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Who we are

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.

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. 

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.

Reduce Poverty and End Hunger and Malnutrition

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Jordi Ruiz Cirera/Panos

What’s New


Journal Article

Low awareness and affordability are major drivers of low consumption of animal‐source foods among children in Northern Ethiopia: A mixed‐methods study

2024Zerfu, Taddese ; Duncan, Alan J.; Baltenweck, Isabelle; McNeill, G.

Low awareness and affordability are major drivers of low consumption of animal‐source foods among children in Northern Ethiopia: A mixed‐methods study

Animal-source foods (ASFs), contain high amounts of essential nutrients that are readily absorbed by the body. However, children in resource-constrained settings often have limited access to these nutritious foods. This study aimed to investigate the reasons for the low consumption of ASFs among children in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. A community-based mixed-methods study was conducted, using exploratory qualitative methods supplemented by the analysis of secondary data from the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). The qualitative study employed a multiphase stepwise design and the maximum variation purposive sampling technique, enroling a diverse range of participants such as mothers and/or caregivers, household heads, religious and community leaders, health and nutrition experts, and others. The qualitative data were analysed using a thematic framework analysis method, while the quantitative data were analysed using SPSS v22 statistical software. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of ASFs among children under 5 years of age in the region. Despite the large and diverse livestock populations available, only 13.2% of children consumed at least one animal-source food (ASF) in the prior day. The most consumed ASFs were dairy and eggs, whereas beef, organ meat, and seafood were the least consumed. Household demographics such as residence, literacy level, paternal age, and household wealth quintiles influenced the overall consumption of ASFs. The main reasons for the low consumption of ASFs among children were unaffordability and poor awareness among caregivers. In addition, religious misconceptions, price hikes, limited availability during certain seasons, low productivity, insufficient support from health professionals, and time constraints for caregivers were also mentioned as significant barriers to ASF consumption in the area. The consumption of ASFs among children in Ethiopia, particularly in the Amhara region, remains very low. This is mainly due to the caregivers’ levels of awareness and unaffordability of ASFs. It is recommended that behavioural and sociocultural interventions be implemented that target caregivers to improve the consumption of ASFs among children.

Year published

2024

Authors

Zerfu, Taddese ; Duncan, Alan J.; Baltenweck, Isabelle; McNeill, G.

Citation

Zerfu, T., Duncan, A., Baltenweck, I. and McNeill, G. 2024. Low awareness and affordability are major drivers of low consumption of animal‐source foods among children in Northern Ethiopia: A mixed‐methods study. Maternal & Child Nutrition

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Food Security; Consumption; Animal Source Foods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Record type

Journal Article

Journal Article

Restoring functional integrity of the global production ecosystem through biological control

2024
Wyckhuys, Kris A.G.; Gu, Baogen; Fekih, Ibtissem Ben; Finger, Robert; Kenis, Mark; Lu, Yanhui; Subramanian, Sevgan; Tang, Fiona H.M.; Weber, Donald C.; Zhang, Wei
…more Hadi, Buyung A.R.

Restoring functional integrity of the global production ecosystem through biological control

Human society is anchored in the global agroecosystem. For millennia, this system has provided humans with copious supplies of nutrient-rich food. Yet, through chemical intensification and simplification, vast shares of present-day farmland derive insufficient benefits from biodiversity and prove highly vulnerable to biotic stressors. Here, we argue that on-farm action centered on biological control can effectively defuse pest risk by bolstering foundational ecosystem services. By harnessing plant, animal and microbial biodiversity, biological control offers safe, efficacious and economically-sound plant health solutions and coevolved options for invasive species mitigation. In recent years, its scientific foundation has been fortified and solutions have been refined for myriad ecologically brittle systems. Yet, for biological control to be mainstreamed, it needs to be rebooted, intertwined with (on- and off-farm) agroecological tactics and refurbished – from research, policy and regulation, public-private partnerships up to modes of implementation. Misaligned incentives (for chemical pesticides) and adoption barriers further need to be removed, while its scientific underpinnings should become more interdisciplinary, policy-relevant, solution-oriented and linked with market demand. Thus, biological control could ensure human wellbeing in a nature-friendly manner and retain farmland ecological functioning under global change.

Year published

2024

Authors

Wyckhuys, Kris A.G.; Gu, Baogen; Fekih, Ibtissem Ben; Finger, Robert; Kenis, Mark; Lu, Yanhui; Subramanian, Sevgan; Tang, Fiona H.M.; Weber, Donald C.; Zhang, Wei; Hadi, Buyung A.R.

Citation

Wyckhuys, Kris A.G.; Gu, Baogen; Fekih, Ibtissem Ben; Finger, Robert; Kenis, Mark; Lu, Yanhui; Subramanian, Sevgan; et al. 2024. Restoring functional integrity of the global production ecosystem through biological control. Journal of Environmental Management 370(November 2024): 122446. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122446

Keywords

Agroecosystems; Biodiversity; Biological Control; Plant Health; Resilience

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Project

Nature-Positive Solutions

Record type

Journal Article

Journal Article

Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms

2024Diao, Xinshen; Ellis, Mia; McMillan, Margaret; Rodrik, Dani

Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms

Year published

2024

Authors

Diao, Xinshen; Ellis, Mia; McMillan, Margaret; Rodrik, Dani

Citation

Diao, Xinshen; Ellis, Mia; McMillan, Margaret; and Rodrik, Dani. Africa’s manufacturing puzzle: Evidence from Tanzanian and Ethiopian firms. World Bank Economic Review. Article in press. First published online August 10, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/wber/lhae029

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Growth; Manufacturing; Productivity; Transformation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Journal Article

The 2024 Global Food Policy Report

Food systems and diets underpin many critical challenges to public health and environmental sustainability, including malnutrition, noncommunicable diseases, and climate change, but healthy diets have the unique potential to reshape the future for both human and planetary well-being. Drawing on recent evidence and experience, the 2024 Global Food Policy Report highlights opportunities for transforming food systems to ensure sustainable healthy diets for all.

Experts in Our Field

IFPRI’s experts work around the world to provide the evidence that supports effective policies to reduce poverty and end malnutrition.

600+

staff across the world

80+

countries where we work

#1

in the field of Agricultural Economics

20,000+

research outputs

Meet a Researcher

Hiroyuki Takeshima is a Senior Research Fellow in the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit, based in Washington, DC, and has worked in IFPRI’s Nigeria office. His research focuses on agricultural technology adoption under climate change, including agricultural mechanization, seed and varietal technologies, agrifood system transformation and rural economic transformation, public investments, conflict, gender, and agriculture–nutrition linkages. His work covers Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. Hiroyuki is a coeditor of two IFPRI books, The Nigerian Rice Economy: Policy…

Hiroyuki Takeshima

From our video channel

In this interview with RFD-TV, Purnima Menon, Senior Director, Food and Nutrition Policy, CGIAR and IFPRI, discusses what UNGA and Climate Week meetings mean for agriculture, and why it’s important for global leaders to prioritize agricultural innovation as they make decisions about how to address climate change and other global issues. She also highlights CGIAR’s scientific research benefits farmers both in the US and abroad.

Our Events

Making a Difference Blog Series

For more than three decades, IFPRI has worked with the Government of Ethiopia to provide evidence-based advice on the development of the country’s agricultural sector.

IFPRI’s research and policy recommendations led to the establishment of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) in 2010, which continues to play a critical role in guiding the country’s agricultural development and sustainability.

Tamsin Zandstra, Gashaw T. Abate, Shahidur Rashid, and Nicholas Minot outline how IFPRI’s long-term strategic research support to the ATA has led to several tangible government policy outcomes.