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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.

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IFPRI Publications: Discussion Papers

Explore Our Latest Discussion Papers

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Working Paper

Barriers and facilitators to women’s participation in farmer producer organizations: A qualitative study exploring women’s empowerment and collective efficacy in Jharkhand, India

2024Bhanjdeo, Arundhita
Details

Barriers and facilitators to women’s participation in farmer producer organizations: A qualitative study exploring women’s empowerment and collective efficacy in Jharkhand, India

Over the last decade in India, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) have emerged as a means of collectivizing smallholder farmers and providing them access to extension, innovation, and market services. FPOs that center women farmers, traditionally at a disadvantage vis-à-vis their male counterparts in access to resources and extension, can serve to enhance women’s agency and collective action in agricultural value chains. We used 59 key informant interviews and nine focus group discussions to examine the constraints to, and facilitators of, women’s and men’s participation in three women-only FPOs in Jharkhand, an eastern Indian state. Additionally, we study the gender and power dynamics in such FPOs and the potential of collective efficacy to enhance agricultural and empowerment outcomes. The FPO intervention we evaluated was supported by an NGO that provides FPO members with both agricultural and gender-based inputs to improve agronomic practices, market linkages, agricultural yields and profits, and the role of women both within the FPO and within their households and communities. In this paper, we provide contextual insights on ‘what works’ to empower women in this context. Women’s perceptions of the benefits from FPO membership were heterogeneous. Our qualitative analysis suggests a nuanced picture of women’s autonomy and decision-making within and outside their household, further shaped by women’s and men’s perception of shifts in women’s access to resources and services. The emerging lessons provide inputs for development implementers and policymakers to recognize diverse contextual barriers in designing FPO interventions to enable and enhance women empowerment outcomes. The research also contributes to the body of knowledge on local gender norms and understanding of empowerment.

Year published

2024

Authors

Bhanjdeo, Arundhita

Citation

Bhanjdeo, Arundhita. 2024. Barriers and facilitators to women’s participation in farmer producer organizations: A qualitative study exploring women’s empowerment and collective efficacy in Jharkhand, India. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2259. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145187

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agricultural Value Chains; Collectivization; Extension; Gender; Innovation; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Buyers’ response to third-party quality certification: Theory and evidence from Ethiopian wheat traders

2024Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Bernard, Tanguy; Bulte, Erwin; Miguel, Jérémy Do Nascimento; Sadoulet, Elisabeth
Details

Buyers’ response to third-party quality certification: Theory and evidence from Ethiopian wheat traders

When quality attributes of a product are not directly observable, third-party certification (TPC) enables buyers to purchase the quality they are most interested in and reward sellers accordingly. Beyond product characteristics, buyers’ use of TPC services also depends on market conditions. We study the introduction of TPC in typical smallholder-based agriculture value chains of low-income countries, where traders must aggregate products from many small-scale producers before selling in bulk to downstream processors, and where introduction of TPC services has oftentimes failed. We develop a theoretical model identifying how different market conditions affect traders’ choice to purchase quality-certified output from farmers. Using a purposefully designed lab-in-the-field experiment with rural wheat traders in Ethiopia, we find mixed support for the model’s prediction: traders’ willingness to specialize in certified output does increase with the share of certified wheat in the market, and this effect is stronger in larger markets. It, however, does not decrease with the quality of uncertified wheat in the market. We further analyze conditions where traders deviate from the theoretically optimal behavior and discuss implications for future research and public policies seeking to promote TPC in smallholder-based food value-chains.

Year published

2024

Authors

Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Bernard, Tanguy; Bulte, Erwin; Miguel, Jérémy Do Nascimento; Sadoulet, Elisabeth

Citation

Abate, Gashaw T.; Bernard, Tanguy; Bulte, Erwin; Miguel, Jérémy Do Nascimento; and Sadoulet, Elisabeth. 2024. Buyers’ response to third-party quality certification: Theory and evidence from Ethiopian wheat traders. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2258. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144973

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agriculture; Certification; Markets; Quality; Smallholders

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Social protection and gender: policy, practice and research

2024Hidrobo, Melissa; Peterman, Amber; Kumar, Neha; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Roy, Shalini; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Paz, Flor
Details

Social protection and gender: policy, practice and research

Gender considerations in the design and delivery of social protection programs are critical to meet overall objectives of reducing poverty and vulnerability. We provide an overview of the policy discourse and research on social protection and gender in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on social assistance, social care, and social insurance. Taking a ‘review of reviews’ approach, we aggregate findings from rigorous evaluations on women’s health, economic, empowerment, and violence impacts. We show there is robust evidence that social assistance has beneficial effects across all four domains. In addition, there is emerging evidence that social care has positive impacts on women’s economic outcomes, but scarce evidence of its impacts on other domains. Aggregated evidence on the impacts of social insurance are lacking. Key design elements facilitating positive impacts for women relate to gender targeting; quality complementary programming; replacing conditionalities with soft nudges; ensuring the value, frequency, and duration of benefits are sufficient; and gender-sensitive operational components. We close with a discussion of evidence gaps and priorities for future research.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hidrobo, Melissa; Peterman, Amber; Kumar, Neha; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Roy, Shalini; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Paz, Flor

Citation

Hidrobo, Melissa; Peterman, Amber; Kumar, Neha; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Roy, Shalini; Gilligan, Daniel O.; and Paz, Flor. 2024. Social protection and gender: policy, practice and research. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2257. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144240

Keywords

Gender; Poverty; Social Protection; Vulnerability; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Measuring land rental market participation in smallholder agriculture can survey design innovations improve land market participation statistics?

2024Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Abay, Kibrom A.; Chamberlin, Jordan; Sebsibie, Samuel
Details

Measuring land rental market participation in smallholder agriculture can survey design innovations improve land market participation statistics?

The emergence of rural land rental markets in Sub-Saharan Africa is recognized as a key component of the region’s ongoing economic transformation. However, the evidence base on land market participation relies on survey-derived measures, which do not always cohere when compared and triangulated, suggesting the possibility of non-trivial measurement error. We report the results of a priming and list experiments designed to shed light on a persistent mystery in rural household survey data from Africa: why there are so many fewer self-reported landlords (renters-out) than tenants (renters-in)? Our design addresses two hypotheses using experimental data from Ethiopia. First, rented-out and rented-in land may be systematically underreported because enumerators and respondents are typically primed to emphasize parcels that are actively managed/cultivated by the household. Second, rented or sharecropped-out land may be systematically underreported because of respondents’ reluctance to acknowledge an activity for which public disclosure may have negative repercussions. We address the first hypothesis with a priming experiment by exposing a random subset of respondents to a nudge that explicitly reminded them to fully account for all land, including rented/sharecropped-in and rented/sharecropped-out. We address the second hypothesis with a double-list experiment, designed to elicit true rates of land renting and sharecropping-out. We find that nudging induces about 4 percentage points increase (or 13% in relative terms) in the share of households participating in renting in or sharecropping-in practices but has negligible effects on reported rates of renting and sharecropping-out. Interestingly, our list experiment indicates much higher revealed rates of renting-out (14-15%) than is reflected in the nominal parcel-roster responses (3%). The magnitude of the latter finding fully explains the apparent difference in renting in versus renting-out rates derived from the regular parcel roster responses. These results indicate that efforts to document land market participation rate and associated impacts must overcome large systematic reporting biases.

Year published

2024

Authors

Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Abay, Kibrom A.; Chamberlin, Jordan; Sebsibie, Samuel

Citation

Abate, Gashaw Tadesse; Abay, Kibrom A.; Chamberlin, Jordan; and Sebsibie, Samuel. 2024. Measuring land rental market participation in smallholder agriculture can survey design innovations improve land market participation statistics? IFPRI Discussion Papers 2255. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144206

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Land; Households; Survey Design; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

A network-driven data collection approach for agri-food value chains

2024Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; de Brauw, Alan; Herskowitz, Sylvan; Wagner, Julia
Details

A network-driven data collection approach for agri-food value chains

A key challenge in systematically collecting data on intermediary agri-food value chain actors is that value chains take the form of a network, with actors linked by a series of transactions. Moreover, we have limited ex ante knowledge about the structure or scale of these networks, which complicates the construction of valid sampling frames and limits traditional random sampling approaches to collect data. To address these challenges, we adapt the respondent-driven sampling approach to collect data on intermediary agri-food value chain actors within their transaction-linked network and implement this approach in the arabica coffee and soybean value chains in Uganda and the rice and potato value chains in Bangladesh. We observe meaningful heterogeneity in the structure and scale of agri-food value chains across commodities and countries. Focusing on traders, we show that the respondent-driven sampling approach generates a larger sample of traders who differ in observable characteristics (i.e., value added, enterprise scale, and financial access) compared to a sub-sample of traders generated in a way that mimics traditional random sampling approaches used to study traders. We conclude by discussing how this respondent-driven sampling approach, applied within transaction-linked networks, can provide a useful data collection method for studying intermediary agri-food value chain actors.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; de Brauw, Alan; Herskowitz, Sylvan; Wagner, Julia

Citation

Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; de Brauw, Alan; Herskowitz, Sylvan; and Wagner, Julia. 2024. A network-driven data collection approach for agri-food value chains. Discussion Paper 2256. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144207

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Uganda

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Southern Asia; Data; Agrifood Systems; Value Chains; Networks; Arabica Coffee; Soybeans; Rice; Potatoes

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Measuring women’s empowerment in national surveys: Development of the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS)

2024
Seymour, Greg; Heckert, Jessica; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Malapit, Hazel J.; Paz, Florencia; Faas, Simone; Myers, Emily; Doss, Cheryl; Sinharoy, Sheela S.
…more Cheong, Yuk Fai; Yount, Kathryn M.; Hassan, Md. Zahidul; Hassan, Md. Imrul; Sharma, Sudhindra; Pokhrel, Pankaj; Sagastume, Mónica Dardón; Kanyanda, Shelton S. E.; Vundru, Wilbert D.; Moylan, Heather
Details

Measuring women’s empowerment in national surveys: Development of the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS)

Monitoring progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5—achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls—remains challenging unless we incorporate women’s empowerment metrics into nationally representative and multi-topic surveys. To address this data gap, we designed the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS) as a streamlined empowerment module suitable for the 50×2030 Initiative, a global partnership that aims to build capacity and close the agricultural data gap in 50 countries by 2030, as well as other large multi-topic surveys. WEMNS measures women’s and men’s empowerment and is applicable to urban and rural areas and a variety of livelihood strategies (farming, self-employment, wage labor) across countries in different stages of structural transformation. WEMNS is a counting-based, multidimensional index composed of four domains: intrinsic agency, instrumental agency, collective agency, and agency-enabling resources. Each domain is measured with binary indicators derived from question sets in the WEMNS module. In this paper, we describe the development and testing of WEMNS and its components, including: (1) WEMNS’s distinctiveness from other empowerment metrics; (2) the iterative approach used to develop and pilot the WEMNS module in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Malawi, and Nepal, using cognitive interviewing, phone surveys, and face-to-face surveys; (3) analysis of quantitative pilot data; and (4) a summary of the findings from the cognitive interviewing. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and possibilities for further development of WEMNS and other empowerment metrics.

Year published

2024

Authors

Seymour, Greg; Heckert, Jessica; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Malapit, Hazel J.; Paz, Florencia; Faas, Simone; Myers, Emily; Doss, Cheryl; Sinharoy, Sheela S.; Cheong, Yuk Fai; Yount, Kathryn M.; Hassan, Md. Zahidul; Hassan, Md. Imrul; Sharma, Sudhindra; Pokhrel, Pankaj; Sagastume, Mónica Dardón; Kanyanda, Shelton S. E.; Vundru, Wilbert D.; Moylan, Heather

Citation

Seymour, Greg; Heckert, Jessica; Quisumbing, Agnes; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; Malapit, Hazel; Paz, Florencia; Faas, Simone; Myers, Emily; et al. 2024. Measuring women’s empowerment in national surveys: Development of the Women’s Empowerment Metric for National Statistical Systems (WEMNS). Discussion Paper 2254. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute

Keywords

Gender Equality; Women; Women’s Empowerment; Data; Agricultural Development; Livelihoods; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Food trade policy and food price volatility

2024Martin, Will; Mamun, Abdullah; Minot, Nicholas
Details

Food trade policy and food price volatility

Food trade barriers in many countries are systematically adjusted to insulate domestic markets from world price changes—a response not predicted by traditional political economy models. In this study, policymakers are assumed to minimize the political costs associated with changing domestic prices and deviating from longer-run political-economy equilibria. Error correction techniques applied to domestic and world price data for rice and wheat collected to measure trade policy distortions allow estimation of policy response parameters. The results suggest that systematic short-run price insulation reduces shocks to domestic prices but sharply increases world price volatility and the costs of trade distortions. However, idiosyncratic domestic price shocks resulting from inefficient policy instruments such as quantitative restrictions increase domestic price volatility relative to the magnified volatility of world prices—frequently outweighing the stabilizing impacts of price insulation. This fundamentally changes our understanding of the impacts of price-insulation—from a zero-sum game where some countries reduce the volatility of their prices using beggar-thy-neighbor policies that raise price volatility elsewhere, into one where price volatility rises in most countries. National policy reforms to move away from discretionary, destabilizing policies could lower costs, reduce volatility in domestic and world prices, and facilitate reform of international trade rules.

Year published

2024

Authors

Martin, Will; Mamun, Abdullah; Minot, Nicholas

Citation

Martin, Will; Mamun, Abdullah; and Minot, Nicholas. 2024. Food trade policy and food price volatility. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2253. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141800

Keywords

Food Prices; Volatility; Consumer Economics; Trade Policies; Behaviour; Econometric Models

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The enabling environment for large-scale food fortification in Madagascar

2024Resnick, Danielle
Details

The enabling environment for large-scale food fortification in Madagascar

Why is there high variability—both across countries and across different food staples—in the adoption and implementation of large-scale food fortification (LSFF)? A systematic diagnostic of the enabling environment for LSFF can identify key bottlenecks and help to calibrate policy interventions appropriately. This paper delineates the components of such a tool by focusing on two core elements of the enabling environment—political will and implementation capacity—and applies the framework to Madagascar. With more than 75 percent of its population living below the poverty line and almost 40 percent of children under five who are stunted, Madagascar faces major hurdles to addressing malnutrition, including weak consumer purchasing power, recurrent political crises, and frequent climate shocks that undermine agricultural productivity. LSFF has been identified in several national nutrition plans as an option for addressing malnutrition. Yet, thus far, only salt has been fortified at a national scale. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 31 knowledgeable stakeholders in Madagascar in the areas of mandatory fortification of salt, voluntary targeted fortification of infant flour, and fortification of foods for humanitarian assistance, the framework reveals several key priorities. First, weak governance overall affects several dimensions of nutrition and fortification policy, including policy momentum, commitment, and communication. Nutrition interventions therefore need to be calibrated to the country’s broader political risks, incentive structures, and capacities of relevant civil servants. To this end, fortification advocates should go beyond drawing on the expertise of nutrition professionals alone and also engage public sector governance experts as partners in fortification efforts. Second, major priorities for investment include a large-scale micronutrient and consumption survey to update information on micronutrient deficiencies and identify viable food vehicles for mass fortification. Third, an accredited laboratory to test micronutrients is sorely needed in the country to help reduce costs faced by companies who currently send their products overseas for testing and who face competition from counterfeit products. Fourth, financial and technical partners must pursue a multi-pronged lobby approach to overcome high government taxes on imported premix. Fifth, the National Food Fortification Alliance, which serves as a multi-stakeholder platform, requires a sustainable financing model to attract committed leadership and ensure consistent coordination activities. These and other lessons hold policy relevance for other low-income and fragile settings where LSFF is being considered as an option to address micronutrient deficiencies.

Year published

2024

Authors

Resnick, Danielle

Citation

Resnick, Danielle. 2024. The enabling environment for large-scale food fortification in Madagascar. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2251. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141798

Country/Region

Madagascar

Keywords

Africa; Southern Africa; Eastern Africa; Environment; Food Fortification; Implementation; Micronutrient Deficiencies; Governance; Fragility

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Assessing the impact of rice price stabilization policies in Bangladesh: Results from a stochastic spatial equilibrium model

2024Minot, Nicholas; Hossain, Shahadat; Kabir, Razin; Dorosh, Paul A.; Rashid, Shahidur
Details

Assessing the impact of rice price stabilization policies in Bangladesh: Results from a stochastic spatial equilibrium model

Rice plays a central role in the diet in Bangladesh and as a source of income for farmers. Although Bangladesh has largely liberalized international trade in rice, it maintains a public food distribution system to stablize prices, distributing an average of 2 million tons of rice per year at a cost of almost US$ 800 million per year. This study explores whether alternative policies could achieve similar stabilization at a lower cost. It uses a stochastic spatial-equilibrium model of rice markets to simulate monthly prices in eight regions of the country. Stochastic shocks are used to simulate fluctuations in regional production, replicating historical patterns at the region-season level, as well as inter-regional correlation in production shocks. It also simulates fluctuation in world rice prices, mimicking the mean, variance, and serial correlation of historical wholesale prices of rice in Delhi. Public procurement and distribution follow historic averages by month and region. Private storage is represented by a simplified version of rational expectations models, in which net storage is a non-linear function of availability in the previous month. One set of simulations tests alternative levels of distribution, finding that cutting distribution to 1 million tons would have minimal effects on the level of rice price stability. Another set of simulations tested different import tariff levels, including the baseline rate of 25%1. We find that lower tariffs result in both lower rice prices and less price instability, as world rice prices tend to be more stable than local prices. Simulating a buffer stock with different price bands shows that a narrow band can achieve high price stability but at a high fiscal cost. A 20 T/kg (USD 0.26/kg) price band generates similar price stabilization at a lower cost compared to current policy. However, it is difficult to set the “right” purchase and sale price, and many simulations result in exhausting reserves or reaching warehouse capacity. An adaptive buffer stock, in which the price is adjusted as the stock runs too low or too high, solves some of these problems. In general, the study finds that current procurement and distribution patterns do not match well with the regional and monthly patterns of surplus and deficit, possibly reflecting multiple and conflicting goals of the public food distribution system.

