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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.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

Where we work

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Where we work

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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experts

Markets, Trade, and Institutions

Vivian Hoffmann

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Vivian Hoffmann is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit and an Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Much of Hoffmann’s research has focused on two themes: household preventive health behavior and farmer adoption of agricultural technologies. Current projects include randomized evaluations of agronomy training in Uganda, and interventions to improve food safety practices among meat processors and retailers in Kenya, Viet Nam, and Ethiopia. Hoffmann also serves as the Deputy Lead of the CGIAR One Health Initiative. She holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Cornell University.

Publications

CV

Publications

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Journal Article

Navigating One Health in research-for-development: Reflections on the design and implementation of the CGIAR Initiative on One Health

2024Lam, Steve; Hoffmann, Vivian; Bett, Bernard K.; Fèvre, Eric M.; Moodley, Arshnee; Mohan, Chadag V. ; Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Hung Nguyen-Viet
Details

Navigating One Health in research-for-development: Reflections on the design and implementation of the CGIAR Initiative on One Health

Adopting One Health approaches is key for addressing interconnected health challenges. Yet, how to best put One Health into practice in research-for-development initiatives aiming to ‘deliver impacts’ remains unclear. Drawing on the CGIAR Initiative on One Health – a global initiative to address zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and food and water safety – we reflect on challenges during program conception and implementation, prompting us to suggest improvements in multisectoral collaboration, coordination, and communication. Our approach involves conducting a researcher-centered process evaluation, comprising individual interviews that are subsequently thematically analyzed and synthesized. The key takeaway is that limited time for planning processes and short program timelines compared to envisioned development impacts may impede research-for-development efforts. Yet, collaborative work can be successful when adequate time and resources are allocated for planning with minimal disruption throughout implementation. Additionally, due to the multifaceted nature of One Health initiatives, it is important to pay attention to co-benefits and trade-offs, where taking action in one aspect may yield advantages and disadvantages in another, aiding to identify sustainable One Health development pathways. Forming close partnerships with national governments and local stakeholders is essential not only to promote sustainability but also to ensure local relevance, enhancing the potential for meaningful impact. Finally, regularly assessing progress toward development goals is critical as development stands as an overarching objective.

Year published

2024

Authors

Lam, Steve; Hoffmann, Vivian; Bett, Bernard K.; Fèvre, Eric M.; Moodley, Arshnee; Mohan, Chadag V. ; Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; Hung Nguyen-Viet

Citation

Lam, Steven; Hoffmann, Vivian; Bett, Bernard; Fèvre, Eric M.; Moodley, Arshnee; Mohan, Chadag V.; Mateo-Sagasta, Javier; and Hung Nguyen-Viet. 2024. Navigating One Health in research-for-development: Reflections on the design and implementation of the CGIAR Initiative on One Health. One Health 18(June 2024): 100710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100710

Keywords

Antimicrobial Resistance; Food Safety; Health; Research for Development; Zoonoses

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100710 Source record

Project

One Health

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Self-selection versus population-based sampling for evaluation of an agronomy training program in Uganda

2024Hoffmann, Vivian; Doan, M.K.; Harigaya, T.
Details

Self-selection versus population-based sampling for evaluation of an agronomy training program in Uganda

One of the challenges in evaluating the impact of agronomy training programs, particularly on downstream impacts such as yield, is identifying a sample of farmers who are likely to participate in the training. We assess farmers’ participation in a farm business training activity before the agronomy training intervention as a sample identification mechanism. The screening activity was designed to appeal to the same group of farmers targeted by a coffee agronomy training program, while having minimal impact on the program’s goal of increasing coffee yields. A three-session training on farm business management was conducted in 22 study villages in central Uganda. Coffee agronomy training was then offered in half of these villages, based on random assignment. The results show that 52% of coffee farmers who attended the first business training session subsequently attended agronomy training, compared to 22% of those identified through a census. Applying these results to the design of a large ongoing randomised controlled trial, we find that using a self-selected sample reduces the minimum detectable effect of agronomy training on coffee yield to 15.83%, compared to 38% if population-based sampling were used.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hoffmann, Vivian; Doan, M.K.; Harigaya, T.

Citation

Hoffmann, V., Doan, M.K. and Harigaya, T. 2024. Self-selection versus population-based sampling for evaluation of an agronomy training program in Uganda. Journal of Development Effectiveness.

