Details

Evaluating the gendered credit constraints and uptake of an insurance-linked credit product among smallholder farmers in Kenya

Year published

2025

Authors

Timu, Anne G.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; You, Liangzhi

Citation

Timu, Anne G.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; and You, Liangzhi. Evaluating the gendered credit constraints and uptake of an insurance-linked credit product among smallholder farmers in Kenya. Journal of Development Studies. Article in press. First published online September 23, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2024.2404573

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agricultural Credit; Financial Inclusion; Gender; Smallholders; Men; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2024.2404573 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

Impact of risk-contingent credit and traditional credit on smallholders’ agricultural investment and productivity: Experimental evidence from Kenya

2024Ndegwa, Michael K.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; Liu, Yanyan; Turvey, Calum G.; You, Liangzhi
Details

Impact of risk-contingent credit and traditional credit on smallholders’ agricultural investment and productivity: Experimental evidence from Kenya

We use a multiyear, multi-arm randomized controlled trial implemented among 1,053 smallholders in Kenya to evaluate ex-ante investment and ex-post productivity and welfare benefits of two competing lending models: risk-contingent credit (RCC)—which embeds crop insurance with a loan product—and traditional credit (TC). We rely on local average treatment effects to demonstrate the effects of these alternative credit products on borrowers but report the intention-to-treat effects for their broader policy significance. Uptake of RCC increased treated households’ farm investments—specifically, adoption of chemical fertilizers—by up to 14 percent along the extensive margins and by more than 100 percent along the intensive margins, while TC’s effects were less in both magnitude and statistical significance. Neither type of credit product had a significant effect on the overall area cultivated under maize, hence enhancing agricultural intensification but not extensification. Ex-post, neither type of credit product had a strong direct effect on households’ productivity. We conclude that access to credit has potential to increase investment and productivity among smallholders, although improved productivity needs better measurement and extended intervention to be realized. To scale the potential effects of credit, derisking access to credit should be considered to expand access to credit.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ndegwa, Michael K.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; Liu, Yanyan; Turvey, Calum G.; You, Liangzhi

Citation

Ndegwa, Michael K.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; Liu, Yanyan; Turvey, Calum G.; and You, Liangzhi. 2024. Impact of risk-contingent credit and traditional credit on smallholders’ agricultural investment and productivity: Experimental evidence from Kenya. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2303. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163758

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Credit; Productivity; Investment; Smallholders; Welfare; Risk

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Working Paper

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Journal Article

Subjective well-being, willingness to accept COVID policies, and vulnerability: Evidence from China

2024Tian, Junyan; Ward, Patrick S.
Details

Subjective well-being, willingness to accept COVID policies, and vulnerability: Evidence from China

Year published

2024

Authors

Tian, Junyan; Ward, Patrick S.

Citation

Tian, Junyan; and Ward, Patrick S. 2024. Subjective well-being, willingness to accept COVID policies, and vulnerability: Evidence from China. Chinese Economy 57(6): 449-471. https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2024.2340930

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Asia; Eastern Asia; Covid-19; Livelihoods; Vulnerability; Welfare

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2024.2340930 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Incentives could create a tipping point in conservation agriculture adoption
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 26, 2018

Incentives could create a tipping point in conservation agriculture adoption

By Andrew Reid Bell, Patrick Ward, Lawrence Mapemba, Tim Benton, Klaus Droppelmann, Jennifer Zavaleta Cheek, Frazer Mataya, and Oliver Pierson

Research in Malawi shows that farmers are more likely to adopt conservation agriculture practices when their neighbors are using them—suggesting financial incentives can help to create a virtuous circle.

Research for agricultural insurance in South Asia: A regional dialogue
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 16, 2018

Research for agricultural insurance in South Asia: A regional dialogue

By Berber Kramer and Patrick Ward

A forum in Dhaka examines the promise and challenges of crop insurance for smallholders as a hedge against growing climate impacts.

Index insurance as an instrument for managing risk and modernizing agricultural production
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 02, 2017

Index insurance as an instrument for managing risk and modernizing agricultural production

By Patrick Ward

An IFPRI trial in Bangladesh shows that index-based insurance—with payouts based on weather data or other benchmarks rather than actual losses—has benefits beyond mere compensation.

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