Year published

2024

Authors

Minot, Nicholas; Hossain, Shahadat; Kabir, Razin; Dorosh, Paul A.; Rashid, Shahidur

Citation

Minot, Nicholas; Hossain, Shahadat; Kabir, Razin; Dorosh, Paul A.; and Rashid, Shahidur. 2024. Assessing the impact of rice price stabilization policies in Bangladesh: Results from a stochastic spatial equilibrium model. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2252. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141799

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Equilibrium; Price Stabilization; Stochastic Models; Rice; Tariffs

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Economic valuation of ecosystem services of selected interventions in agriculture in India

2024Kumara T M, Kiran; Birthal, Pratap Singh; Meena, Dinesh Chand; Kumar, Anjani
Details

Economic valuation of ecosystem services of selected interventions in agriculture in India

Agriculture is multi-functional, producing economic goods including food, feed, fibre, and fuel, as well as providing several intangible or non-tradable services to society free of cost. Non-tradable services, unlike economic goods, remain unpriced; as a result, farmers are not compensated monetarily for the benefits of the several non-tradable services they provide through agriculture. Recognizing the monetary value of non-tradable ecosystem services is crucial to incentivize farmers to adopt eco-friendly technologies and practices for the sustainable development of agriculture. Through a meta-analysis of the existing evidence on ecosystem services, this study attempts to estimate the value of ecosystem services by using direct and indirect valuation methods—for example, carbon sequestration, methane emission, nutrient availability, biological nitrogen fixation, and water saving—generated by several important technological and agronomic interventions, namely the direct seeding of rice (DSR), zero-tillage in wheat, leguminous crops, organic manure, integrated nutrient management, and agroforestry, based on studies conducted in India. It also explores the trade-offs between the non-tradable and tradable ecosystem services attributable to these interventions. The monetary value of the non-tradable services resulting from most of these interventions is quite large, 34–77% of the total value of all the ecosystem services. However, not all interventions result in a win-win situation that yields improvements in both tradable and non-tradable outcomes. While no-till wheat, legumes, and integrated nutrient management result in a win-win outcome, there are trade-offs between the tradable and non tradable ecosystem services in the cases of directed seed rice, organic manure, and agroforestry. This evidence suggests that not all agricultural technologies and practices are beneficial for farmers, despite their higher environmental benefits. Thus, the findings of this study imply that agricultural policy should provide incentives for the adoption of technologies and practices to conserve ecosystems and natural resources.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kumara T M, Kiran; Birthal, Pratap Singh; Meena, Dinesh Chand; Kumar, Anjani

Citation

Kumara T M, Kiran; Birthal, Pratap Singh; Meena, Dinesh Chand; and Kumar, Anjani. 2024. Economic valuation of ecosystem services of selected interventions in agriculture in India. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2250. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140796

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Ecosystem Services; Agriculture; Economic Value; Farmers; Sustainability; Incentives; Technology Adoption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture diversification and dietary diversity: Panel data evidence from Tajikistan

2024Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Lambrecht, Isabel; Akramov, Kamiljon; Ergasheva, Tanzila
Details

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture diversification and dietary diversity: Panel data evidence from Tajikistan

Nutrition-sensitive agricultural diversification continues to receive interest among developing country stakeholders as a viable option for achieving dual goals of poverty reduction and food/nutrition security improvements. Assessing the effectiveness of this strategy is also essential in countries like Tajikistan. We attempt to enrich the evidence base in this regard. We assess the linkages between household-level agricultural diversification and dietary diversity (both household- and individual-levels) using unique panel samples of households and individual women of reproductive ages in the Khatlon province. Using difference-in-difference propensity-score methods and panel fixed-effects instrumental variable regressions, we show that higher agricultural diversification together with greater overall production per worker and land at the household level leads to higher dietary diversity, particularly in areas with poor food market access. Typology analyses and crop-specific analyses suggest that vegetables, fruits, legumes/nuts/seeds, dairy products and eggs are particularly important commodities for which a farmer’s own production contributes to dietary diversity improvement. Furthermore, decomposition exercises within the subsistence farming framework suggest that nutritional returns and costs of agricultural diversification vary across households, and expected nutritional returns may be partly driving the adoption of agricultural diversification. In other words, households’ decisions to diversify agriculture may be partly driven by potential nutritional benefits associated with enhanced direct on-farm access to diverse food items rather than farm income growth alone. Our findings underscore the importance of supporting household farm diversification in Tajikistan to support improved nutrition intake, especially among those living in remote areas. In a low-income setting with limited local employment opportunities that is vulnerable to a wide range of external shocks, this will likely continue to be one of the most straightforward and realistic paths to improving household’s nutrition resilience.

Year published

2024

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Lambrecht, Isabel; Akramov, Kamiljon; Ergasheva, Tanzila

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Lambrecht, Isabel; Akramov, Kamiljon; and Ergasheva, Tanzila. 2024. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture diversification and dietary diversity: Panel data evidence from Tajikistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2249. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140750

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Dietary Diversity; Food Security; Nutrition; Propensity Score Matching; Agriculture; Modelling

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Claim-making under India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): Barriers and opportunities for women’s voice and agency over asset selection

2024Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Narayanan, Sudha; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Ray, Soumyajit
Details

Claim-making under India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): Barriers and opportunities for women’s voice and agency over asset selection

This paper examines the dynamics of women’s claim-making within the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme in India, focusing on their participation in selecting durable assets for climate resilience. Despite legal entitlements and protections for women within the program, gender disparities persist in claiming public resources. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach including surveys and qualitative interviews, the study uncovers various pathways to women’s claim-making, influenced by factors such as gender norms around mobility and women’s voice and agency, internal barriers and constraints including comfort in public speaking, and knowledge of the program and its various procedures for selecting assets. While challenges to women’s effective participation remain, findings from our analysis suggest potential for interventions to reduce gender gaps and enhance inclusivity in planning processes. Moreover, the study underscores the importance of recognizing diverse claim-making pathways to promote inclusion effectively within the program.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Narayanan, Sudha; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Ray, Soumyajit

Citation

Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Narayanan, Sudha; Raghunathan, Kalyani; and Ray, Soumyajit. 2024. Claim-making under India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA): Barriers and opportunities for women’s voice and agency over asset selection. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2247. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Climate Resilience; Gender Equality; Infrastructure; Women’s Empowerment; Employment; Women’s Participation; Gender Norms; Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

A qualitative study exploring women’s empowerment in coffee cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico

2024Eissler, Sarah; Rubin, Deborah; de Anda, Victoria
Details

A qualitative study exploring women’s empowerment in coffee cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico

This study presents findings from a qualitative research study conducted in Chiapas, Mexico that is one component of a larger activity funded by the Walmart Foundation and implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), titled Applying New Evidence for Women’s Empowerment (ANEW). ANEW seeks to generate evidence from mixed-methods evaluations of women’s empowerment in production and other entrepreneurial efforts at different nodes of agricultural value chains and aims to develop and validate measures of women’s empowerment that focus on agricultural marketing and collective empowerment at the group level, both of which build upon the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index for Market Inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI). In this report, we present findings of a qualitative study of coffee cooperatives supported by Root Capital in Chiapas, Mexico and how Root Capital engages with them to advance women’s economic empowerment, among other objectives. As part of this study, we aimed to describe the gender dynamics and roles and responsibilities of men and women in the coffee value chain in Chiapas, and the opportunities and barriers faced as a result of these dynamics. This study employed qualitative methods to collect primary data from types of respondents using individual and group interviews. Two coffee cooperatives in Chiapas that work with Root Capital were selected to participate in this study. From June to July 2023, 21 individual interviews and 9 group interviews were conducted with market actors, men and women coffee cooperative leaders, men and women cooperative members and their wives, and Root Capital staff from two municipalities in Chiapas. The data were transcribed into Spanish and then translated into English. These transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo software. A codebook inclusive of inductive and deductive themes was developed to guide the thematic analysis. This study design adhered to best practices for ethical research and received approval from IFPRI’s IRB. Several limitations should be considered when reviewing the findings and conclusions of this study. There exist defined gender roles and divisions of labor at each node of the coffee value chain in Chiapas, and participants often described these roles as expected given social norms or perceived gender-specific limitations of natural abilities that would shape how men or women could engage in different activities. Men and women indicated that while men are in charge of coffee production activities, women do spend time contributing to cleaning and management activities, and that women are heavily involved in the coffee harvest. Both men and women explained that women are responsible for processing activities, which can be time consuming and laborious, but often occur close to the home. Although the coffee harvest activities require physical labor in picking and carrying the baskets of ripened cherries, there is a perception that women cannot participate in other post-harvesting activities, such as transporting bags of coffee, because the lifting is too physically heavy of a task for women. Men are responsible for managing the sale of coffee and directly negotiating with the buyer to the extent that a negotiation happens. In instances when buyers travel to the household as the point of sale, women can participate in sales, typically facilitating the sale under the direction of her husband. However, women still do not lift the coffee bags nor transport the bags for sale. And many coffee producing households prefer to or sometimes need to hire labor to help with coffee harvest activities; they tend to hire men as laborers more out of preference or their availability compared to women. Men and women interviewed for this study also described their perceptions and understanding of empowerment and elements of an empowered person with relation to engaging in the coffee value chain. Overall, while the concept of an empowered person was difficult for both men and women to relate to, they shared perceptions of how relations between men and women had changed over the years. Respecting women’s rights or the perception of respecting women’s rights was more acknowledged at the time of the interviews than in previous years, and it was more common to see men and women both generating incomes for the household. Men and women shared different perspectives regarding attitudes toward intimate partner violence, whereas both acknowledged men often mistreated their wives, but women discussed it as a private matter where men shared concerns over women’s reaction to the mistreatment rather than the mistreatment itself. Varying access to resources limited both men and women farmer’s ability to advance in the coffee value chain, particularly access to credit, which was limited for both men and women in the study areas. Limited access to credit with favorable or reasonable terms limited men’s and women’s ability to hire additional labor on their coffee farm or to purchase machines that would reduce specifically women’s time burdens within the household. Women’s time use is constrained by expectations and normative tasks in ways that men are not constrained. Future research is needed and discussed to better understand these dynamics of gendered roles and relations and elements of empowerment in the coffee value chain in Chiapas. Men and women members of the two respective cooperatives shared differences in how they were able to participate in and benefit from their participation in each cooperative. One cooperative provided more opportunities for members to directly engage in meetings, social activities, and capacity building opportunities whereas the other operated through a more decentralized structure and did not offer opportunities for members to directly participate in decision-making or meetings beyond the representation of their delegate. Members of both cooperatives perceived their cooperatives to be consistent and reliable coffee buyers offering stable prices. The former cooperative was also perceived as a source of support and community for members to advance their coffee production and post-harvesting activities. Both cooperatives also addressed key barriers faced by members, such as providing consistent and reliable pricing. Some members reported that cooperatives offered higher prices than those offered by non-cooperative buyers. Cooperatives also provided transportation options for producers to sell their coffee, which also enables women to have more engagement in coffee sales. However, normative barriers, such as women’s existing time burdens and their need for their husbands’ permission, limits women’s full participation in the cooperatives. Finally, we explored the extent to which Root Capital’s engagement with the cooperatives had supported activities or changes that strengthen women’s empowerment by understanding members and leaders’ perceptions of this engagement. Overall, cooperative members were generally unaware of Root Capital and its engagement with the cooperative. Since Root Capital does not provide direct services to farmers or cooperative members, it was not surprising that many cooperative members were generally unaware of Root Capital and its engagement with the cooperative. However, a few were aware of Root Capital, knowing it had provided their cooperative a loan to purchase and maintain a truck, which was used to reduce barriers faced by producers to bring their coffee to the point of sale and had implications for shifting gender roles to manage coffee sales. Cooperative leaders reflected on the loan that facilitated increased transportation capacity, as well as other benefits from working with Root Capital. However, as Root Capital operates with a client-driven approach, adoption of the Gender Equity Advisory services was limited as these services only became recently available in 2021 and cooperatives opted not to prioritize these until 2023. Therefore, there was limited data to understand how these activities may be influencing cooperative operations, gender dynamics and roles, and perception of women engaged in the coffee value chain at the time of this study. We present several recommendations for areas of future research and considerations for Root Capital to strengthen its approach to gender equity programming.

Year published

2024

Authors

Eissler, Sarah; Rubin, Deborah; de Anda, Victoria

Citation

Eissler, Sarah; Rubin, Deborah; and de Anda, Victoria. 2024. A qualitative study exploring women’s empowerment in coffee cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2248. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Mexico

Keywords

Americas; Northern America; Coffee; Cooperatives; Research Methods; Value Chains; Women’s Empowerment; Gender; Collective Behaviour; Qualitative Analysis

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Role of international price and domestic inflation in triggering export restrictions on food commodities

2024Mamun, Abdullah; Laborde Debucquet, David
Details

Role of international price and domestic inflation in triggering export restrictions on food commodities

This paper investigates the drivers of export restrictions on agricultural products based on an original dataset developed at IFPRI. We focus on four food price crises when export restrictions (e.g., ban, tax, licensing etc.) were applied: the 2008 and 2010 food price crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2022 crisis associated with the Russia-Ukraine war. Although the justifications for such trade policies have been discussed in the literature, the ability to forecast their implementation remains understudied. The probit model used in this study suggests that the inflation rate has a higher power to predict export restrictions than do international commodity prices. The probability of export restrictions increases more when price change is measured from a reference level in the long interval than the short interval. Among the covariates, agricultural land per capita, commodity share in production and export, weather condition increases the chances of imposing export restrictions. Per capita income, population density, share of agriculture in GDP, urbanization rate, political economy indicators – all have a negative influence on this likelihood.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mamun, Abdullah; Laborde Debucquet, David

Citation

Mamun, Abdullah; and Laborde Debucquet, David. 2024. Role of international price and domestic inflation in triggering export restrictions on food commodities. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2246. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140687

Keywords

Agricultural Products; Commodities; Covid-19; Export Controls; International Trade; War; Trade Liberalization; Exports

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Farm subsidies and global agricultural productivity

2024Mamun, Abdullah
Details

Farm subsidies and global agricultural productivity

The agriculture sector receives substantial fiscal subsidies in various forms, including through programs that are linked to production and others that are decoupled. As the sector has reached the technology frontier in production over the last three decades or so, particularly in high- and middle-income countries, it is intriguing to investigate the impact of subsidies on productivity at aggregate level. This study examines the impact of subsidies on productivity growth in agriculture globally using a long time series on the nominal rate of assistance for 42 countries that covers over 80 percent of agricultural production. The econometric results show heterogenous effects from various subsidy instruments depending on the choice of productivity measure. Regression results suggest a strong positive effect of input subsidies on both output growth and labor productivity. A positive but relatively small impact of output subsidies is found on output growth only. Subsidies that are mostly decoupled reveal no significant impact on any of the productivity measures.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mamun, Abdullah

Citation

Mamun, Abdullah. 2024. Farm subsidies and global agricultural productivity. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2245. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140668

Keywords

Agricultural Productivity; Agricultural Technology; Econometrics; Globalization; Input Output Analysis; Subsidies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Corporate taxes and labor market informality evidence from China

2024Deng, Guoying; Du, Pengcheng; Hernandez, Manuel A.; Xu, Shu
Details

Corporate taxes and labor market informality evidence from China

This paper examines the association between corporate income taxes and labor market informality. We present a theoretical framework showing that a higher tax enforcement can push firms to pass on the burden to workers by reducing their social security compliance as well as downsizing and lowering wages. The model propositions are tested using a regression discontinuity design that exploits a national corporate tax reform in China. We find that for every one percentage point increase in the effective tax rate, firms reduce their probability of making basic social security contributions by 0.8%, their compliance rate by 1.4 percentage points, and the probability of making supplementary contributions by 0.6%, while the number of workers and wages fall by 4.4% and 0.7%, respectively. We observe that the effects are more salient among firms privately owned and controlled, large businesses, and in locations where social security contributions are directly collected by the social security administration. The findings suggest that workers not only bear part of the higher corporate taxes faced by firms, but an increase in firms’ tax burden contributes to social security evasion and informality in labor markets. JEL Codes: H32, H55, J30, J23, H25

Year published

2024

Authors

Deng, Guoying; Du, Pengcheng; Hernandez, Manuel A.; Xu, Shu

Citation

Deng, Guoying; Du, Pengcheng; Hernandez, Manuel A.; and Xu, Shu. 2024. Corporate taxes and labor market informality evidence from China. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2244. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140480

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Asia; Eastern Asia; Taxes; Labour Market; Social Security; Remuneration

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Assessing the vulnerability of national food security to international food price shocks: A new index

2024Minot, Nicholas; Vos, Rob; Kim, Soonho; Park, Beyeong; Zaki, Sediqa; Mamboundou, Pierre
Details

Assessing the vulnerability of national food security to international food price shocks: A new index

Recent spikes in staple food prices resulting from the invasion of Ukraine have once again highlighted the difficulty faced by low-income countries that rely on imports for a substantial portion of their food supply. To better understand which countries are most affected by higher world food prices, we propose a food import vulnerability index (FIVI). One version of the index describes the vulnerability of each country to higher world prices for each of 15 major staple foods. Another version of the FIVI is a national index, aggregating across the 15 commodities. Both are based on three components, the caloric contribution of the commodity(ies) in the national diet, the dependence on imports, and the level of moderate and severe food insecurity in the country. The values of the FIVI are calculated for 2020, the most recent year for which data are available. The results indicate that countries are most adversely affected by increases in the world price of wheat, rice, and maize, followed by sugar, and vegetable oil. This is because the five commodities listed are both major contributors to the diet in many countries and because countries often depend on imports for a large share of the domestic requirements of these foods. Yemen, Djibouti, and Afghanistan are most vulnerable to increases in world wheat prices, while Liberia, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau are particularly vulnerable to spikes in rice prices. In the case of maize, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Eswatini have the highest vulnerability score. These results should help policymakers and development partners target their efforts to reduce food import vulnerability through policies and programs to strengthen resilience.

Year published

2024

Authors

Minot, Nicholas; Vos, Rob; Kim, Soonho; Park, Beyeong; Zaki, Sediqa; Mamboundou, Pierre

Citation

Minot, Nicholas; Vos, Rob; Kim, Soonho; Park, Beyeong; Zaki, Sediqa; and Mamboundou, Pierre. 2024. Assessing the vulnerability of national food security to international food price shocks: A new index. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2243. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140444

Keywords

Staple Foods; Food Prices; Ukraine; Less Favoured Areas; Vulnerability; Food Security; Imports; Price Volatility

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The economic importance of cowpea in Nigeria trends and Implications for achieving agri-food system transformation

2024Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Andam, Kwaw S.; Amare, Mulubrhan; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Fasoranti, Adetunji
Details

The economic importance of cowpea in Nigeria trends and Implications for achieving agri-food system transformation

Nigeria is the largest producer of cowpea in the world and one of the highest consumers. This paper documents the challenges in cowpea production and consumption, export, and import trends in Nigeria. The critical and comparative review reveals several important insights. Cowpea is important for households and communities due to its substantial contributions to food security, nutrition, and revenue production. It plays a pivotal role in supporting various stakeholders involved in the value chain, including producers, processors, traders, and food vendors. Thus, cowpea is a crucial multipurpose crop. Although Nigeria is the largest producer of cowpea in the world, with a total production of 3.6 million tons in 2021, the demand for cowpea surpasses its supply due to factors such as the country’s large population and low productivity. We describe the main challenges encountered in Nigeria’s cowpea production, encompassing a range of issues such as high susceptibility to pests and diseases from planting to storage phases, low adoption of improved cowpea seed varieties, poor soil fertility, drought, and heat stress. The data suggest that low input use, low-yield varieties, and low productivity characterize the current level of cowpea production. Our findings suggest the need for tailored strategies to support the adoption of improved cowpea varieties in Nigeria to increase domestic production, adherence to quality standards, exploration of international markets for export opportunities, and ultimately, household income and improve nutritional outcomes.

Year published

2024

Authors

Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Andam, Kwaw S.; Amare, Mulubrhan; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Fasoranti, Adetunji

Citation

Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Andam, Kwaw S.; Amare, Mulubrhan; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; and Fasoranti, Adetunji. 2024. The economic importance of cowpea in Nigeria trends and Implications for achieving agri-food system transformation. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2241. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139672

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Agrifood Systems; Cowpeas; Value Chains; Households; Exports; Imports

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Strengthening groundwater governance in Pakistan

2024Rana, Abdul Wajid; Gill, Sitara; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; ElDidi, Hagar
Details

Strengthening groundwater governance in Pakistan

Pakistan is highly dependent on irrigated agriculture for employment, income generation and food security—around 90 percent of all food production relies on either surface or groundwater irrigation. The growing dependence of agriculture but also industries and the drinking water sector on groundwater has led to the overexploitation of groundwater resources and, in some areas, to the deterioration of groundwater quality. Fiscal incentives for solarization of irrigation/drinking water pumps are likely to further increase water withdrawals and make water governance more complex. To understand the perspectives of groundwater users, a qualitative study was conducted in the alluvial groundwater systems of Punjab as well as the hard rock systems of Balochistan. Interviews with key informants at federal, provincial, and district level were also conducted to capture insights from additional decisionmakers affecting groundwater management and governance. The study identified a series of challenges around groundwater management and use, including overexploitation of groundwater resources, worsening groundwater quality raising serious health challenges, lack of communities’ participation in decision making, particularly women, non-availability of actionable data, weak enforcement of laws and regulations relating to groundwater governance, and partisan decision-making driven by political influentials and local bureaucracies. Solarization of irrigation pumps without proper regulatory and monitoring framework is expected to exacerbate groundwater extraction and accelerate water stress. The study strongly suggests an urgent need for not only integrated water management at all levels with equitable distribution of water resources but also to engage local communities and other stakeholders, including women in water conservancy awareness campaigns, groundwater quality monitoring, and decision-making. Moreover, the management and governance of water, particularly groundwater, must be insulated from political and partisan decision making. It is equally important to look at the quality of groundwater from a wider prism, considering health and water supply, sanitation and hygiene to address the increase in water borne diseases.