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agronomy; Coffee; Capacity Building

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2023.2236080 Source record

Project

One Health

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Challenges to groundnut value chain development: Lessons from an (attempted) experiment in Ghana

2024Posey, Sean; Magnan, Nicholas; McCullough, Ellen B.; Hoffman, Vivian; Opoku, Nelson; Alidu, Abdul-Hafiz
Details

Challenges to groundnut value chain development: Lessons from an (attempted) experiment in Ghana

In developing countries, value chains for many crops are underdeveloped, leading to low producer prices and poor quality produce. Value chain research using secondary data is made difficult by selection problems, whereas experimental research is logistically very difficult and lacks external validity. With the intention of conducting a field experiment, we piloted an intervention connecting smallholder groundnut farmers in Ghana to a premium groundnut processor through aggregators. While we successfully delivered inputs and training to farmers, we failed in our attempts to link aggregators with downstream processors over two growing seasons. In this paper, we situate the challenges we faced in the broader literature on value chains and identify three problems that prevented us from establishing a value chain for high quality groundnuts: uncertainty, cash constraints, and trust. To help inform future research on this topic, we propose three specific interventions that could mitigate these problems.

Year published

2024

Authors

Posey, Sean; Magnan, Nicholas; McCullough, Ellen B.; Hoffman, Vivian; Opoku, Nelson; Alidu, Abdul-Hafiz

Citation

Posey, Sean; Magnan, Nicholas; McCullough, Ellen B.; Hoffman, Vivian; Opoku, Nelson; and Alidu, Abdul-Hafiz. Challenges to groundnut value chain development: Lessons from an (attempted) experiment in Ghana. Journal of Development Effectiveness. Article in press. First published online March 18, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2024.2319657

Country/Region

Ghana

Keywords

Western Africa; Crops; Developing Countries; Groundnuts; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/19439342.2024.2319657 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

World Food Safety Day 2024: Empowering consumers and small businesses with information
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 06, 2024

World Food Safety Day 2024: Empowering consumers and small businesses with information

By Vivian Hoffmann

Targeting interventions to benefit public health.

The challenges of influencing consumer behavior to improve food safety
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 31, 2020

The challenges of influencing consumer behavior to improve food safety

By Vivian Hoffmann and Emily Wu

Two studies in Kenya examine risk perceptions of aflatoxin in maize.

Addressing food safety questions along the value chain
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 27, 2019

Addressing food safety questions along the value chain

By Vivian Hoffmann

As food systems grow more complex, so do challenges of stopping foodborne illnesses.

Events

Implications of El Niño 2023/24 for Africa South of the Sahara
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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November 29, 2023, 7:30 – 9:00 am

Implications of El Niño 2023/24 for Africa South of the Sahara

Virtual Event: November 29, 2023 at 7:30am-9:00am EST. IFPRI in collaboration with USAID FEWS NET and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is hosting a presentation on the potential impact of the upcoming El Niño on the global agrifood system, with special emphasis on low-income countries in Africa South of the Sahara. The event will be organized around four short talks.

5th Annual Agriculture, Nutrition & Health (ANH) Academy Week
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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June 30 to July 2, 2020

5th Annual Agriculture, Nutrition & Health (ANH) Academy Week

IFPRI is participating in ANH Academy Week that will bring together a community of researchers, practitioners and policymakers from across the world working at the intersection of agriculture, nutrition and health to foster knowledge exchange, innovation and learning, touching on COVID-19’s impacts on our shared work. Presenter(s) Title Date Time John McDermott Welcome Remarks  30-Jun  9:00am John […]

2018 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting
IFPRI at External Event

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August 5 to 7, 2018

2018 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

IFPRI will participate in the 2018 AAEA meeting. The AAEA addresses agricultural economics, international and rural development, and more.

News

January 13, 2020 | In the News

Kenyans love maize. But aflatoxins are making it dangerous (BMJ Journals)

BMJ Journals reported on the dangers and ways to prevent aflatoxin poisoning. The findings from two IFPRI studies were referenced in the article, the first by Research Fellows Vivian Hoffmann and Jef Leroy and Kelly Jones, The impact of reducing dietary aflatoxin exposure on child linear growth: a cluster randomised controlled trial in Kenya, and […]

November 26, 2019 | In the News

What must be done to get toxin out of Kenya’s food supply (The Conversation)

The Conversation published a Q & A article with Research Fellow Vivian Hoffmann on her insights about aflatoxins, a poisonous, toxic chemical produced by a fungus (Aspergillus flavus). Aflatoxins are found in many of Kenya’s popular maize flour brands. Hoffman discusses how to reduce and eventually eliminate aflatoxins in food and the roles that farmers, […]