Year published

2024

Authors

Rana, Abdul Wajid; Gill, Sitara; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; ElDidi, Hagar

Citation

Rana, Abdul Wajid; Gill, Sitara; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; and ElDidi, Hagar. 2024. Strengthening groundwater governance in Pakistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2240. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139604

Country/Region

Pakistan

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Agriculture; Food Security; Groundwater Irrigation; Women; Employment; Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Climate change and agriculture in eastern and southern Africa: An updated assessment based on the latest global climate models

2024Thomas, Timothy S.; Robertson, Richard D.
Details

Climate change and agriculture in eastern and southern Africa: An updated assessment based on the latest global climate models

In this paper we present analysis on the recent historical trend in agriculture in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region, along with analysis of recent historical trends in temperature and precipitation. We also present 5 climate models and describe the possible future climates associated with these. We use these climate models with crop models — for seven crops — and bioeconomic models to further assess the impact on agricultural productivity throughout the region and how the agricultural sector will transform through 2050. While we evaluate seven crops in detail, we note the key role that maize plays for the region, and we assess — considering the regional and global impact of climate change — how the role of maize will change over time and whether the change will be rapid enough to shift regional agriculture into a more vibrant sector. We find that while the relative importance of maize to farmers in the region will decline, out to 2050 maize will remain the dominant crop. Additional policies and investments will need to be implemented if the goal is to hasten the transition to higher value or more nutritious crops.

Year published

2024

Authors

Thomas, Timothy S.; Robertson, Richard D.

Citation

Thomas, Timothy S.; and Robertson, Richard D. 2024. Climate change and agriculture in eastern and southern Africa: An updated assessment based on the latest global climate models. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2239. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139503

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Southern Africa; Africa; Bioeconomic Models; Climate Change; Maize; Crop Modelling; Agricultural Production; Modelling; Climate Models

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Diversification in East and Southern Africa

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

From promises to action: Analyzing global commitments on food security and diets since 2015

2024Zorbas, Christina; Resnick, Danielle; Jones, Eleanor; Suri, Shoba; Iruhiriye, Elyse; Headey, Derek D.; Martin, Will; Vos, Rob; Arndt, Channing; Menon, Purnima
Details

From promises to action: Analyzing global commitments on food security and diets since 2015

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2), Zero Hunger, by 2030 is in jeopardy due to slowing and unequal economic growth, climate shocks, the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, lackluster efforts toward investing in food system sustainability and agricultural productivity growth, and persistent barriers to open food trade. Nevertheless, numerous commitments to achieving SDG 2 have been repeatedly expressed by Heads of State and Ministers at diverse global meetings since the SDGs became a focus in 2015. To identify the intensity and degree of convergence of commitments that national governments have collectively made to realizing SDG 2, this paper provides a qualitative assessment of statements from more than 68 global meetings and 107 intergovernmental commitment documents since 2015. Analyzing these commitments against seven critical factors necessary for impact at scale, we find that stated intentions to solve the global food security and hunger challenge have become more pronounced at global meetings over time, especially in the wake of the crises. However, the intent to act is not consistently matched by commitments to specific actions that could help accelerate reductions in hunger. For instance, while increased financing is often recognized as a priority to reach SDG 2, few commitments in global fora relate to detailed costing of required investments. Similarly, many commitment statements lack specificity regarding what and how policy interventions should be scaled up for greater action on SDG 2 or the ways to enhance different stakeholders’ capacities to implement them. While horizontal coherence was mentioned across most global fora, it was only present in about half of the commitment statements, with even less recognition of the necessity for vertical coherence from global to local levels. Despite global acknowledgement of the importance of accountability and monitoring, usually by way of progress reports, we find few consequences for governments that do not act on commitments made in global fora. We discuss the implications of these findings and offer recommendations for how to strengthen the commitment-making process to help accelerate actions that can reduce food insecurity and hunger and augment the legitimacy of global meetings. This work can inform the policy advocacy community focused on SDG 2 and those engaged in catalyzing and supporting intergovernmental action on other SDGs. Our findings reiterate the importance of attention to global governance and the political economy of global meetings—which is necessary to strengthen our focus on delivering outcomes that put the world on a path that brings the solution to the problems of global hunger and food insecurity within reach.

Year published

2024

Authors

Zorbas, Christina; Resnick, Danielle; Jones, Eleanor; Suri, Shoba; Iruhiriye, Elyse; Headey, Derek D.; Martin, Will; Vos, Rob; Arndt, Channing; Menon, Purnima

Citation

Zorbas, Christina; Resnick, Danielle; Jones, Eleanor; Suri, Shoba; Iruhiriye, Elyse; Headey, Derek D.; Martin, Will; et al. 2024. From promises to action: Analyzing global commitments on food security and diets since 2015. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2238. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138946

Keywords

Food Security; Diet; Accountability; Food Policies; Hunger; Governance; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Extreme weather and undernutrition: A critical but constructive review of the literature

2024Headey, Derek D.; Venkat, Aishwarya
Details

Extreme weather and undernutrition: A critical but constructive review of the literature

Climate change is resulting in increased frequency of extreme weather events, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) already characterized by highly vulnerable malnourished populations. Unsurprisingly, there are many empirical studies of the linkages between extreme weather events and undernutrition, especially stunting and wasting in early childhood, and several existing reviews of this literature. However, the quality of empirical studies in this highly multi-disciplinary literature is uneven, and existing reviews do exhaustively illustrate the potential pitfalls of climate-nutrition analyses. In this more critical review, we therefore have five objectives. First, to map out the existing literature, particularly in terms of the types of dependent and independent variables used, the geographies in which different studies focus their analysis, and the types of statistical methods used. Our second objective is to illustrate the empirical limitations and pitfalls of this literature through a more critical review. Our third objective is to be critically constructive, by developing a checklist of good practices for analytical studies in this literature, which we hope will be formalized and broadly adopted. Our fourth objective is to illustrate the usefulness of these good practices through a deep dive into what we consider an exemplary study in the literature from Blom et al. (2022). Our final objective is to identify possible steps for new types of survey methods and data collection, actions for the adoption of best-practice analytical methods and identify important research questions for future research.

Year published

2024

Authors

Headey, Derek D.; Venkat, Aishwarya

Citation

Headey, Derek; and Venkat, Aishwarya. 2024. Extreme weather and undernutrition: A critical but constructive review of the literature. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2236. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138887

Keywords

Capacity Development; Climate Change; Nutrition; Undernutrition; Extreme Weather Events; Stunting; Wasting Disease (nutritional Disorder)

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Small-scale irrigation protects farmers from climate-extreme events: Insights from the 2015/2016 ENSO in Ethiopia

2024Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Mekonnen, Yalew; Warner, James; Ringler, Claudia
Details

Small-scale irrigation protects farmers from climate-extreme events: Insights from the 2015/2016 ENSO in Ethiopia

The El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) weather event of 2015/16 caused severe drought conditions in northern and central Ethiopia affecting the welfare of millions of farmers in late 2015 and early 2016. Using nationally representative panel data collected in 2012 and 2016 and recent advances in the difference-indifferences literature, this paper explores the effects of the 2015/16 drought and the potential role of irrigation in reducing the adverse effects of the drought. We find that the drought caused, on average, a 37 percent reduction in net annual crop income, an 8 percent decline in area cultivated, a 3 percent decline in household dietary diversity score, and a 10 percent decline in the share of harvest sold for rainfed farmers. On the other hand, irrigating farmers affected by the drought managed to increase their daily expenditures by 72 percent of their average daily food expenditure in the pre-drought period, and maintained their net crop income, size of cultivated land, household dietary diversity, and share of harvest sold to the market. Overall, while rainfed agricultural producers suffered sharp declines in welfare, those farmers with access to irrigation maintained their economic status. The results suggest that irrigation protected farmers from the adverse effects of the 2015/16 ENSO event and given increasing climate variability in Ethiopia, the government should intensify its investment and support to irrigation development in the country.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Mekonnen, Yalew; Warner, James; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Mekonnen, Dawit K.; Mekonnen, Yalew; Warner, James; and Ringler, Claudia. 2024. Small-scale irrigation protects farmers from climate-extreme events: Insights from the 2015/2016 ENSO in Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2242. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139780

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Drought; Irrigation; Resilience; Farmers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The SDGs and food system challenges: Global trends and scenarios toward 2030

2024Martin, Will; Vos, Rob
Details

The SDGs and food system challenges: Global trends and scenarios toward 2030

Progress toward reducing global hunger has stalled since the mid-2010s. In fact, hunger is on the rise again, driven by slowing economic growth and protracted conflict, intensified by the impacts of climate change and economic shocks in many low- and middle-income countries. In addition, food systems worldwide have suffered disruptions in recent years, caused by the COVID-19-related global recession and associated supply chain disruptions, and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. These factors have also jeopardized efforts at addressing the challenges to food system sustainability. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the related sustainable development goals (SDGs), defined in 2015, recognize these challenges and set ambitious targets to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition and to make agriculture and food systems sustainable by 2030. Many other fora have restated and reiterated these ambitions, including the 2021 United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS). While governments around the world have subscribed to these ambitions, collectively they have not been very specific as to how to achieve the SDGs and related goals and targets, except for three means of implementation (MOI) involving (i) increases in research and development, (ii) reductions in trade distortions, and (iii) improved functioning and reduced volatility in food markets. This paper is part of a wider effort at assessing the international community’s follow-through on the above ambitions and the related (implicit or explicit) commitments made toward action for achieving them. While not presenting new research findings, we bring together available evidence and scenario analyses to assess the progress made toward the ambitions for transforming food systems, the actions taken in regard of the internationally concerted agenda, and the potential for accelerating progress. The number of hungry people in the world has risen from 564 million in 2015, when the SDGs were agreed, to 735 million in 2022. While declines to between 570 and 590 million by 2030 are projected, this is far above the 470 million projected in the absence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. The share of the world’s people unable to afford healthy diets is projected to decline from 42 percent in 2021 to a still far too high 36 percent by 2030. On the means of implementation, levels of spending on agricultural research and development have increased, particularly in key developing countries such as Brazil, China and India. However, rates of investment remain too low for comfort, particularly in low-income countries. Also, little progress has been made in reducing agricultural trade distortions and many countries continue to use trade policy measures, such as export restrictions, which have proven to increase the volatility of both world and domestic food prices. We conclude that progress toward the SDG-2 targets has been dismal, and that the food system challenges have only become bigger. But we also find that it is not too late to accelerate progress and that the desired food system transformation can still be achieved over a reasonable timespan and at manageable incremental cost. Doing so will require unprecedented concerted and coherent action on multiple fronts, which may prove the biggest obstacle of all.

Year published

2024

Authors

Martin, Will; Vos, Rob

Citation

Martin, Will; and Vos, Rob. 2024. The SDGs and food system challenges: Global trends and scenarios toward 2030. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2237. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138940

Keywords

Food Security; Food Systems; Hunger; Nutrition; Diet; Sustainable Development Goals

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Double-booked: Effects of overlap between school and farming calendars on education and child labor

2024Allen IV, James
Details

Double-booked: Effects of overlap between school and farming calendars on education and child labor

Across sub-Saharan Africa, countries with a greater percentage of overlapping days in their school and farming calendars also have lower primary school survival rates. In theory, greater overlap between the school and farming calendars should indeed reduce schooling investments, and farm-based child labor too, as it constrains the time allocation opportunity set for both productive activities. I causally identify such effects by leveraging a four-month shift to the school calendar in Malawi that exogenously changed the number of days that the school calendar overlapped with specific crop calendars, which differentially affected communities based on their pre-policy crop allotments. Using panel data for school-aged children, I find that a 10-day increase in school calendar overlap during peak farming periods significantly decreases school advancement by 0.34 grades (one lost grade for every three children) and the share of children engaged in peak-period household farming by 11 percentage points after four years. Secondary analyses reveal stronger negative schooling impacts for girls and poorer households driven by overlap with the labor-intensive planting period. A policy simulation illustrates that adapting the school calendar to minimize overlap with peak farming periods is a highly cost-effective educational intervention to increase school participation by better accommodating farm labor demand.

Year published

2024

Authors

Allen IV, James

Citation

Allen IV, James. 2024. Double-booked: Effects of overlap between school and farming calendars on education and child labor. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2235. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/138825

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Education; Child Labour; Households; Crop Production

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Evaluation of the value chain development program in Nigeria: Qualitative findings

2024Eissler, Sarah; Heckert, Jessica
Details

Evaluation of the value chain development program in Nigeria: Qualitative findings

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Federal Government of Nigeria implemented the Nigeria Value Chain Development Program (VCDP) across six Nigerian states with the objective to improve farmer organizations’ collective efficacy, and alleviate poverty via improving rice and cassava production, farmers’ incomes, and value chain integration. The VCDP incorporated a gender-sensitive design to target women beneficiaries and improve empowerment by expanding access to training, opportunities, and resources. The VCDP also aimed to improve local infrastructure. This study presents qualitative findings from the VCDP impact evaluation. Four communities from two of the six treatment states were selected for this study: Niger and Anambra. Across study areas, sex disaggregated key-informant interview were conducted with 10 service providing agents (technical and capacity building), 8 farmer organization leaders, 14 producers, 13 processors, and 15 marketers. And 8 sex disaggregated FGDs were conducted with members of farmer organizations; 2 FGDs were also conducted with youth-only farmer organizations. Service providing agents found general success in delivering services to beneficiaries and benefitted themselves by working for the VCDP. Agents developed new skills that better enabled them to deliver services, and they benefitted from higher social standings as a result of their work. The VCDP was generally well received and improved target farmer organizations’ collective efficacy. These factors lead to improved rice and cassava production and processing, increasing access to necessary resources for value chain actors, and fostering cross node integration. Beneficiaries found that the different VCDP technical trainings that supported linkages to buyers were particularly useful for improving their outcomes within the value chains. Additionally, VCDP supported infrastructure development positively impacted value chain actors, particularly women, by reducing the time they spent on certain domestic chores and facilitated their ability to better participate in value chain activities. Some challenges persisted. Cultural norms restricted interaction between men and women in Niger state. Weak governance of participating farmer organizations, high levels of corruption, and security concerns that limited mobility and access to remote areas were especially challenging. Beneficiaries also noted that access to suitable financing was a significant challenge; the VCDP is rolling out a new financial linkages component to address this directly in 2020. Finally, beneficiaries were sometimes frustrated with what was perceived as unmet expectations or slow delivery of services by VCDP. In future iterations of VCDP and similar programs, it is recommended to continue strengthening the capacity building services to improve organizations’ collective efficacy, embed anti-corruption measures to ensure all intended beneficiaries have access to program resources, ensure appropriate and timely delivery of services to meet beneficiaries’ needs, and to strengthen the gender component of the program by increasing gender-sensitization trainings for beneficiaries, further targeting women beneficiaries for inclusion, and delivering context-specific solutions that enable all women beneficiaries have equal access to program support and resources.

Year published

2024

Authors

Eissler, Sarah; Heckert, Jessica

Citation

Eissler, Sarah; and Heckert, Jessica. 2024. Evaluation of the value chain development program in Nigeria: Qualitative findings. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2234. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/137795

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Agricultural Development; Collective Action; Farmers Organizations; Value Chains; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The economywide impacts of increasing water security through policies on agricultural production: The case of rice and sugarcane in Pakistan

2023Davies, Stephen; Akram, Iqra; Ali, Muhammad Tahir; Hafeez, Mohsin; Ringler, Claudia
Details

The economywide impacts of increasing water security through policies on agricultural production: The case of rice and sugarcane in Pakistan

Increasing demand for water juxtaposed with shrinking supplies will require a transfer of water resources out of agriculture into the domestic, industrial, and ideally environmental sectors. To examine the potential of policies to facilitate a release of water from agriculture, this paper uses IFPRI’s Computable General Equilibrium Model with a water extension, CGE-W, to assess the impact of commodity taxes on two highly water consumptive crops, rice and sugarcane, on water consumption and the overall economy. We find that land use grows by 1.56 million acres overall when the tax is imposed on both commodities, while 3.2-million-acre feet (MAF) of consumed water, equivalent to 6.35 MAF of water withdrawals, are released from agriculture. These outcomes are due to sugarcane’s reduced use of land over two cropping seasons and significant changes in cropping patterns. The study also examined releases of water from other possible policy measures and found that an even tax rate of 30% on sugarcane, rice and cotton yields 8.73 MAF of water from agriculture. However, with a hotter, drier climate virtually all these releases of water disappear because water must stay in agriculture due to higher evaporation and less precipitation, which raises irrigation demands. The needed policies will go beyond just taxation and might include changing cropping patterns and irrigation practices, as well as development of drought resistant varieties. Other approaches, such as buying tubewells from farmers, and developing markets for nonagricultural purchases of water, may have a role. The role of international trade in sugar and rice is shown to be significant and should be considered further in these analyses.

Year published

2023

Authors

Davies, Stephen; Akram, Iqra; Ali, Muhammad Tahir; Hafeez, Mohsin; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Davies, Stephen; Akram, Iqra; Ali, Muhammad Tahir; Hafeez, Mohsin; and Ringler, Claudia. 2023. The economywide impacts of increasing water security through policies on agricultural production: The case of rice and sugarcane in Pakistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2226. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137073

Country/Region

Pakistan

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Water Security; Policies; Agricultural Production; Rice; Sugar Cane; Water Conservation; Water Allocation; Water Demand; Climate Change; Land Tax; Farmland; Computable General Equilibrium Models

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137073 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Remoteness, farm production, and dietary diversity in Nepal

2023Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna
Details

Remoteness, farm production, and dietary diversity in Nepal

This paper explores the relationship between agriculture, dietary diversity, and market access in Nepal, testing the complex causal chains involved, and the nuanced connections between production diversity and dietary diversity among smallholder farmers. While diversifying farm production could enhance dietary diversity, the case of Nepal indicates a varied and context specific relationship. Market access emerges as a crucial factor, often exerting a more significant impact on smallholder farm households than production diversity. Access to markets not only influences economic viability but also contributes directly to food and nutrition security, offering a practical solution to address dietary needs. Focusing on Nepal’s diverse terrain, the study analyzes the interplay of remoteness, market access, irrigation availability, and complementary inputs in shaping farmers’ decisions, providing valuable insights into sustainable agricultural strategies for improved dietary outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

Year published

2023

Authors

Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; Alvi, Muzna

Citation

Singh, Tushar; Kishore, Avinash; and Alvi, Muzna. 2023. Remoteness, farm production, and dietary diversity in Nepal. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2229. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137079

Country/Region

Nepal

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Diets; Diversification; Energy Demand; Irrigation; Agriculture; Market Access; Smallholders; Dietary Diversity; Food Security

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137079 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Development and Validation of Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI)

2023Sufian, Farha D.; Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Ratna, Nazmun N.; Ringler, Claudia; Choudhury, Zahid ul Arefin
Details

Development and Validation of Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI)

There is little evidence on the association between women’s migration, empowerment, and well-being, driven in part due to difficulty in measuring empowerment in the migration context. To better understand these linkages, we developed a Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI) and validated it with survey of 1019 returnee female migrants in Bangladesh, who had returned after working internationally, mostly from countries in West Asia. By incorporating indicators of subjective well-being from migration literature into measures of empowerment, our paper advances research over earlier assessments of women’s experiences in the migration process beyond seemingly objective indicators, such as income, health, and economic welfare. We find that 14% of all migrant women in our sample could be classified as being empowered. Lack of membership in groups, restricted mobility, and lack of asset ownership are the largest contributors to migrant women’s disempowerment in our sample. We find that WEMI is strongly correlated with other measures of well-being, including mental health and livelihood-efficacy. Women with higher empowerment scores are also less likely to experience discriminatory labor practices and unsafe work conditions. With broad applicability to migrants from low and middle-income countries, WEMI can be used as a tool, helping to identify sources of disempowerment, and enabling stakeholders to develop interventions targeting the welfare of women migrant workers.

Year published

2023

Authors

Sufian, Farha D.; Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Ratna, Nazmun N.; Ringler, Claudia; Choudhury, Zahid ul Arefin

Citation

Sufian, Farha D.; Alvi, Muzna Fatima; Ratna, Nazmun N.; Ringler, Claudia; and Choudhury, Zahid ul Arefin. 2023. Development and Validation of Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI). IFPRI Discussion Paper 2223. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137066

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Gender; Migration; Women’s Empowerment; Income; Health; Economic Aspects; Assets; Mental Health; Livelihoods; Discrimination; Working Conditions

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137066 Source record

Project

Gender

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Gender, deliberation, and natural resource governance: Experimental evidence from Malawi

2023Clayton, Amanda; Dulani, Boniface; Kosec, Katrina; Robinson, Amanda Lea
Details

Gender, deliberation, and natural resource governance: Experimental evidence from Malawi

Initiatives to combat climate change often strive to include women’s voices, but there is limited evidence on how this feature influences program design or its benefits for women. We examine the causal effect of women’s representation in climate-related deliberations using the case of community-managed forests in rural Malawi. We run a lab-in-the-field experiment that randomly varies the gender composition of six-member groups asked to privately vote, deliberate, then privately vote again on their preferred policy to combat local over-harvesting. We find that any given woman has relatively more influence in group deliberations when women make up a larger share of the group. This result cannot be explained by changes in participants’ talk time. Rather, women’s presence changes the content of deliberations towards topics on which women tend to have greater expertise. Our work suggests that including women in decision-making can shift deliberative processes in ways that amplify women’s voices.

Year published

2023

Authors

Clayton, Amanda; Dulani, Boniface; Kosec, Katrina; Robinson, Amanda Lea

Citation

Clayton, Amanda; Dulani, Boniface; Kosec, Katrina; and Robinson, Amanda Lea. 2023. Gender, deliberation, and natural resource governance: Experimental evidence from Malawi. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2232. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Southern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Gender; Natural Resources Management; Natural Resources; Governance; Women’s Empowerment; Community Forestry; Decision Making; Poverty; Capacity Development

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137083 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Closing the gendered energy technology gap in rural Ethiopia: A qualitative study

2023Arega, Tiruwork; Yami, Mastewal; Bekele, Rahel Deribe; Ringler, Claudia; Jeuland, Marc
Details

Closing the gendered energy technology gap in rural Ethiopia: A qualitative study

Much has been written about energy poverty, but there is relatively limited evidence of what determines the gender gap in energy poverty and how it can be overcome in rural areas. This study used Focus Group Discussions, in-depth interviews with farmers and Key Informant Interviews to analyze gendered information, access, adoption and use of rural energy technologies in the domestic and productive spheres. We find striking differences in how men and women adopt and use energy technologies in both spheres. Substantial asymmetries exist between women and men regarding knowledge of energy technologies, as most information about them is directed to men in the household. Even so, women are typically the primary decision-makers regarding energy technology adoption for domestic use, while men dominate decision-processes in the productive energy technology space. Women remain largely excluded from the adoption and use of agricultural energy technologies, even though they are heavily engaged in agricultural production systems. Our study highlights the need for tailored mechanisms that reach women with information on and means to acquire energy technologies as well as changes in gendered norms to ensure that women benefit equally from their use.

Year published

2023

Authors

Arega, Tiruwork; Yami, Mastewal; Bekele, Rahel Deribe; Ringler, Claudia; Jeuland, Marc

Citation

Arega, Tiruwork; Yami, Mastewal; Deribe, Rahel; Ringler, Claudia; and Jeuland, Marc. 2023. Closing the gendered energy technology gap in rural Ethiopia: A qualitative study. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2224. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137070

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Gender; Energy; Rural Areas; Energy Poverty; Households; Decision Making; Innovation Adoption; Agriculture; Irrigation; Stoves

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137070 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Ecosystem services may provide large economic values in Kenya and Vietnam: A value transfer application based on results from a systematic literature review

2023Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Zhang, Wei; Pham, Thuy Thu; Davis, Kristin; Fadda, Carlo
Details

Ecosystem services may provide large economic values in Kenya and Vietnam: A value transfer application based on results from a systematic literature review

This study focuses on the valuation of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam, two countries that have received much attention from the international development community for their biodiversity significance, opportunities for scaling, climate and poverty challenges, and political will. Using The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework and the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), this study estimates per hectare values of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam based on a systematic literature review of studies on the values of ecosystem services in both countries. Provisioning services, such as medicines, timber, and non-timber forest products were better studied than regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services, underscoring the need for further research to better estimate the values of non-tangible services which would improve the estimation of total value of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam. To complement the national level analysis, we selected forest biomes to conduct a value transfer analysis. Forests provide ecosystem service benefits worth $25.78 billion for Kenya and $35.6 billion in Vietnam in 2022 USD. In comparison, the agricultural sector contributed $48.50 billion to Vietnam’s GDP and $24.10 billon to Kenya’s GDP in 2021. The per hectare values for ecosystem services are used in a value transfer analysis to estimate the total value of forest ecosystem services in Vietnam and Kenya. The average per hectare value of ecosystem services provided by forests in Kenya is $5,718.50 ha−1 yr−1 estimated within a range spanning $1,609.44 to $15,606.62 ha−1 yr−1 , while Vietnam’s forests demonstrate an average value of $3,650.20 ha−1 yr−1 , with a range of $84.93 to $8,978.16 ha−1 yr−1 . We project the loss of forests into 2050 and estimate the annual economic loss of ecosystem services at $48.08 million for Kenya and $76.29 million for Vietnam, respectively, if deforestation and forest degradation continue at the current rates. Our approach presents a comprehensive overview of diverse ecosystem services, equipping policymakers with a nuanced comprehension of ecosystems’ inherent value. By consolidating values from the literature into a national-level estimate, we provide compelling evidence at a broader scale for informed decision-making. Despite the well-known limitations of value transfer method and with caveats, the values presented in our paper can provide a guiding reference for incorporating these estimations into broader policymaking endeavors.

Year published

2023

Authors

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Zhang, Wei; Pham, Thuy Thu; Davis, Kristin; Fadda, Carlo

Citation

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Zhang, Wei; Pham, Thuy Thu; Davis, Kristin; and Fadda, Carlo. 2023. Ecosystem services may provide large economic values in Kenya and Vietnam: A value transfer application based on results from a systematic literature review. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2228. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137080

Country/Region

Kenya; Vietnam

Keywords

Africa; Asia; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; South-eastern Asia; Biodiversity; Deforestation; Ecosystem Services; Forests; Policies; Value Theory

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137080 Source record

Project

Nature-Positive Solutions

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Can gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs improve resilience? Medium-term impacts of an intervention in Bangladesh

2023Hoddinott, John; Ahmed, Akhter; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Rakshit, Deboleena
Details

Can gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs improve resilience? Medium-term impacts of an intervention in Bangladesh

There are few studies that rigorously assess how agricultural and nutrition related interventions enhance resilience and even fewer that incorporate a gendered dimension in their analysis. Mindful of this, we address three knowledge gaps: (1) Whether agricultural interventions aimed at diversifying income sources and improving nutrition have sustainable impacts (on asset bases, consumption, gender-specific outcomes and women’s empowerment, and on diets) that persist after the intervention ends; (2) whether such interventions are protective when shocks occur? and (3) whether these interventions promote gender-sensitive resilience. We answer these questions using unique data, a four-year post-endline follow up survey of households from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a nutrition-and-gender-sensitive agricultural intervention in Bangladesh. We find that treatment arms that included both agriculture and nutrition training had sustainable effects on real per capita consumption, women’s empowerment (as measured by the pro-WEAI), and asset holdings measured four years after the original intervention ended. Treatment arms that included both agriculture and nutrition training (with or without gender sensitization) reduced the likelihood that households undertook more severe forms of coping strategies and reduced the likelihood that household per capita consumption fell, in real terms, by more than five percent between in the four years following the end of the intervention. The treatment arm that only provided training in agriculture had positive impacts at endline but these had largely faded away four years later. Our results suggest that bundling nutrition and agriculture training may contribute to resilience as well as to sustained impacts on consumption, women’s empowerment, and asset holdings in the medium term. These have implications for the design of future gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs.

Year published

2023

Authors

Hoddinott, John; Ahmed, Akhter; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Rakshit, Deboleena

Citation

Hoddinott, John; Ahmed, Akhter; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; and Rakshit, Deboleena. 2023. Can gender- and nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs improve resilience? Medium-term impacts of an intervention in Bangladesh. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2231. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Resilience; Agriculture; Nutrition; Gender; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137085 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

A conceptual framework of living labs for people for sustainable food systems

2023
Habermann, Birgit; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Leñero, Eva Marina-Valencia; Falk, Thomas; Rietveld, Anne M.; Woltering, Lennart; Kumar, Praveen; Wang, Xinxin
…more Zhou, Yunyi; Chen, Kevin Z.; Pham, Thuy Thu; Rodríguez, Luz Ángela; Venegas, Martha
Details

A conceptual framework of living labs for people for sustainable food systems

Innovation spaces are often dominated by linear, top-down approaches, with the transfer of technology being seen as the solution to many problems rather than trying to understand which innovation processes people are engaging with themselves. In other words, barriers to progress are typically viewed as issues of technology adoption, not as part of the innovation process itself. This study contributes to changing the paradigm by proposing a living lab approach, which considers innovation as an adaptive process where stakeholders co-produce knowledge and collaborate based on inclusivity and empowerment. Our specific concept for this approach is called a Living Lab for People (LL4P). This conceptual paper outlines a framework to guide the development of a LL4P that remains flexible to be adapted for specific sites. While we seek to identify common denominators, we recognize the necessity for such a framework to remain open enough to be adaptable for varied contexts. Consequently, the framework draws on the living lab literature but tailors existing approaches for sustainable food system transformation and puts people (men, women, and marginalized groups among key food system actors) at the center of innovation processes with a clear intention to address power and social inequity. We draw on specific cases in China, Colombia, Kenya and Vietnam as learning grounds for formulating LL4Ps through locally led innovation processes. Based on our learnings and consultations, we define a LL4P as an inclusive and diverse space for people to advance their socio-technical innovation processes and associated modes of governance within a facilitated organizational structure. The principles of LL4Ps include co-production, gender equality and social inclusion, governance and institutional sustainability to advance existing and novel innovation processes. The practical experiences from applying this framework in the four case studies indicate alternative pathways for transforming the food system toward a sustainable and socially equitable trajectory through the establishment of a LL4P.

Year published

2023

Authors

Habermann, Birgit; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Leñero, Eva Marina-Valencia; Falk, Thomas; Rietveld, Anne M.; Woltering, Lennart; Kumar, Praveen; Wang, Xinxin; Zhou, Yunyi; Chen, Kevin Z.; Pham, Thuy Thu; Rodríguez, Luz Ángela; Venegas, Martha

Citation

Habermann, Birgit; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; et al. 2023. A conceptual framework of living labs for people for sustainable food systems. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2227. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137077

Country/Region

China; Colombia; Kenya; Vietnam

Keywords

Africa; Asia; South America; Food Systems; Sustainability; Innovation; Governance; Social Inclusion; Inclusion

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137077 Source record

Project

Low-Emission Food Systems

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda

2023Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia
Details

The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda

In rural societies with strong gender norms and customs, small informal agribusinesses may often be one of the few ways in which women can independently generate revenue. However, previous research has indicated that female run business may be perceived less favorably compared to their male counterparts. In this paper, we examine potential consequences of these biased perceptions on business transactions. In particular, we test whether the gender of the seller has an impact on buyers’ negotiation strategies and eventual outcomes in bilateral price negotiations. We use a lab-in-the-field experiment in eastern Uganda, where a representative sample of smallholder maize farmers are offered the opportunity to bargain over a bag of improved maize seed variety from a male or female seller. We find that buyers confronted with a female seller are less likely to accept the initial offer price and respond with a lower counter-bid price than farmers faced with a male seller. Negotiations take an average of one round longer when the seller is a woman and the transaction price is almost 9 percent lower. For comparison, we also look at the effect of the starting price on the same bargaining outcomes and find that the gender disadvantage is roughly equal to a 20 percent higher starting price.

Year published

2023

Authors

Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia

Citation

Van Campenhout, Bjorn; and Nabwire, Leocardia. 2023. The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2225. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137074

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Gender; Seeds; Smallholders; Maize; Bargaining Power; Gender Norms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137074 Source record

Project

Market Intelligence

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Intervening in complex agrifood systems: Assessing outcomes of a multistakeholder approach in central Mozambique

2023Falk, Thomas; Kee-Tui, Sabine Homann; Hauser, Michael; Sixpence, Claudio; Quembo, Carlos João
Details

Intervening in complex agrifood systems: Assessing outcomes of a multistakeholder approach in central Mozambique

Inclusive co-design of system innovations incorporates diverse perspectives and bodies of knowledge that can generate solutions that fit well in a local context and over time influence the socio-technical regime. In operationalizing system transformation-oriented co-design processes, research and development actors have experimented in recent decades with the role of multistakeholder approaches. A specific application of such approaches in the agrifood system context are Agricultural Innovation Platforms (AIPs). Despite the growing application of AIPs and similar approaches, documentation of AIP achievements and assessment of their outcomes beyond the lifetime of the program are rare. We present an approach for integrating the logic of outcome harvesting into the process of AIP facilitation. We also document the outcomes from an AIP approach implemented in a mixed crop-livestock farming system in central Mozambique, using a mixed-methods approach. Our results indicate likely changes in behavior and behavioral drivers associated with the AIP approach. We also share experiences on methodological challenges in assessing outcomes of AIP processes. We hope that our results increase development actors’ confidence in applying AIPs at a larger scale.

Year published

2023

Authors

Falk, Thomas; Kee-Tui, Sabine Homann; Hauser, Michael; Sixpence, Claudio; Quembo, Carlos João

Citation

Falk, Thomas; Kee-Tui, Sabine Homann; Hauser, Michael; Sixpence, Claudio; and Quembo, Carlos João. 2023. Intervening in complex agrifood systems: Assessing outcomes of a multistakeholder approach in central Mozambique. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2233. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137087

Country/Region

Mozambique

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Southern Africa; Capacity Development; Agriculture; Mixed Farming; Integrated Crop-livestock Systems; Social Networks; Innovation Platforms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137087 Source record

Project

Low-Emission Food Systems

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

When women hold local office: Women’s representation and political engagement amid conflict and climate shocks across Africa

2023Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Takeshima, Hiroyuki
Details

When women hold local office: Women’s representation and political engagement amid conflict and climate shocks across Africa

One argument in favor of quotas for women’s representation in political office is that female politicians can break down gender barriers more broadly, inspiring individual women to participate politically. In many African countries, where gender gaps in political participation are large, identifying effective strategies to reduce gender imbalances is critical. Recurring climate and conflict shocks are making this task more urgent, to ensure that women’s voices are included when designing responses to those shocks and as it is possible that climate and conflict shocks could widen participation gaps. Using data from 13 African countries on women’s representation in subnational political offices as well as survey data on individual political participation, we find, first, that women’s representation in local office is associated with higher political participation by individual women (but not by men) in this context. Second, using geo-referenced data on shocks, we show that violent conflict shocks in particular lower political participation for everyone, although the effects are stronger for men compared to women in the 12-month frame that we consider here. Third, we find that, when women leaders hold local political office, the negative effects of conflict shocks on political participation are mitigated for women. These analyses offer important new insights into the relationship between women’s political representation and women’s individual political activity within the context of shocks.

Year published

2023

Authors

Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Takeshima, Hiroyuki

Citation

Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; and Takeshima, Hiroyuki. 2023. When women hold local office: Women’s representation and political engagement amid conflict and climate shocks across Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2230. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Keywords

Africa; Gender; Women; Women’s Participation; Political Systems; Conflicts; Shock; Climate; Fragility

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137086 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Governance (WEAGov) assessment framework: A pilot study in Nigeria

2023Ragasa, Catherine; Kyle, Jordan; Onoja, Anthony Ojonimi; Achika, Anthonia I.; Adejoh, Stella O.; Onyenekwe, Chinasa S; Koledoye, Gbenga; Ujor, Gloria C.; Nwali, Perpetual Nkechi
Details

Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Governance (WEAGov) assessment framework: A pilot study in Nigeria

Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life can boost a country’s long-run economic growth, foster social inclusion, and help countries reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Beyond these important outcomes, women’s inclusion in public life is a basic human right: women deserve a role in making decisions, controlling resources, and shaping policies. Despite the importance of women’s voices and their empowerment in policy and decision-making processes, it is far easier to lament their absence than to define and measure them. We know that political empowerment, measured in terms of the share of women in government ministries and parliament, is low and is the weakest dimension in the Global Gender Gap. Yet such national statistics, while important and informative, risk mismeasuring women’s participation and influence in public life and do not give policymakers and advocacy organizations traction on specific gaps and opportunities for increasing women’s voice in policymaking. With this situation in mind and focusing on agrifood systems, which are crucial for delivering the SDGs, we developed an assessment framework—Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Governance (WEAGov)— to assess women’s voice and empowerment in national policy processes in agrifood systems. This paper presents the first pilot-testing of WEAGov in Nigeria. In this paper, we present how the WEAGov tool works in the Nigerian context, analyze the data, and provide diagnostic on the status of women’s voice and empowerment in the agrifood policy process. As discussed in this paper, the pilot-testing in Nigeria provides useful lessons toward improving the measurement for future use and provides valuable policy insights on critical entry points for increasing women’s voice and empowerment in the national agrifood policy process.

Year published

2023

Authors

Ragasa, Catherine; Kyle, Jordan; Onoja, Anthony Ojonimi; Achika, Anthonia I.; Adejoh, Stella O.; Onyenekwe, Chinasa S; Koledoye, Gbenga; Ujor, Gloria C.; Nwali, Perpetual Nkechi

Citation

Ragasa, Catherine; Kyle, Jordan; Onoja, Anthony Ojonimi; Achika, Anthonia I.; Adejoh, Stella O.; Onyenekwe, Chinasa S; et al. 2023. Women’s Empowerment in Agrifood Governance (WEAGov) assessment framework: A pilot study in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2222. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137059

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Women’s Empowerment; Policies; Agrifood Systems; Governance; Gender

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137059 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Understanding intra-household food allocation rules: Evidence from a randomized social safety net intervention in Bangladesh

2023Coleman, Fiona M.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; Hoddinott, John
Details

Understanding intra-household food allocation rules: Evidence from a randomized social safety net intervention in Bangladesh

Evidence shows social protection can improve diets, but little is understood about how effects vary within a household or what factors determine how food is allocated across different household members. We use individual food intake data from two randomized control trials to estimate intrahousehold dietary impacts of cash or food transfers, with or without nutrition behavior change communication (BCC), in two regions of Bangladesh. We assess whether intrahousehold impacts 1) are consistent with different allocation “rules” hypothesized in the literature, 2) differ by transfer modality, provision of BCC, or regional context. Results indicate that households distribute food equally among their members (men, women, boys, and girls), both in absolute terms and in proportion to individual-specific requirements and deficits. Patterns are similar across regions and do not depend on transfer modality or whether BCC is provided. Findings have implications for designing nutrition-sensitive social protection with different target groups prioritized.

Year published

2023

Authors

Coleman, Fiona M.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; Hoddinott, John

Citation

Coleman, Fiona M.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; and Hoddinott, John. 2023. Understanding intra-household food allocation rules: Evidence from a randomized social safety net intervention in Bangladesh. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2221. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137047

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Social Safety Nets; Diets; Households; Cash Transfers; Gender Equality; Nutrition; Behaviour; Resource Allocation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137047 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Modeling the economywide effects of water and energy interventions in the face of climate change

2023Aragie, Emerta; Gebretsadik, Yohannes
Details

Modeling the economywide effects of water and energy interventions in the face of climate change

The Ethiopian economy relies predominantly on rainfed agriculture for income generation, export earnings, and rural livelihoods. However, the frequency and intensity of extreme ago-climatic events projected by climate scenarios suggest considerable and growing risks from climate change to the country’s agri-food systems and the overall economy. This study assesses the economic impacts of recurrent climate shocks on the Ethiopian economy to 2040. The results indicate that recurrent climate shocks will lead to a reduction in Ethiopia’s cumulative GDP from 2020 to 2040 compared to a “no climate change” baseline. Specifically, extreme weather events could cumulatively cost Ethiopia up to 17 percent (or US$ 534.3 billion) in GDP between 2020 and 2040 compared to a no-climate change baseline. The weight of the economic loss is concentrated in the agricultural production sector, with rural households and poorer households in urban areas being worst affected. Strategic investments in irrigation infrastructure and in hydroelectricity generation are found to be effective in mitigating some of the damage caused by recurrent climate variability.

Year published

2023

Authors

Aragie, Emerta; Gebretsadik, Yohannes

Citation

Aragie, Emerta; and Gebretsadik, Yohannes. 2023. Modeling the economywide effects of water and energy interventions in the face of climate change. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2220. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137048

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Rainfed Farming; Agriculture; Income; Exports; Livelihoods; Rural Population; Climate Change; Agrifood Systems; Extreme Weather Events; Water; Energy; Computable General Equilibrium Models

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137048 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

COVID-19 and livelihoods in rural Guatemala: Lessons from a long term assessment and the path to recovery

2023Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Ceballos, Francisco; Hernandez, Manuel A.; Paz, Cynthia
Details

COVID-19 and livelihoods in rural Guatemala: Lessons from a long term assessment and the path to recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on livelihoods and food security across rural populations worldwide. This study offers a long-term assessment of the impacts of the pandemic and the path to recovery among smallholder agricultural households in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. We rely on a unique longitudinal survey of 1,262 households collected over four survey rounds between 2019 and 2022. The results show substantial recoveries in incomes, food security, and dietary diversity in the region by mid-2022 compared to 2020, but at levels still worse than pre pandemic ones. There is also a sustained increase in the intention to emigrate. The households that were initially more affected in terms of food security and nutrition but recovered faster include those located in one (San Marcos) of the three departments and families living above the poverty line, while smallholders affected by the ETA and IOTA tropical storms, non-coffee producers, and indigenous populations have taken longer to recover. In addition, we provide quantitative estimates for a subsample of households interviewed during a fifth survey round at the end of 2022, showing an average decline of about 16 percent in total household income three years after the start of the pandemic, mainly driven by a decrease in agricultural income, combined with a 26 percent increase in expenditures and an important surge in indebtedness. Overall, the study offers valuable lessons regarding the recovery of vulnerable households following a major global crisis and in a context of additional shocks, remarking the importance of continue monitoring the situation of vulnerable households, especially those exposed to recurrent (weather) shocks that also have a more exhausted portfolio of coping mechanisms & express a higher willingness to emigrate.

Year published

2023

Authors

Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Ceballos, Francisco; Hernandez, Manuel A.; Paz, Cynthia

Citation

Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Ceballos, Francisco; Hernandez, Manuel A.; and Paz, Cynthia. 2023. COVID-19 and livelihoods in rural Guatemala: Lessons from a long term assessment and the path to recovery. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2219. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137039

Country/Region

Guatemala

Keywords

Latin America; Central America; Northern America; Expenditure; Rural Population; Long-term Experiments; Coronavirus; Covid-19; Households; Recuperation; Agriculture; Coronavirinae; Food Security; Migration; Coronavirus Disease; Shocks; Debt; Dietary Diversity

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137039 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt

2023Abay, Kibrom A.; Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin; Elkaramany, Mohamed; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Kurdi, Sikandra
Details

Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt

We evaluate the impacts of a traditional food distribution and a nutrition-sensitive food distribution intervention in the context of a rapidly increasing inflationary pressure in Egypt. Besides evaluating the relative and absolute impacts of these interventions on household food and nutrition security, we also examine their impacts on households’ preferences for in-kind versus cash transfers. We implement a clustered randomized control trial through which we randomly assigned communities into: (i) “nutrition-sensitive” food box, (ii) traditional “staple-heavy” food box, and (iii) control group. We find that the nutrition-sensitive food distribution cushioned falls in dietary quality and food security of targeted households relative to the control group while the impact of the traditional and staple-heavy food distribution appears to be negligible. The nutrition-sensitive food boxes increased beneficiary households’ dietary diversity by about 9 percent while also increasing energy, protein, and iron intake by 12, 13, and 19 percent, respectively. We also find that experience with the food boxes increases households’ preference for in-kind transfers, more so among households experiencing high inflation rates and among those households not covered by other food and cash transfer programs. Receiving food boxes increases preference for in-kind transfer by about 9-11 percentage points. Our findings have important implications for the debate on the efficacy of alternative interventions to support poor households as food prices rise and the relative efficacy of in-kind and cash-transfers. The lack of effectiveness of the staple-heavy food boxes suggests that the design and content of in-kind transfers are crucial when considering this policy option, including compared to cash.

Year published

2023

Authors

Abay, Kibrom A.; Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin; Elkaramany, Mohamed; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Kurdi, Sikandra

Citation

Abay, Kibrom A.; Abdelfattah, Lina; Elkaramany, Mohamed; Elsabbagh, Dalia; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2023. Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2218. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137031

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Middle East; Food Systems; Inflation; Households; Nutrition; Food Security; Cash Transfers; Diet; Poverty; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137031 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Evaluating the gendered credit constraints and uptake of an insurance-linked credit product

2023Timu, Anne G.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; You, Liangzhi
Details

Evaluating the gendered credit constraints and uptake of an insurance-linked credit product

Smallholder farmers in low- and medium-income countries lack sufficient access to agricultural production credit that can help them adopt new technologies and improve their farm production. Compared to men, women smallholder farmers face additional social, and economic barriers that further limit their credit access. Bundling agricultural credit with insurance, or risk contingent credit (RCC), provides a mechanism for addressing some of the credit access constraints and reducing credit rationing among smallholder farmers. In this paper, we evaluate the gendered determinants of credit rationing and the gender differences of the effects of RCC innovation on credit uptake decisions. We use three-wave panel data from a randomized control trial (RCT) in Kenya. We find that female-headed households (FHH) are significantly more risk rationed (or demand-side credit constrained) compared to male-headed households (MHH), however, the gender of the household head does not significantly determine the household quantity rationing status (supply-side constrained). We also find that farmers randomly assigned to be offered the RCC are up to four percent more likely to take up credit. RCC’s impacts on credit uptake decisions do not vary with the gender of the household head, however, RCC has a differential positive and significant impact on the credit uptake decisions of farmers that were previously (at baseline) risk rationed. Based on these findings, we suggest that policies should focus on reducing gendered demand-side barriers to credit access, especially among poorer women households. Climate financing innovations such as RCC should also be designed and delivered in a gender-inclusive manner to accommodate women farmers who face time, liquidity, and financial literacy barriers.

Year published

2023

Authors

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

Citation

Timu, Anne G.; Shee, Apurba; Ward, Patrick S.; and You, Liangzhi. 2023. Evaluating the gendered credit constraints and uptake of an insurance-linked credit product. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2215. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137037

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Smallholders; Agricultural Production; Credit; Agricultural Technology; Gender; Insurance; Climate Resilience; Rural Finance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137037 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance

2023Barasa, Allan; Hoffmann, Vivian; Murphy, Mike; Ndisio, Boaz; Okoth, Sheila A.
Details

Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance

This research was undertaken to characterise the level and distribution of aflatoxin contamination of maize flour, a key food safety concern in Kenya. More than 1,200 samples of maize flour were collected and analyzed over the course of one year, allowing a robust characterization of relative risk across geography and product type. Informally milled flour was found to be significantly more contaminated than branded flour, a result attributable to the refining process applied to this flour. The results of this study can be used to inform messaging to consumers about the relative riskiness of informally versus formally milled flour, and for geographical targeting of resources for aflatoxin mitigation.

Year published

2023

Authors

Barasa, Allan; Hoffmann, Vivian; Murphy, Mike; Ndisio, Boaz; Okoth, Sheila A.

Citation

Barasa, Allan; Hoffmann, Vivian; Murphy, Mike; Ndisio, Boaz; and Okoth, Sheila A. 2023. Aflatoxin contamination of maize flour in Kenya: Results from multi-city, multi-round surveillance. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2217. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137033

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Aflatoxins; Food Safety; Mycotoxins; Maize Flour; Milling; Risk

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137033 Source record

Project

One Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Welfare implications of public expenditure in Indian agriculture: New evidence from CS-ARDL Approach

2023Akber, Nusrat; Kumar, Anjani
Details

Welfare implications of public expenditure in Indian agriculture: New evidence from CS-ARDL Approach

This study explores the welfare implications of public expenditure at the subnational level. We empirically examine the efficiency of different categories of public expenditure on agriculture and irrigation using the novel cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model and the data from 1981 to 2019 for 17 major agricultural states of India. The findings reveal the strong long-term positive effect in rural India of public sector expenditure on crop husbandry, agricultural research and education, soil and water conservation, irrigation, food storage and warehousing, animal husbandry and dairy development, and fisheries on total factor productivity (TFP), farm income, and poverty alleviation. Irrigation and electricity subsidies do not significantly affect outcome variables, while fertilizer subsidies showed a long-term negative impact on TFP, and credit subsidies had a positive effect on income and on the reduction of rural poverty. Other factors that were shown to have welfare implications included rainfall, literacy rate, and agricultural terms of trade (TOT), that is, the ratio of agriculture GDP to non-agriculture GDP. Policymakers should thus better target and rationalize government expenditure programs by removing unproductive input subsidies and reallocating those funds toward other types of public investment in Indian agriculture.

Year published

2023

Authors

Akber, Nusrat; Kumar, Anjani

Citation

Akbar, Nusrat; and Kumar, Anjani. 2023. Welfare implications of public expenditure in Indian agriculture: New evidence from CS-ARDL Approach. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2216. New Delhi, India: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137035

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Models; Education; Food Storage; Dairies; Resource Conservation; Welfare; Cultivation; Agriculture; Animal Husbandry; Irrigation; Subsidies; Fisheries; Public Expenditure

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137035 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Public expenditure and growth dynamics in Indian agriculture: Trends, structural breaks, and linkages

2023Akber, Nusrat; Kumar, Anjani; Bathla, Seema
Details

Public expenditure and growth dynamics in Indian agriculture: Trends, structural breaks, and linkages

The present study analyzes temporal and spatial trends in public expenditure on agriculture and irrigation in India. It links sub-period growth performance with expenditure based on structural breaks. The analysis pertains to the period between 1992/1993 and 2019/2020. This is a period that has witnessed a stagnation, and even a decrease in public expenditure in the agricultural sector and a resulting deceleration in productivity growth, which was then followed by a revival in both expenditure and output. Significantly expenditure on subsidies of key inputs, viz. fertilizer, irrigation, and power, however, has not incentivized farmers to increase output and productivity to achieve a higher rate of growth. Empirical findings based on the first-difference regression analysis confirm that agricultural growth is determined by public expenditure on agriculture and irrigation; across the states, however, input subsidies alone are shown to be less, or not at all, efficient. Funds to agriculture and irrigation should be increased in proportion to their contribution to the state domestic product, and input subsidies should be rationalized by weighing their positive welfare effects against their cost to the exchequer.

Year published

2023

Authors

Akber, Nusrat; Kumar, Anjani; Bathla, Seema

Citation

Akber, Nusrat; Kumar, Anjani; and Bathla, Seema. 2023. Public expenditure and growth dynamics in Indian agriculture: Trends, structural breaks, and linkages. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2214. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137019

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Inputs; Agriculture; Subsidies; Public Expenditure

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137019 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Men can cook: Effectiveness of a light-touch men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia

2023Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene
Details

Men can cook: Effectiveness of a light-touch men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia

Graduation model interventions seek to address multiple barriers constraining households’ exit from poverty, however, few explicitly target unequal gender norms. Using a randomized control trial design, combined with three rounds of data, we investigate the impacts on gender equitable attitudes and behaviors of a graduation program that seeks to simultaneously “push” households out of poverty and improve unequal gender norms in Ethiopia. We find that at midline all treatment arms lead to improvements in men’s gender equitable attitudes and their engagement in household domestic tasks as reported by both men and women; but at endline, impacts are only sustained in the treatment arms that introduced men’s engagement groups after the midline survey to further promote improvements in equitable gender norms.

Year published

2023

Authors

Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene

Citation

Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; and Tambet, Heleene. 2023. Men can cook: Effectiveness of a light-touch men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2212. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137021

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Gender Norms; Men; Poverty; Households; Gender Equity; Behaviour

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137021 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Trends and determinants of India’s virtual water trade in crop products

2023Kannan, Elumalai; Kumar, Anjani
Details

Trends and determinants of India’s virtual water trade in crop products

This paper analyzed the determinants of India’s virtual water trade in crops and crop products for the period 2001 to 2020. The study used product data at the 6-digit level of commodity classification, covering 206 commodities traded across 218 partner countries. Analysis shows that India has a favorable virtual water trade balance and terms of trade with its partner countries. Among the commodities traded, rice accounted for over one-fourth of the total volume of virtual water exported, and sunflower/safflower oil constitute over one-third of the total volume of virtual water imported. No consistent pattern was observed with regard to the level of endowment of water resources of export destination countries. Gravity model results revealed, as expected, that partner countries’ GDP and population size had a positive effect on virtual water exports, while distance had a negative effect. The coefficient of membership in a free trade agreement (FTA) was negative and statistically significant, implying that FTA member countries are sensitive to the trading of water-intensive agricultural products. The effect of amount of arable land on virtual water exports was negative; this implies that larger virtual water exports correlate with land constraints in a destination country that impede domestic agricultural production. The water endowment variables did not show any significant relationship with virtual water export flows, which confirms the finding in the literature that the water stress of a partner countries does not affect the direction of virtual water flows.

Year published

2023

Authors

Kannan, Elumalai; Kumar, Anjani

Citation

Kannan, Elumalai; and Kumar, Anjani. 2023. Trends and determinants of India’s virtual water trade in crop products. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2213. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137023

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Trade Liberalization; Commodities; Crops; Water; Capacity Development; Trade

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137023 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Reverting to traditional views of gender during times of relative deprivation: An experimental study in Nepal

2023Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung; You, Soosun; Boittin, Margaret
Details

Reverting to traditional views of gender during times of relative deprivation: An experimental study in Nepal

Do individuals’ perceptions of their relative economic status affect their attitudes regarding gender roles in patriarchal societies? What role does hearing messages designed to increase support for women’s empowerment play in moderating these effects? Leveraging an original survey experiment in Nepal, we find that a prime conferring feelings of relative deprivation causes women to revert to traditional views of gender in economic decision-making; they become less supportive of women having equal control over household income, sharing house hold chores with men, and working outside the home. Women’s empowerment messaging does not attenuate these effects. Priming men to feel relatively deprived causes declines in gender equitable economic and political views, but women’s empowerment messaging nullifies these effects. The results suggest that among populations feeling relatively deprived, regressive gender norms may take hold. However, light-touch efforts to spur support for women’s empowerment may counter some reversion to traditional views of gender.

Year published

2023

Authors

Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung; You, Soosun; Boittin, Margaret

Citation

Kosec, Katrina; Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung; You, Soosun; and Boittin, Margaret. 2023. Reverting to traditional views of gender during times of relative deprivation: An experimental study in Nepal. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137020

Country/Region

Nepal

Keywords

Asia; Economic Aspects; Gender; Women’s Empowerment; Decision Making; Income; Households; Poverty; Workforce

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137020 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

C’est la vie! Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa

2023Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; Le Port, Agnès; Peterman, Amber; Seye, Moustapha
Details

C’est la vie! Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa

Edutainment shows promise in changing behavior at scale, yet little is known about how to maximize impacts. We undertake an experimental evaluation of a popular television series, C’est la vie!, delivered through film clubs in rural Senegal, on violence against women and girls, and sexual and reproductive health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. We find C’est la vie! improved knowledge three months after film clubs ended, as well as violence-related attitudes nine months later, however, find no impacts on behaviors. We investigate design components intended to strengthen impacts, generally finding no additional impacts from post-screening discussions, engaging men, and podcasts.

Year published

2023

Authors

Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; Le Port, Agnès; Peterman, Amber; Seye, Moustapha

Citation

Dione, Malick; Heckert, Jessica; Hidrobo, Melissa; Le Port, Agnès; Peterman, Amber; and Seye, Moustapha. 2023. C’est la vie! Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2210. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137017

Country/Region

Senegal

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Education; Gender; Television; Impact; Health; Behaviour; Violence; Women; Knowledge

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137017 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Income aspirations, migration, and investments on and off the farm: Evidence from rural Tajikistan

2023Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Lambrecht, Isabel
Details

Income aspirations, migration, and investments on and off the farm: Evidence from rural Tajikistan

In places with few casual or salaried employment opportunities, investments in farm or non-farm assets may offer the main pathway to increased incomes locally, whereas others may seek alternative investment options elsewhere—as migrants. What factors, then, explain these investment choices? One theory suggests that aspirations that are ahead, but not too far ahead, of current levels provide the best incentive for promoting investment. If this theory holds, then estimates of the relationship between the aspirations gap and investment choices should take the form of a non-monotonic inverted U-shape. We test for such a relationship between the income aspirations gap and investments in migration, farm assets, and non-farm assets using data from a household survey in rural Tajikistan. We find evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between the income aspirations gap and measures of migration, with the strongest relationship found with international migration. Strikingly, we do not observe any association between the income aspirations gap and measures of investment in farm or non-farm assets. Exploring heterogeneity, we find that these results can vary by household poverty status and by the respondent’s gender. Investigating a possible mechanism, we find that the relationship between the income aspirations gap and migration seems to be driven by remittances, which outweigh migration costs and increase household income.

Year published

2023

Authors

Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Lambrecht, Isabel

Citation

Bloem, Jeffrey R.; and Lambrecht, Isabel. 2023. Income aspirations, migration, and investments on and off the farm: Evidence from rural Tajikistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2209. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137012

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Income; Gender; Investment; Remittances; Agriculture; Livelihoods; Farms; Migration; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137012 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Including scalable nutrition interventions in a graduation model program: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia

2023Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Mamo, Tigist; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene
Details

Including scalable nutrition interventions in a graduation model program: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia

We explore the impact of different models of scalable nutrition services embedded within a light-touch graduation program, implemented at scale in Ethiopia. The graduation program provided poor households enrolled in Ethiopia’s national safety net, the Protective Safety Net Program (PSNP), with additional livelihood programming including savings groups, business skills training and linkages to financial services. In addition, extremely poor households received a one-time livelihood grant on an experimental basis, as cash transfers or in-kind poultry grants, at a value much smaller than lump sum transfers in other graduation model programs in recent literature. The experiment compared a core nutrition model of nutrition information and sanitation and hygiene activities to an enhanced model that added more intensive nutrition messaging, supplementary feeding of malnourished children, mental health services, and a male engagement activity. Results show that interaction with health care workers and participation in community health activities increased significantly under the enhanced nutrition model, as did maternal nutritional knowledge. Nevertheless, neither nutrition model led to significant improvements in child dietary diversity or anthropometric outcomes on average. However, cash livelihood grants combined with the enhanced nutrition model reduced childhood stunting.

Year published

2023

Authors

Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Mamo, Tigist; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene

Citation

Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel; Leight, Jessica; Mamo, Tigist; Mulford, Michael; and Tambet, Heleene. 2023. Including scalable nutrition interventions in a graduation model program: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2208. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137009

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Grants; Poultry; Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture; Nutrition; Livelihoods; Hygiene; Cash Transfers; Poverty; Social Safety Nets

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137009 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Development of a Women’s Empowerment metric for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH)

2023
Heckert, Jessica; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Myers, Emily; Ramani, Gayathri V.; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Seymour, Greg; Malapit, Hazel J.; Paz, Florencia; Chiwasa, Febbie
…more Chilalika, Joan; Kamwaba-Mtethiwa, Jean; Chirwa, Gowokani Chijere; Simkoko, Abigail; Chilungo, Abdallah; Upadhyaya, Rachana; Pradhan, Meeta S.; Joshi, Nira; Shrestha, Sanish
Details

Development of a Women’s Empowerment metric for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH)

There is a growing focus on gender-sensitive approaches and women’s empowerment in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors. At the same time, there is a lack of metrics to measure women’s empowerment in the WASH sector. Such metrics are important for understanding the types of programmatic interventions that are most needed for addressing women’s empowerment, as well as for assessing their impacts on women’s empowerment. In this report, we describe the development of a Women’s Empowerment metrics for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH). We collected data from individual women and men in 812 households in Malawi and 826 households in Nepal. Using the data, we develop 14 indicators and establish cutoff thresholds (i.e., whether the individual is empowered) in the areas of intrinsic, instrumental, and collective agency in WASH; instrumental and intrinsic agency in menstrual hygiene management; and the empowerment environment (or resources for empowerment). In each country, we observe differences in empowerment levels between women and men, that favor men on most outcomes. Notably, in both countries, we find that women are much less likely than men to contribute to WASH infrastructure decisions, and most women are spending an undue amount of time contributing to WASH-related labor. In Nepal especially, agency related to menstrual hygiene management is also a substantial area of disempowerment for women.

Year published

2023

Authors

Heckert, Jessica; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Myers, Emily; Ramani, Gayathri V.; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Seymour, Greg; Malapit, Hazel J.; Paz, Florencia; Chiwasa, Febbie; Chilalika, Joan; Kamwaba-Mtethiwa, Jean; Chirwa, Gowokani Chijere; Simkoko, Abigail; Chilungo, Abdallah; Upadhyaya, Rachana; Pradhan, Meeta S.; Joshi, Nira; Shrestha, Sanish

Citation

Heckert, Jessica; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Myers, Emily; Ramani, Gayathri V.; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; et al. 2023. Development of a Women’s Empowerment metric for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WE-WASH). IFPRI Discussion Paper 2207. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137008

Country/Region

Malawi; Nepal

Keywords

Southern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Southern Asia; Asia; Eastern Africa; Women’s Empowerment; Gender; Water; Capacity Development; Hygiene; Infrastructure; Men; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137008 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Resilience in farm technical efficiency and enabling factors: Insights from panel farm enterprise surveys in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

2023Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Djanibekov, Nodir; Abduvalieva, Nilufar; Mirkasimov, Bakhrom; Akramov, Kamiljon
Details

Resilience in farm technical efficiency and enabling factors: Insights from panel farm enterprise surveys in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Economic resilience within the agrifood system is becoming increasingly crucial for assuring sustainable development. This is particularly so in regions with volatile and fragile environments, including Central Asia. Evidence remains scarce regarding what factors can enhance the economic resilience of agents within the agrifood system, including the resilience of productivity and technical efficiency. We partly fill this knowledge gap using the unique panel datasets of farm enterprises in Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan, collected in 2019 and 2022, during which these enterprises experienced significant economic shocks in input prices. Using novel methods that combine Inverse Probability Weighting and panel stochastic frontier analyses models, we show that farmers who received more agricultural training and who had been granted greater autonomy in their production decisions in 2018 experienced greater resilience in technical efficiency despite the need to reduce the use of chemical fertilizer and oil/diesel in response to their price surges. Our findings suggest that providing critical public goods like information (related to training) and enabling environment (related to decision-making autonomy) can potentially enhance the resilience in the technical efficiency of farm enterprises. Furthermore, with chemical fertilizer and oil/diesel being potentially environmentally harmful inputs, these farmers also indirectly demonstrated resilience toward environmental sustainability.

Year published

2023

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Djanibekov, Nodir; Abduvalieva, Nilufar; Mirkasimov, Bakhrom; Akramov, Kamiljon

Citation

Takeshima, H., Djanibekov, N., Abduvalieva, N., Mirkasimov, B. and Akramov, K. 2023. Resilience in farm technical efficiency and enabling factors: Insights from panel farm enterprise surveys in Kazakh-stan and Uzbekistann. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2205. Washington, D.C.: IFPRI.

Country/Region

Kazakhstan; Uzbekistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Resilience; Agrifood Systems; Sustainable Development; Agricultural Training; Inputs; Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136985 Source record

Project

Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Do ultra-poor graduation programs build resilience against droughts? Evidence from rural Ethiopia

2023Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; Villa, Victor
Details

Do ultra-poor graduation programs build resilience against droughts? Evidence from rural Ethiopia

We study the role of a multifaceted ultra-poor graduation program in protecting household wellbeing and women’s welfare from the effects of localized droughts in Ethiopia. We use data from a large experimental trial of an integrated livelihood and nutrition intervention that supplemented the consumption support provided by Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), conducted within a sample in which all households were beneficiaries of the PSNP. We match three rounds of household survey data to detailed satellite weather data to identify community-level exposure to droughts. We then exploit random assignment to the graduation program to evaluate whether exposed households show heterogeneous effects of drought on household food security and livestock holdings, women’s diets and nutritional status, and prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV). We find that droughts have substantial negative effects on these outcomes, but the intervention serves to consistently moderate these effects, and for some outcomes (particularly diets and nutrition and IPV), the intervention fully protects households from any adverse drought affects. A further analysis exploits variation across treatment arms that received different program elements and suggests that the primary mechanism is enhanced household savings.

Year published

2023

Authors

Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; Villa, Victor

Citation

Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; and Villa, Victor. 2023. Do ultra-poor graduation programs build resilience against droughts? Evidence from rural Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2206. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137000

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Resilience; Shocks; Weather; Climate Change; Social Safety Nets; Poverty; Households; Welfare; Women; Livelihoods; Nutrition; Drought; Food Security; Livestock; Gender

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137000 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Climate risks and damage abatement effects of pesticides: Evidence based on four-wave panel data in Nigeria

2023Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Edeh, Hyacinth; Lawal, Akeem; Oniybe, Johnson E.; Daudu, Christogonus K.; Andam, Kwaw S.
Details

Climate risks and damage abatement effects of pesticides: Evidence based on four-wave panel data in Nigeria

Managing biotic stress, such as pests, diseases, and weeds, remain critical in enhancing the productivity of agrifood systems in developing countries, including Nigeria. The public sector continues to seek solutions for efficient and effective measures for addressing these biotic stresses, ranging from varietal technologies, improved crop husbandry, and the application of agrochemicals. The field-level evidence remains scarce regarding the effectiveness of these measures in developing countries like Nigeria. Furthermore, increasing climate uncertainty poses further challenges in identifying effective measures. This study assesses the damage abatement effects of agrochemicals in Nigeria and how these effects are affected by weather shocks. We extend the standard damage abatement framework to 4 waves of farm panel data to minimize the potential bias due to the endogeneity in agrochemical use decisions. Our results indicate that weather shocks have significant effects. In particular, rising nighttime minimum temperatures above 20 ℃ have significantly increased damage abatement effects of pesticides in Nigeria. This is possibly because of increased pest activities induced by the warmer nighttime temperatures, which, in the absence of pesticide uses, would cause more significant damage to crops. These results hold for all crops combined, as well as individual crops, including cowpea and maize, for which Nigeria has intensified its effort in pest control through both agrochemicals and Bt varieties in recent years.

Year published

2023

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Edeh, Hyacinth; Lawal, Akeem; Oniybe, Johnson E.; Daudu, Christogonus K.; Andam, Kwaw S.

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Edeh, Hyacinth; Lawal, Akeem; Oniybe, Johnson E.; Daudu, Christogonus K.; and Andam, Kwaw S. 2023. Climate risks and damage abatement effects of pesticides: Evidence based on four-wave panel data in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2204. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136983

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Data; Pesticides; Agrifood Systems; Developing Countries; Agrochemicals; Biotic Stress; Weather; Shocks; Climate Change

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136983 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

A multi-country validation and sensitivity analysis of the project level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (Pro-WEAI)

2023Seymour, Greg; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel J.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; van Biljon, Chloe; Gender Agriculture Assets Project Phase 2 Study Team
Details

A multi-country validation and sensitivity analysis of the project level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (Pro-WEAI)

We discuss the evolution of the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) from its initial launch in 2018 until early 2023. We explain the reasons motivating changes to the composition of pro-WEAI and the adequacy thresholds of several indicators and discuss the implications of both for the overall measurement of project impacts on women’s empowerment. We present supporting empirical results comparing projects’ impacts calculated using the abbreviated Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI) (the predecessor to pro-WEAI with fewer indicators and less stringent indicator cut-offs), the pilot 12-indicator version of pro-WEAI, and the final, revised 10-indicator version of pro-WEAI, based on longitudinal data from six agricultural development projects in East and West Africa and South Asia as part of the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project, Phase 2 (GAAP2). In addition, we assess the sensitivity of the revised pro-WEAI to an alternative weighting scheme, namely inverse covariance weighting (ICW). Overall, we find that the revised pro-WEAI performs well: In comparison to A-WEAI, pro-WEAI—regardless of version—identifies larger and more frequently significant impact estimates, indicating that pro-WEAI is more sensitive to detecting project impacts on women’s empowerment than A-WEAI. And we find only minor differences in impact estimates produced using the 12-indicator, 10-indicator, or alternate weighting scheme versions of pro-WEAI. We conclude with reflections on six years of work on pro-WEAI during GAAP2.

Year published

2023

Authors

Seymour, Greg; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel J.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; van Biljon, Chloe; Gender Agriculture Assets Project Phase 2 Study Team

Citation

Seymour, Greg; Faas, Simone; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Heckert, Jessica; Malapit, Hazel J.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; van Biljon, Chloe; and Gender Agriculture Assets Project Phase 2 Study Team. 2023. A multi-country validation and sensitivity analysis of the project level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (Pro-WEAI). IFPRI Discussion Paper 2201. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136974

Keywords

Southern Asia; Western Africa; Eastern Africa; Asia; Africa; Women’s Empowerment; Gender Equality; Gender; Agricultural Development; Impact Assessment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136974 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Can a light-touch graduation model enhance livelihood outcomes? Evidence from Ethiopia

2023Leight, Jessica; Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel; Hidrobo, Melissa; Mulford, Michael
Details

Can a light-touch graduation model enhance livelihood outcomes? Evidence from Ethiopia

In recent years, a growing literature has examined the potential of multifaceted, intensive “graduation model” interventions that simultaneously address multiple barriers constraining households’ exit from poverty. In this paper, we present new evidence from a randomized trial of a lighter-touch graduation model implemented in rural Ethiopia. The primary experimental arms are a bundled intervention including a productive transfer valued at $374 (randomly assigned to be cash or an equivalent value in poultry), training, and savings groups; a simpler intervention including training and savings groups only; and a control arm. We find that three years post-baseline, the intervention inclusive of the transfer leads to some increases in assets, savings, and cash income from livestock, though there is no shift in consumption or household food security; these effects are consistent regardless of the modality of the transfer (cash versus poultry). The effects of training and savings groups alone are minimal.

Year published

2023

Authors

Leight, Jessica; Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel; Hidrobo, Melissa; Mulford, Michael

Citation

Leight, Jessica; Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel; Hidrobo, Melissa; and Mulford, Michael. 2023. Can a light-touch graduation model enhance livelihood outcomes? Evidence from Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2203. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136972

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Poverty; Cash Transfers; Poultry; Livelihoods; Food Security; Livestock; Savings Group

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136972 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Spatial market integration of food markets during a shock: Evidence from food markets in Nigeria

2023Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L.
Details

Spatial market integration of food markets during a shock: Evidence from food markets in Nigeria

This paper uses comprehensive and long time series monthly food price data and a panel dyadic regression framework to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated policy responses on spatial market integration across a diverse set of food items in Nigeria. The empirical results reveal several important insights. First, we show that a significant slowdown in the speed of adjustment and price transmission occurred during the pandemic. For some food items, the speed of adjustment and, by implication, spatial market integration weakened by two- to-threefold after the pandemic outbreak. The effect was especially pronounced for perishable food items. Second, lockdown measures and the spread of the pandemic triggered additional dispersion in market prices across markets. For example, lockdown measures were associated with a 5–10 percent reduction in the speed of readjustment toward long-term equilibrium. Third, additional underlying attributes of markets, including lack of access to digital infrastructure and distance between markets, exacerbated impacts associated with the pandemic. For instance, access to Internet service reduced the slowdown in the speed of adjustment caused by the pandemic, but longer distances between market pairs induced greater slowdown in the speed of price transmission. Our findings offer important insights for revitalizing the efficiency of food markets affected by the pandemic. The heterogenous impacts of the pandemic across value chains and markets reinforce the need to properly target post-pandemic recovery interventions and investments. Finally, we offer some insights to reduce the vulnerability of food and market systems to disruptions in future pandemics or similar phenomena that inhibit food marketing and trade.

Year published

2023

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L.

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; and Hatzenbuehler, Patrick L. 2023. Spatial market integration of food markets during a shock: Evidence from food markets in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2202. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136963

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Food Prices; Covid-19; Markets; Infrastructure; Digital Technology; Regression Analysis; Coronavirus; Coronavirinae; Coronavirus Disease

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136963 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Mapping the design and implementation of seed sector regulation: The case of Uganda

2023Kuhlmann, Katrin; Nalinya, Adron Naggayi; Francis, Tara; Spielman, David J.
Details

Mapping the design and implementation of seed sector regulation: The case of Uganda

An enabling environment with clear, inclusive, and transparent seed laws, policies, regulations, and guidelines is the foundation for an efficient and effective seed sector. If well designed and implemented, the legal and regulatory framework can facilitate market diversification, supervision and quality control of seed and other forms of planting material, promotion of private sector participation, farmer access to improved seed varieties, reduced barriers for the movement of seeds across borders, and food security. This study uses Regulatory Systems Maps (RSMs), a mapping tool for legal and regulatory processes and procedures, as a primary comparative method to assess the progress and dynamics in Uganda’s seed system along four key dimensions of the seed systems regulatory value chain: (i) early generation seed (EGS) production and distribution, (ii) varietal registration and release processes, (iii) seed quality assurance systems, and (iv) seed trade. The RSMs document and illustrate the processes and procedures contained in Uganda’s seed legal and regulatory systems, analytically isolating intervention points, proposed legal and regulatory changes, good practices and legal innovations, and systemic shifts over time, while also integrating important dimensions such as gender, inclusion, and flexibility that can address farmers’ needs, reduce costs, and increase participation in seed systems. The data and information used to compile the Uganda RSMs were developed and validated through a series of consultations with an array of stakeholders spanning both the public and private sectors. The findings of the RSMs showed that, despite the comprehensive nature of Uganda’s seed rules and regulations and some notable innovations, implementation is a persistent challenge, and regulatory gaps and inconsistencies continue to exist. The RSMs indicate the need to take various measures to improve the enabling environment for seed trade in Uganda, including reviewing the current seed law, which is largely outdated; updating the existing seed regulations; adopting plant variety protection (PVP) regulations to implement the PVP Act; developing guidelines on agricultural research; and building capacity in both the public and private sectors.

Year published

2023

Authors

Kuhlmann, Katrin; Nalinya, Adron Naggayi; Francis, Tara; Spielman, David J.

Citation

Kuhlmann, Katrin; Nalinya, Adron Naggayi; Francis, Tara; and Spielman, David J. 2023. Mapping the design and implementation of seed sector regulation: The case of Uganda. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2200. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136948

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Agriculture; Diversification; Seeds; Seed Production; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136948 Source record

Project

Seed Equal

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Adoption and impacts of agricultural technologies and sustainable natural resource management practices in fragile and conflict affected settings: A review and meta-analysis

2023Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel; Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr.; Gebrekidan, Bisrat Haile; Agaba, Monica; Surendran-Padmaja, Subash; Dhebibi, Boubaker
Details

Adoption and impacts of agricultural technologies and sustainable natural resource management practices in fragile and conflict affected settings: A review and meta-analysis

Climate change and conflicts co-exist in many countries with significant welfare and socio-environmental implications. Different approaches are being promoted to adapt and build resilience to these fragilities including the adoption of sustainable farm practices that have the potential to increase agricultural productivity and maintain environmental sustainability. We undertake a systematic review and perform a meta-analysis to understand and synthesize the adoption and impacts of agricultural technologies and natural resource management practices with a special attention to fragile and conflict affected settings. We employ state of the art machine learning methods to enable process and selection of appropriate papers from a universe of over 78,000 papers from leading academic databases. We find that studies on adoption and impact of agricultural technologies and natural resource management practices are highly clustered around Ethiopia and Nigeria. We do not find any studies on Small Island States. We observe a wide array of characteristics that influence adoption of these technologies. Of the over 1400 estimates of determinants collected, majority predict input technologies while very few studies and estimates are found in relation to risk management and mechanisation technologies. Our meta-analysis shows an average effect size of 7 – 9% for the different technologies and practices. For the outcomes: land productivity, food security and household welfare, we obtain effect sizes of 6, 8 and 9% respectively. We do not observe much in terms of publication bias. Both climate and conflict vulnerability not only cause far more food insecurity, poverty, and degradation of the environment on their own but also reinforce each other through the climate change – conflict linkage. For these detrimental effects to be curtailed, utilisation of climate-smart agricultural technologies and natural resource management practices need to be encouraged. We thus lend credence to the development, dissemination and upscaling of these sustainable practices. We observe a lot of space for growth and adoption of these technologies.

Year published

2023

Authors

Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel; Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr.; Gebrekidan, Bisrat Haile; Agaba, Monica; Surendran-Padmaja, Subash; Dhebibi, Boubaker

Citation

Nshakira-Rukundo, Emmanuel; Tabe-Ojong, Martin Paul Jr.; Gebrekidan, Bisrat Haile; Agaba, Monica; Surendran-Padmaja, Subash; and Dhebibi, Boubaker. 2023. Adoption and impacts of agricultural technologies and sustainable natural resource management practices in fragile and conflict affected settings: A review and meta-analysis. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2199. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136912

Keywords

Technology Adoption; Natural Resources Management; Fragility; Conflicts; Climate Change; Impact; Resilience; Agricultural Technology; Mechanization; Food Security; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136912 Source record

Project

Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The (perceived) quality of agricultural technology and its adoption: Experimental evidence from Uganda

2023Miehe, Caroline; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn
Details

The (perceived) quality of agricultural technology and its adoption: Experimental evidence from Uganda

Recently, issues related to the (perceived) quality of inputs and technologies have been proposed as an important constraint to their adoption by smallholder farmers in low income countries. Taking maize seed embodying genetic gain as a case, we train random agro-dealers to test whether under-adoption by farmers is caused by low quality due to sellers’ lack of knowledge about proper storage and handling. In a second hypothesis, we randomly introduce an information clearinghouse similar to popular crowd-sourced review platforms such as yelp.com or trustpilot.com to test whether information asymmetries crowd out quality seed. We find that the information clearinghouse treatment improves outcomes for both agro-dealers and farmers, with agro-dealers receiving more customers and reporting higher revenues from maize seed sales, and farmers reporting significantly higher use of improved maize seed varieties obtained from agro-dealers, leading to higher maize productivity after two seasons. The primary mechanisms behind this impact appear to be an increased effort to signal quality by agro-dealers and a general restoration of trust in the market for improved seed. The agro-dealer training does not have a clear impact on agro-dealers, nor on farmers in associated catchment areas. However, we do find that the information clearinghouse increases agro-dealer knowledge about proper seed storage and handling. Upon exploring interaction effects between the training and the clearinghouse treatment, we also find that the training becomes effective for agro-dealers that are also in the clearinghouse treatment group. This underscores the importance of incentives to make supply side interventions such as trainings effective.

Year published

2023

Authors

Miehe, Caroline; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn

Citation

Miehe, Caroline; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.; and Van Campenhout, Bjorn. 2023. The (perceived) quality of agricultural technology and its adoption: Experimental evidence from Uganda. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2198. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136903

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agricultural Technology; Technology Adoption; Farm Inputs; Knowledge; Information Transfer; Information Infrastructure; Smallholders

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136903 Source record

Project

Market Intelligence

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in Kenya’s food system: Economic interdependencies and policy opportunities

2023Nin-Pratt, Alejandro
Details

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in Kenya’s food system: Economic interdependencies and policy opportunities

Low- and middle-income countries worldwide share the common challenge of achieving sustainable economic development while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This challenge is complex due to the interconnectedness of economic activities, where policies targeting one industry can have ripple effects on others. Therefore, it is crucial to understand integrated GHG emissions and their relationships across industries within an economy to inform effective policy formulation. Kenya, as a middle-income country experiencing rapid economic growth, faces an urgent need to address this challenge. This study analyzes the economic relationships between agricultural production, the food industry, and other sectors of the economy in Kenya to identify key drivers of national GHG emissions from the food system. To accomplish this, an environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) table is employed to calculate both direct and indirect emissions for 38 activities of Kenya’s economy, as well as emissions embodied in final goods. Direct emissions refer to those generated during the production process of an activity, while indirect emissions are produced by other activities that provide inputs to the activity of interest. The findings reveal that agriculture is the largest contributor to GHG emissions in Kenya, with the majority of emissions stemming from direct sources such as enteric fermentation and manure management in livestock production. Additionally, the study finds that total emission intensity in the manufacturing sector is considerably higher than in most agricultural activities, except for livestock production, primarily due to the significant level of indirect emissions associated with manufacturing processes. Within the agricultural sector, cereals and livestock production exhibit high levels of direct emissions, while export crops like coffee and tea, as well as vegetable cultivation, show relatively higher indirect emissions. Addressing GHG emissions from the livestock sector emerges as a crucial step in significantly reducing agricultural emissions in Kenya. The dairy sub-sector presents an opportunity for intensification and technological advancements, as climate-smart technologies have already demonstrated their potential to enhance productivity while reducing emissions. Conversely, mitigating GHG emissions in beef production, which is primarily concentrated in ecologically fragile areas, will require institutional innovations focusing on rangeland management, disease control, and scaling up livestock marketing efforts. While the intensification of dairy production can contribute to agricultural growth and development in Kenya, its impact on mitigating GHG emissions is expected to be limited at the national scale.

Year published

2023

Authors

Nin-Pratt, Alejandro

Citation

Nin-Pratt, Alejandro. 2023. Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in Kenya’s food system: Economic interdependencies and policy opportunities. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2197. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136873

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Economic Development; Food Systems; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Input Output Analysis; Sustainable Development; Policies; Agricultural Production; Livestock Production

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136873 Source record

Project

Low-Emission Food Systems

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The digital divide in rural Ethiopia: Determinants and implications of sex-disaggregated mobile phone ownership and use

2023Warner, James M.; Mekonnen, Yalew; Habte, Yetimwork
Details

The digital divide in rural Ethiopia: Determinants and implications of sex-disaggregated mobile phone ownership and use

Mobile phones are rapidly being adopted in less developed countries, with widely acknowledged commensurate socio-economic benefits, including United Nations SDGs advocating for increased ownership of mobile phones to promote women’s empowerment. While overall mobile phone ownership is rising quickly in Ethiopia, it is lagging for rural women, particularly married rural women. Overall, we find that married men are approximately five times more likely to own a phone than their wives even though married women with phones are more active in agricultural decision making. This lack of female mobile phone ownership should be considered within the broader context of several recent Ethiopian digital initiatives, including mobile banking and mobile payments. These initiatives are likely to provide greater benefits to those individuals that own a mobile phone. By applying gender analysis to phone ownership, we believe that we can anticipate some potentially unexpected negative consequences for women created by these mobile phone initiatives. This paper outlines current rural sex-disaggregated phone ownership trends, determinants of phone ownership, and related impacts on intrahousehold decision making. We believe that by identifying these gender differences in mobile phone ownership, policymakers can better target their digital economy initiatives.

Year published

2023

Authors

Warner, James M.; Mekonnen, Yalew; Habte, Yetimwork

Citation

Warner, James; Mekonnen, Yalew; and Habte, Yetimwork. 2023. The digital divide in rural Ethiopia: Determinants and implications of sex-disaggregated mobile phone ownership and use. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2196. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136868

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Innovation; Women’s Empowerment; Gender; Sustainable Development Goals; Households; Socioeconomic Development; Agriculture; Developing Countries; Marriage; Decision Making; Rural Areas; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136868 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Disclosure of violence against women and girls in Senegal

2023Peterman, Amber; Dione, Malick; Le Port, Agnès; Briaux, Justine; Lamesse, Fatma; Hidrobo, Melissa
Details

Disclosure of violence against women and girls in Senegal

Measures of violence against women and girls (VAWG) are widely collected in surveys, yet estimates are acknowledged to be lower-bounds of the true prevalence. Disclosure may be affected by numerous factors, including shame and stigma, fear of retaliation, distrust of interviewers or desire to keep the perpetrator’s identity confidential. We conduct a survey experiment randomly assigning approximately 3,400 women and girls aged 15 to 35 to either face-to-face interviews or audio computer-assisted self interviews (ACASI). Results show participants in the ACASI group report higher prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence by 4 to 7 percentage points compared to face-to-face interviews. Differences in reporting for non-partner VAWG are even larger, ranging from 6 to 12 percentage points for physical violence and sexual harassment, respectively. We test for correlates of characteristics which might lead toincreased disclosure, however, we find few notable patterns. Our results suggest that ACASI surveys are a promising way to encourage disclosure, but acknowledge trade-offs that include limits in the complexity of questions that can be asked and higher time costs associated with development and implementation of surveys.

Year published

2023

Authors

Peterman, Amber; Dione, Malick; Le Port, Agnès; Briaux, Justine; Lamesse, Fatma; Hidrobo, Melissa

Citation

Peterman, Amber; Dione, Malick; Le Port, Agnès; Briaux, Justine; Lamesse, Fatma; and Hidrobo, Melissa. 2023. Disclosure of violence against women and girls in Senegal. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2195. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136775

Country/Region

Senegal

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Surveys; Behaviour; Gender-based Violence; Gender; Women; Girls; Domestic Violence; Measurement

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136775 Source record

Project

Gender

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Accounting for dietary deprivations in rural Africa: Poor households, poor farms or poor food environments?

2023Block, Steven; Ecker, Olivier; Headey, Derek D.; Comstock, Andrew R.
Details

Accounting for dietary deprivations in rural Africa: Poor households, poor farms or poor food environments?

Agricultural and food policies are increasingly asked to do more to improve the dietary quality of populations in lower and middle income countries (LMICs), especially severely malnourished rural populations. However, the appropriate strategy for improving diet quality remains an open question. Agriculture has traditionally focused on food security and poverty reduction, mostly through investments in staple crops, while social protection programs have also sought to improve diets through poverty reduction. Nutrition-sensitive agriculture programs traditionally emphasize farm-level diversification into nutrient-dense crops and/or livestock, combined with nutrition education. More recently, some researchers have moved beyond the farm to assessthe role of market access and local food environments more generally, though little research has focused on food environments in rural Africa. In this study we explore the determinants of a new and improved measure of household diet deprivation(s) that measure consumption gaps for diets as a whole as well as gaps for individual food groups. Using national datasets for rural Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania, we conduct a “racehorse” regression analysis that reveals strong support for the role of wealth in reducing dietary deprivation, evidence that livestock diversification is important but not crop diversification, and indications that local farming systems are also strongly associated with dietary outcomes, but market access indicators are not. While more research is needed, we conclude that the evidence supports strategies that combine income/wealth enhancement objectives with livestock diversification where possible. Evidence on the linkages between food environments and diet quality in rural areas of LMICs is currently too limited and warrants further research of the observational and experimental variety.

Year published

2023

Authors

Block, Steven; Ecker, Olivier; Headey, Derek D.; Comstock, Andrew R.

Citation

Block, Steven; Ecker, Olivier; Headey, Derek D.; and Comstock, Andrew R. 2023. Accounting for dietary deprivations in rural Africa: Poor households, poor farms or poor food environments? IFPRI Discussion Paper 2194. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136770

Country/Region

Ethiopia; Niger

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Eastern Africa; Western Africa; Agriculture; Agricultural Policies; Food Policies; Diet; Food Security; Poverty Reduction; Crops; Social Welfare; Nutrition; Market Access; Diversification; Farming Systems; Food Markets

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136770 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Constraints facing rural poultry production in PNG: The role of input suppliers

2023Fang, Peixun; Benny, Dickson; Ovah, Raywin; Roberts, Arthur; Schmidt, Emily; Solomon, Elly
Details

Constraints facing rural poultry production in PNG: The role of input suppliers

Context: The average consumption of protein foods in Papua New Guinea (PNG) remains insufficient to meet nutritious diet guidelines, especially in rural areas. While an expanding literature has demonstrated that poultry is a cost-efficient animal source food to increase protein intake, rural households in PNG face high prices at the market for poultry meat. Similarly, the high price of poultry production inputs constrains greater uptake of rural poultry production. PNG’s heavy reliance on feed (and feed input) imports, as well as high transportation costs and insufficient rural manufacturing and processing infrastructure creates limited opportunities for rural subsistence and commercial poultry production growth. Objective: There is a lack of value chain studies to understand the feasibility of expanding the local mini livestock feed mill model in PNG to increase poultry feed supply in underserved areas. This study builds from earlier work on rural livestock feed infrastructure programs, and aims to fill the knowledge gap on the opportunities and constraints for expanding domestic livestock feed production and distribution via rural mini feed mills. Method: The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 8 mini mills and 13 poultry farmers across 4 highland provinces during October and November 2022. We synthesize the interview transcriptions of the qualitative interviews in tandem with quantitative analysis of food consumption and agri-food trade data, as well as the authors’ own field observations in this paper. Results: The in-depth interviews showed that the poultry farmers who purchased from local mini feed mills substantially lowered their feed costs, resulting in greater gross profits compared to rural poultry farmers that only sourced feed from commercial feed suppliers. However, the mini feed mills that we interviewed outlined a series of challenges in sustaining rural feed mills in PNG. The main challenges of running a successful mill included feed mill equipment procurement, electricity reliability, reliable raw ingredient supply, mini mill retailing to secure a client base, and adequate information about feed formulation. We identified two potential approaches that have overcome many of the identified challenges, that could be replicated and adapted to expand mini feed mill operations in the Highlands. The first approach is a farmer cooperative model that incorporates credit and feed delivery services to cooperative farmers. In doing so, they are able to better estimate volume demand for processed feed and accommodate feed production accordingly. The second approach follows a lead firm model, whereby a local farm supply retail outlet is expanding its business to include livestock feed production and supply, overcoming equipment procurement constraints given their previously developed business model focused on farm implement supply. Our evaluation provides detailed costs and benefits of both approaches for potential expansion of these livestock feed producer and distributor models.

Year published

2023

Authors

Fang, Peixun; Benny, Dickson; Ovah, Raywin; Roberts, Arthur; Schmidt, Emily; Solomon, Elly

Citation

Fang, Peixun; Benny, Dickson; Ovah, Raywin; Roberts, Arthur; Schmidt, Emily; and Solomon, Elly. 2023. Constraints facing rural poultry production in PNG: The role of input suppliers. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2193. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136756

Country/Region

Papua New Guinea

Keywords

Oceania; Melanesia; Value Chains; Poultry; Foods; Production; Inputs; Equipment; Interviews; Nutrition; Proteins; Infrastructure; Livestock; Rural Areas; Prices; Food Supply Chains; Food Processing

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136756 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

What are you talking about? Applying cognitive interviewing to improve survey questions on women’s economic empowerment for market inclusion

2023
Myers, Emily; Heckert, Jessica; Salazar, Elizabeth; Kalagho, Kenan; Salamba, Flora; Mzungu, Diston; Mswero, Grace; Adegbola, Patrice Ygué; Crinot, Geraud Fabrice; Kouton-Bognon, Baudelaire
…more Pereira, Audrey; Rubin, Deborah; Malapit, Hazel J.; Seymour, Greg
Details

What are you talking about? Applying cognitive interviewing to improve survey questions on women’s economic empowerment for market inclusion

Monitoring progress toward women’s empowerment requires tools that reflect its underlying concepts. Cognitive interviewing is a qualitative approach for identifying sources of error in how respondents respond to survey items. This study identifies cognitive errors in survey modules included in the project level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index for Market Inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI) in Benin and Malawi. Comprehension, retrieval, judgment, and response errors were all found to different degrees in the nine modules comprising the survey instrument. There are variations in findings by country context and, to a lesser extent, gender. The findings of this study informed revisions to the pro-WEAI+MI survey instrument and offer insights into how best to design survey modules used for monitoring progress toward gender equality in agricultural value chains and development efforts.

Year published

2023

Authors

Myers, Emily; Heckert, Jessica; Salazar, Elizabeth; Kalagho, Kenan; Salamba, Flora; Mzungu, Diston; Mswero, Grace; Adegbola, Patrice Ygué; Crinot, Geraud Fabrice; Kouton-Bognon, Baudelaire; Pereira, Audrey; Rubin, Deborah; Malapit, Hazel J.; Seymour, Greg

Citation

Myers, Emily; Heckert, Jessica; Salazar, Elizabeth; Kalagho, Kenan; Salamba, Flora; Mzungu, Diston et al. 2023. What are you talking about? Applying cognitive interviewing to improve survey questions on women’s economic empowerment for market inclusion. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2192. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136726

Country/Region

Benin; Malawi

Keywords

Western Africa; Southern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Eastern Africa; Value Chains; Development; Gender; Gender Equality; Women’s Empowerment; Methods; Surveys; Gender-based Violence; Capacity Development; Agriculture; Market Access; Errors; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136726 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The architecture of the Sudanese agricultural sector and its contribution to the economy between 1990 and 2021

2023Alhelo, Alzaki; Siddig, Khalid; Kirui, Oliver K.
Details

The architecture of the Sudanese agricultural sector and its contribution to the economy between 1990 and 2021

The paper reviews the performance of the Sudanese agricultural sector over the last three decades (1990 through 2021) and examines the drivers of that performance. Key findings show that the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product was greater during the 1990–1999 period than during the other two decades; agricultural productivity as well was higher in that decade than in the subsequent two decades. The sector has remained a major source of employment and livelihood. During the last decade reviewed (2010–2021), the sector regained its leading position as a generator of foreign currency. Public investment in agriculture and government spending allocated to the sector were lower than in other countries in the region. Political elites have generally lacked commitment to development plans in the sector. Political developments in Sudan have disrupted more recent efforts to revitalize the sector. Climate change, as manifested in rising temperature, declining rainfall, and drought, is a substantial determinant currently affecting the sector. The paper discusses some broad recommendations for improving the performance of the Sudanese agricultural sector.

Year published

2023

Authors

Alhelo, Alzaki; Siddig, Khalid; Kirui, Oliver K.

Citation

Alhelo, Alzaki; Siddig, Khalid; and Kirui, Oliver K. 2023. The architecture of the Sudanese agricultural sector and its contribution to the economy between 1990 and 2021. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2191. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136725

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Northern Africa; Agricultural Sector; Gross National Product; Agricultural Productivity; Employment; Livelihoods; Public Investment; Government Spending; Development; Political Aspects; Climate Change

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136725 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Is women’s empowerment bearing fruit? Mapping women’s empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) results using the gender and food systems framework

2023Myers, Emily; Heckert, Jessica; Faas, Simone; Malapit, Hazel J.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Quisumbing, Agnes R.
Details

Is women’s empowerment bearing fruit? Mapping women’s empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) results using the gender and food systems framework

We conduct a synthetic review of the literature examining relationships between domains of women’s empowerment and food system outcomes. Many studies report significant positive associations between women’s empowerment and intrahousehold gender equality with child dietary and nutrition outcomes, household food security, and agricultural production, but which aspect of empowerment matters for a particular outcome varies across contexts. Others document significant but mixed associations between empowerment indicators and women’s dietary diversity scores. The findings suggest women’s empowerment contributes to improved diets and nutritional status, especially for children, but that household wealth, gender norms and country-specific institutions remain important. Most papers reviewed were based on observational studies and therefore estimated associations; future research using experimental and quasi-experimental methods would add significantly to the evidence base.

Year published

2023

Authors

Myers, Emily; Heckert, Jessica; Faas, Simone; Malapit, Hazel J.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Quisumbing, Agnes R.

Citation

Myers, Emily; Heckert, Jessica; Faas, Simone; Malapit, Hazel J.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Raghunathan, Kalyani; and Quisumbing, Agnes R. 2023. Is women’s empowerment bearing fruit? Mapping women’s empowerment in agriculture index (WEAI) results using the gender and food systems framework. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2190. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136722

Keywords

Gender Norms; Nutritional Status; Gender; Gender Equality; Women’s Empowerment; Agricultural Production; Child Nutrition; Households; Household Income; Institutions; Nutrition; Food Security; Diet; Food Systems; Women; Dietary Diversity

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136722 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Getting ahead of the game: Experiential learning for groundwater governance in Ethiopia

2023ElDidi, Hagar; Zhang, Wei; Gelaw, Fekadu; Petris, Caterina de; Blackmore, Ivy; Teka, Natnael; Yimam, Seid; Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Ringler, Claudia; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Details

Getting ahead of the game: Experiential learning for groundwater governance in Ethiopia

The goal of this study is to assess the potential of game-based experiential learning in raising awareness and stimulating discussions about groundwater resource systems, the social dilemma in groundwater management, and the need for institutional arrangements (rules) governing this shared resource, as well as whether such awareness and community discussions lead to actual change in groundwater governance in Ethiopia. Groundwater management is highly complex, with many users sharing the same resource often without realizing their interconnectedness. Behavioral experiments (games) that simulate real-life common-pool resource use have shown promise as an experiential learning tool for improving resource governance. This study pilots an experiential learning intervention in Ethiopia using a groundwater gameto help raise awareness of groundwater over-extraction and improve understanding of the importance of collective action in governance. The Meki River catchment in rural Ethiopia is a unique context where small-scale irrigation is expanding, but overextraction and competition over groundwater have not yet reached alarming levels. The groundwater game, adapted from Meinzen-Dick et al. (2016 and 2018), was played in 15 villages, accompanied by community-wide debriefing discussions in each village after the game to reflect on the process and lessons learned, and to stimulate discussions around groundwater governance. We carried out participant surveys to capture individual mental models regarding groundwater use and management, as well as any immediate learning effects. Focus group discussions were held in each village prior to the intervention to establish a baseline and again six months after the intervention to assess possible lasting effects. The findings indicate cognitive, normative and relational learning, including increased understanding of groundwater dynamics (such as the joint effect of diverse water uses and users), the importance of collective action in resource management, and the benefits of communication. We find gendered differences in decision-making about resource extraction in the game and evolvement of group-level resource management across no-communication, communication, and rule-making rounds of the game. We discuss community-wide learning and institutions-building, and considerations for future intervention designs. We recommend embedding experiential learning, facilitated by local extension officers or other community engagement practitioners, in intervention packages that include both technical assistance on water-conserving technologies and management approaches and support in building communities’ institutional capacity.

Year published

2023

Authors

ElDidi, Hagar; Zhang, Wei; Gelaw, Fekadu; Petris, Caterina de; Blackmore, Ivy; Teka, Natnael; Yimam, Seid; Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Ringler, Claudia; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.

Citation

ElDidi, Hagar; Zhang, Wei; Gelaw, Fekadu; De Petris, Caterina; Blackmore, Ivy; Teka, Natnael; Yimam, Seid; Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Ringler, Claudia; and Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela. 2023. Getting ahead of the game: Experiential learning for groundwater governance in Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2189. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136723

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Governance; Groundwater; Irrigation; Resources; Experiential Learning; Resource Management; Collective Action; Decision Making; Gender; Communication; Extension

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136723 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Social networks, collective organizing, and freedom of association: A qualitative participatory action research study with women migrant domestic workers in Lebanon

2023Abdulrahim, Sawsan; Adra, May
Details

Social networks, collective organizing, and freedom of association: A qualitative participatory action research study with women migrant domestic workers in Lebanon

Worldwide, women migrant domestic workers (WMDWs) occupy a weak position in the global economy due to intersections of gender, race, and global economic inequalities. Lebanon hosts more than 250,000 WMDWs who are recruited and employed through the infamous Kafala system that binds a worker to one employer. With Lebanon’s economic crisis, a large number of WMDWs are currently working as freelancers whereby giving and receiving support from other workers plays a crucial role in their adaptation and economic survival. This study is a component of an international evaluation of the Work in Freedom Project carried out by the International Labour Organization. It focuses on Lebanon and aims to assess the impact of the project on the ability of WMDWs in Lebanon to maintain viable social networks and organize collectively. Its main objective is to investigate the different ways in which WMDWs have maintained social networks and engaged in collective organizing efforts (at the individual, meso- and macro-levels), to improve their lives and to ensure non-exploitative work conditions.

Year published

2023

Authors

Abdulrahim, Sawsan; Adra, May

Citation

Abdulrahim, Sawsan; and Adra, May. 2023. Social networks, collective organizing, and freedom of association: A qualitative participatory action research study with women migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2187. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136716

Country/Region

Lebanon

Keywords

Western Asia; Asia; Gender; Social Networks; Shock; Collective Action; Migrant Workers; Capacity Development; Economic Activities; Working Conditions; Domestic Work; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136716 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Climate change, income sources, crop mix, and input use decisions: Evidence from Nigeria

2023Amare, Mulubrhan; Balana, Bedru B.
Details

Climate change, income sources, crop mix, and input use decisions: Evidence from Nigeria

This paper combines panel data from nationally representative household-level surveys in Nigeria with long-term satellite-based spatial data on temperature and precipitation using geo-referenced information related to households. It aims to quantify the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity, income shares, crop mix, and input use decisions. We measure climate change in harmful degree days, growing degree days, and changes in precipitation using long-term (30 year) changes in temperature and precipitation anomalies during the crop calendars. We find that, controlling for other factors, a 15 percent (one standard deviation) increase in change in harmful degree days leads to a decrease in agricultural productivity of 5.22 percent on average. Similarly, precipitation change has resulted in a significant and negative impact on agricultural productivity. Our results further show that the change in harmful degree days decreases the income share from crops and nonfarm self-employment, while it increases the income share from livestock and wage employment. Examining possible transmission channels for this effect, we find that farmers change their crop mix and input use to respond to climate changes, for instance reducing fertilizer use and seed purchases as a response to increases in extreme heat. Based on our findings, we suggest policy interventions that incentivize adoption of climate-resilient agriculture, such as small-scale irrigation and livelihood diversification. We also propose targeted pro-poor interventions, such as low-cost financing options for improving smallholders’ access to climate-proof agricultural inputs and technologies, and policy measures to reduce the inequality of access to livelihood capital such as land and other productive assets.

Year published

2023

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Balana, Bedru B.

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; and Balana, Bedru. 2023. Climate change, income sources, crop mix, and input use decisions: Evidence from Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2185. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Household Surveys; Data; Spatial Data; Temperature; Precipitation; Climate Change; Agricultural Productivity; Income; Crops; Inputs; Nonfarm Income; Livestock; Policies; Irrigation; Diversification; Finance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136717 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns

2023Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil; Ajmani, Manmeet
Details

Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns

In this paper, we address the question of the agricultural market integration of Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Philippines (CLMVP) countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and its other top trading partners. Using “Trade Potential” and “Competition Indices” indicators in this paper we assess the nature and extent of the agricultural market integration. We identify the exports of CLMVP countries with high export potential and comparatively low competition in export markets. Higher trade potential with lower competition (value or volume) indicates an opportunity of higher returns for agricultural producers. CLMVP countries are characterized by low diversity in agricultural exports. Nearly half of the total agricultural exports from all of them except Laos is contributed by only one commodity. It is found that market integration is an effective way of linking CLMVP smallholders to ASEAN agricultural markets. In addition to that this paper also discusses on tariff and non-tariff policy of CLMVP countries and found that the average tariffs on agri-food imports in CLMVP is 11.8% while it is 9.5% in non-CLMVP among the ASEAN countries. In non-tariff policy, among the CLMVP countries, Philippines shares the maximum number of SPS measures implemented on agricultural goods while Cambodia and Lao PDR did not report any SPS measures implemented by them between 2006 to 2020. Finally, to demonstrate the upward movement in the value chain, possibly due to quality upgradation, we present the dynamics of the unit values of CLMVP’s agricultural exports.

Year published

2023

Authors

Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil; Ajmani, Manmeet

Citation

Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil; and Ajmani, Manmeet. 2023. Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2188. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136718

Country/Region

Cambodia; Myanmar; Philippines

Keywords

Laos; South-eastern Asia; Asia; Value Chains; Trade Associations; Imports; Exports; Policies; Commodities; Agriculture; Markets; Trade; Returns; Commodity Markets; Tariffs

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136718 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Bangladeshi women’s experiences and vulnerabilities in Jordan’s garment sector

2023Nassif, Gabriella; Bhuiyan, Muhammad Mahbubul; Zahir, Md; Abdulrahim, Sawsan; Ringler, Claudia
Details

Bangladeshi women’s experiences and vulnerabilities in Jordan’s garment sector

Jordan’s garment sector employs a large number of women migrants from South Asia who face various challenges and vulnerabilities in their work environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated some of these vulnerabilities, leading to income losses. However, little information is available about this migration corridor. This study implemented qualitative phone survey interviews with returnee women migrants in Bangladesh to identify interventions that the organizations, such as the International Labor Organization and other actors supporting women’s safe migration could undertake to reduce women’s vulnerabilities in migration. The study identified networks of discipline and power, the perception of appropriate behavior at work and beyond and racialization as key areas that mediate vulnerabilities of women. We recommend increasing awareness of conditions at Jordan’s garment sector as part of pre-departure training, which is supported by the main recruitment practice of garment workers through BOESL in the country. Awareness raising includes information on the role of the Al Hassan Workers’ Center as well as on the role of the embassy of Bangladesh in Jordan. A second recommendation is to translate contractual documents into Bengali so that women migrants can better understand work conditions, including salaries. The final recommendation focuses on the need to continue research on the uneven power dynamics in Jordan’s garment sector to support dismantling networks of discrimination and power and racialization of the work environment.

Year published

2023

Authors

Nassif, Gabriella; Bhuiyan, Muhammad Mahbubul; Zahir, Md; Abdulrahim, Sawsan; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Nassif, Gabriella; Bhuiyan, Muhammad Mahbubul; Zahir, Md; Abdulrahim, Sawsan; and Ringler, Claudia. 2023. Bangladeshi women’s experiences and vulnerabilities in Jordan’s garment sector. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2186. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136715

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Jordan

Keywords

Southern Asia; Western Asia; Asia; Income; Languages; Gender; Migrant Labour; Surveys; Vulnerability; Contracts; Capacity Development; Interviews; Institutions; Economic Sectors; Migrants; Clothing; Behaviour; Working Conditions; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136715 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Short-term and long-term effects of cash for work: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Tunisia

2023Leight, Jessica; Mvukiyehe, Eric
Details

Short-term and long-term effects of cash for work: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Tunisia

While a growing literature analyzes the economic effects of cash for work programs in developing countries, there remains little evidence about the longer-term effects of these interventions. This paper presents findings from a randomized controlled trial evaluating a three month intervention providing public works em ployment in rural Tunisia. The evaluation design incorporates two dimensions of randomization — community-level randomization to treatment and control, and individual-level randomization among eligible individuals — and a sample of 2,718 individuals was tracked over five years. The findings suggest that cash for work leads to significant increases in labor market engagement, assets, consumption, financial inclusion, civic engagement, psychological well being, and women’s em powerment one-year post-treatment; however, these effects have largely attenuated to zero five years post-treatment, with the exception of a positive effect on assets. There is also evidence of positive spillover effects within treatment communities, but these effects similarly attenuate over time.

Year published

2023

Authors

Leight, Jessica; Mvukiyehe, Eric

Citation

Leight, Jessica; and Mvukiyehe, Eric. 2023. Short-term and long-term effects of cash for work: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Tunisia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2184. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136708

Country/Region

Tunisia

Keywords

Northern Africa; Africa; Labour Market; Employment; Randomized Controlled Trials; Public Works; Economics; Assets; Developing Countries; Cash Transfers; Cash Flow; Rural Areas; Gender Equity; Public Participation; Finance; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136708 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

2023Miehe, Caroline; Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.
Details

Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

To fully benefit from new agricultural technologies like improved seed varieties, significant investment in complementary inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and practices such as systematic planting, irrigation, and weeding are also required. Farmers may fail to recognize the importance of these complements, leading to unsatisfactory crop yields and outputs and, eventually, dis-adoption of the variety. We provide a simple model of biased expectations, complementary input use and technology adoption and test its predictions using a field experiment among smallholder maize farmers in eastern Uganda. We find that pointing out the importance of complementary investments using a short, engaging video effectively deters some farmers from using commercial improved varieties. Consistent with the theoretical model, we find some evidence that this behavior change emanates from increased knowledge and expectations that are more in line with realized outcomes.

Year published

2023

Authors

Miehe, Caroline; Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.

Citation

Miehe, Caroline; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; and Spielman, David J. 2023. Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2183. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agricultural Technologies; Seeds; Investments; Fertilizers; Pesticides; Planting; Irrigation; Weeding; Farmers; Crop Yield; Outputs; Innovation Adoption; Smallholders; Maize; Behaviour; Knowledge

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700 Source record

Project

Market Intelligence

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Impacts of the Russia-Ukraine War price shocks on the Bangladesh economy: A general equilibrium analysis

2023Chowdhury, Tahreen Tahrima; Dorosh, Paul A.; Islam, Rizwana; Pradesha, Angga
Details

Impacts of the Russia-Ukraine War price shocks on the Bangladesh economy: A general equilibrium analysis

The spike in global commodity prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine war has had major adverse impacts on many developing countries, including Bangladesh, that still depend heavily on energy and food imports. Although the Bangladesh economy has rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest global trade shock has threated to increase food insecurity and poverty. This study utilizes the Bangladesh RIAPA economywide model to assess the impact of increases in global commodity prices and explores potential policy interventions to reduce negative impacts. Simulation results show that increases in international commodity prices create a GDP loss of 0.36 percent and an increase of three million in the number of poor (mainly rural poor). Energy price shocks account for most of this decline in real GDP (0.28 percent). The fertilizer subsidy helps spur agriculture production which leads to an increase in crop GDP by 0.78 percent and total agricultural GDP by 0.43 percent. Changes in policy could help mitigate the effects of these price shocks. In particular, petroleum subsidies would help increase production in both agriculture and services, leading to a 0.3 percent increase in household consumption, considerably more than the gain under a targeted cash transfer policy of equal cost. However, given that the petroleum subsidy does not specifically target the poor, it only reduces poverty by a fraction of what a targeted cash transfer would. Moreover, as illustrated by the experiences of other countries, increases in a fuel subsidy, once introduced, are likely to be very difficult to reverse. This suggests that if the major policy goal is to reduce poverty, a direct cash transfer would be more effective than the other policy options considered here. Combining these policies, however, would be even more effective than any single intervention, reducing poverty incidence by around 2.5 million people, and thereby preventing nearly all of the potential increase in poverty resulting from global price shocks.

Year published

2023

Authors

Chowdhury, Tahreen Tahrima; Dorosh, Paul A.; Islam, Rizwana; Pradesha, Angga

Citation

Chowdhury, Tahreen Tahrima; Dorosh, Paul A.; Islam, Rizwana; and Pradesha, Angga. 2023. Impacts of the Russia-Ukraine War price shocks on the Bangladesh economy: A general equilibrium analysis. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2182. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136691

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Commodities; Prices; Developing Countries; Economics; Shocks; Food Security; Poverty; Policy Intervention; Gross Domestic Product; Agricultural Production; Household Consumption; Subsidies; Fuels; Cash Transfers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136691 Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Assessing investment priorities for driving inclusive agricultural transformation in Tanzania

2023Aragie, Emerta A.; Benfica, Rui; Pauw, Karl; Randriamamonjy, Josée; Thurlow, James
Details

Assessing investment priorities for driving inclusive agricultural transformation in Tanzania

This study utilizes a recursive dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated with data for Tanzania to explore the link between agricultural and rural development spending and four development outcomes: economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, and diet quality. Results show that no single expenditure option is the most effective in achieving all four desired development outcomes for Tanzania. Productivity-enhancing agricultural interventions in horticulture are effective at generating growth in the agri-food system (AFS) and improving diets, but have a limited effect on employment. Supporting cereal producers has large effects on growth and poverty reduction, with relatively high returns per dollar invested, but its effect on diet quality is weak. Providing livestock services to milk and poultry farmers consistently ranks high across the outcome indicators, with strong employment effects on downstream AFS. Crop research and development and feeder roads generate moderate impacts on all four outcomes. Partially reallocating the budget towards the most cost-effective spending options can substantially increase the development effectiveness for Tanzania of agriculture sector support expenditures. The approach adopted in this study can help policymakers design and prioritize agricultural interventions and expenditure portfolios that better reflect the country’s broad food system.

Year published

2023

Authors

Aragie, Emerta A.; Benfica, Rui; Pauw, Karl; Randriamamonjy, Josée; Thurlow, James

Citation

Aragie, Emerta; Benfica, Rui; Pauw, Karl; Randriamamonjy, Josée; and Thurlow, James. 2023. Assessing investment priorities for driving inclusive agricultural transformation in Tanzania. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2181. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136687

Keywords

Tanzania; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Poultry; Policy Innovation; Economic Growth; Milk; Farmers; Research; Agricultural Transformation; Horticulture; Agrifood Systems; Rural Development; Diet Quality; Livestock; Equilibrium; Poverty Reduction

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136687 Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Lessons of the gender and finance levers

2023Díaz-Bonilla, Eugenio; McNamara, Brian; Njuki, Jemimah; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, Rob
Details

The UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Lessons of the gender and finance levers

The United Nations Food Systems Summit, aimed to move food systems transformation to the top of the global policy agenda. An important element of the discussions were the “levers of change,” cross-cutting areas of work for food systems transformation. This paper reviews the operation of two levers: gender and finance. It analyzes the main debates and implementation issues related to mainstreaming gender dimensions and to leveraging finance for food system transformation. Using a political-economy framework of analysis, the paper draws conclusions for global food system governance and the likelihood of the UNFSS agenda for action to succeed.

Year published

2023

Authors

Díaz-Bonilla, Eugenio; McNamara, Brian; Njuki, Jemimah; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, Rob

Citation

Diaz-Bonilla, Eugenio; McNamara, Brian; Njuki, Jemimah; Swinnen, Johan; and Vos, Rob. 2023. The UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Lessons of the gender and finance levers. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2180. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136685

Keywords

Gender; Implementation; Policies; Transformation; Un; Food Systems; Finance; Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136685 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Estimating the cost and affordability of healthy diets: How much do methods matter?

2023Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold
Details

Estimating the cost and affordability of healthy diets: How much do methods matter?

Cost and affordability of healthy diet (CoAHD) metrics developed in a handful of academic studies have quickly become mainstream food security indicators among major development institutions. The World Bank and FAO now report CoAHD statistics in their widely used databanks, and the UN’s State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) reports CoAHD metrics on an annual basis, with the headline conclusion being that over 3 billion people worldwide cannot afford a healthy diet. While quantifying affordability constraints is indeed a vital addition to the suite of global food security indicators, there is a dearth of scientific analysis on the accuracy and sensitivity of CoAHD methods. Published global CoAHD estimates rely on three implicit assumptions: that demographic differences across countries have little effect on average diet costs; that non-food expenditure requirements have little systematic variation across countries; and that international food price data is representative in a population sense and product coverage sense. Testing these assumptions on the cost of the EAT-Lancet reference diet, we find sizable sensitivity of baseline methods to adjusting diet affordability estimates for systematic cross-country differences in demographic profiles and non-food expenditure requirements, smaller effects of adjusting for inadequate food product coverage in international price data, and inconclusive evidence on issues of urban bias in price surveys. Our proposed methodological improvements significantly change country, regional and global estimates of healthy diet affordability, though not the headline conclusion that several billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. Even so, the accuracy, rigor, and reliability of CoAHD statistics warrant closer investigation given their widespread adoption and utilization.

Year published

2023

Authors

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold

Citation

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Alderman, Harold. 2023. Estimating the cost and affordability of healthy diets: How much do methods matter? IFPRI Discussion Paper 2179. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136680

Keywords

Expenditure; Costs; Development; Programmes; Urban Areas; Affordability; Nutrition; Demography; Food Security; Food Prices; Diet; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136680 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Is irrigation fit for purpose? A review of the relationships between scheme size and performance of irrigation systems

2023McCarthy, Nancy; Ringler, Claudia; Agbonlahor, Mure Uhunamure; Pandya, A. B.; Iyob, Biniam; Pérez, Nicostrato D.
Details

Is irrigation fit for purpose? A review of the relationships between scheme size and performance of irrigation systems

Irrigation is increasingly being called upon to help stabilize and grow food and water security in the face of multiple crises; these crises include climate change, but also recent global food and energy price crises, including the 2007/08 food and energy price crises, and the more recent crises triggered by the COVID 19 pandemic and the war on Ukraine. While irrigation development used to focus on public, large-scale, surface- and reservoir-fed systems, over the last several decades, private small-scale investments in groundwater irrigation have grown in importance and are expected to see rapid future growth, particularly in connection with solar-powered pumping systems. But is irrigation ‘fit-for-purpose’ to support population growth, economic development, and multiple food, energy and climate crises? This paper reviews how fit-for-purpose irrigation is with a focus on economies of scale of surface and groundwater systems, and a particular examination of systems in Sub-Saharan Africa where the need for expansion is largest. The review finds challenges for both larger surface and smaller groundwater systems in the face of growing demand for irrigated agriculture and dwindling and less reliable water supplies. To support resilience of the sector, we propose both a holistic design and management improvement agenda for larger surface systems, and a series of suggestions to improve sustainability concerns of groundwater systems

Year published

2023

Authors

McCarthy, Nancy; Ringler, Claudia; Agbonlahor, Mure Uhunamure; Pandya, A. B.; Iyob, Biniam; Pérez, Nicostrato D.

Citation

McCarthy, Nancy; Ringler, Claudia; Agbonlahor, Mure Uhunamure; Pandya, A. B.; Iyob, Biniam; and Perez, Nicostrato. 2023. Is irrigation fit for purpose? A review of the relationships between scheme size and performance of irrigation systems. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2178. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136651

Keywords

Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Asia; Irrigation; Agriculture; Food Security; Water Security; Crises; Climate Change; Coronavirus; Coronavirus Disease; Coronavirinae; Covid-19; Ukraine; Development; Scaling; Solar Energy; Economics; Groundwater

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136651 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The effects of FDI Liberalization on structural transformation and demographic change: Evidence from China

2023Erten, Bilge; Leight, Jessica; Zhu, Lianming
Details

The effects of FDI Liberalization on structural transformation and demographic change: Evidence from China

How does foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization shape structural transformation and demographic change in developing countries? We provide new evidence on this question using five waves of Chinese census data between 1990 and 2015, exploiting quasi-exogenous variation in FDI liberalization induced by multiple waves of regulatory relaxation. We find that counties more exposed to liberalization experience a relative shift out of agricultural employment into manufacturing and services for both men and women. Exposure to FDI liberalization also reduces the probability of marriage, and induces a decline in the birth rate and the share of women with children.

Year published

2023

Authors

Erten, Bilge; Leight, Jessica; Zhu, Lianming

Citation

Erten, Bilge; Leight, Jessica; and Zhu, Lianming. 2023. The effects of FDI liberalization on structural transformation and demographic change: Evidence from China. IZA Discussion Paper No. 16094. https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/16094/the-effects-of-fdi-liberalization-on-structural-transformation-and-demographic-change-evidence-from-china

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Eastern Asia; Asia; Data Analysis; Data; Gender; Transformation; Developing Countries; Men; Censuses; Foreign Investment; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Border carbon adjustments: Should production or consumption be taxed?

2023Martin, Will
Details

Border carbon adjustments: Should production or consumption be taxed?

Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) may play an important role in lowering the economic costs of greenhouse gas mitigation and in overcoming political-economy constraints on use of carbon taxes or equivalent measures. A carbon tax plus a full BCA could deal with the competitiveness challenges arising from carbon taxes by using the WTO’s National Treatment principle to apply equal levies on domestic production and on imports, and by symmetrically rebating the carbon tax on exports in the manner of a value-added tax (VAT) export rebate. This approach would shift the base for carbon taxation from production to demand and potentially achieve substantial reductions in the cost of cutting emissions. It would avoid the massive measurement and compliance problems associated with BCAs based on foreign emission intensities. By contrast, import-only BCAs distort prices of importables relative to exportables; create divisive trade conflicts and deterioration in the terms of trade for developing countries; and likely require development of complex sets of import preferences.

Year published

2023

Authors

Martin, Will

Citation

Martin, Will. 2023. Border carbon adjustments: Should production or consumption be taxed? IFPRI Discussion Paper 2177. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136633

Keywords

Carbon; Taxes; Costs; Economics; Greenhouse Gases; Policies; Domestic Production; Emissions; Prices; Global Warming; Imports; Exports; Trade; Developing Countries; Value Added Tax; Wto

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136633 Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Elder care in Lebanon: An analysis of care workers and care recipients in the face of crisis

2023Nassif, Gabriella; Dakkak, Sabine
Details

Elder care in Lebanon: An analysis of care workers and care recipients in the face of crisis

The current socioeconomic and political crises plaguing Lebanon have exacerbated the ongoing care crisis, in particular for care workers and elderly care recipients. Over the past decade, non Arab migrant domestic workers have been, alongside family members, primarily responsible for providing privatized, in-home care for ageing Lebanese. This care, ranging from cooking and cleaning to administering medicines and providing care for people with disabilities, exists in the stark absence of substantive state-provided services for a rapidly ageing population. Under the pressures of the current economic crisis, however, the arrangements of this form of commodified care have come under particular strain, causing both care workers and care recipients to suffer. To better understand elderly care needs in Lebanon amidst the current, multi-faceted crisis, this report foregrounds the personal experiences and needs of both care workers, primarily non-Arab migrant domestic workers, and elderly care employers and recipients. Findings suggest that the most acute care needs for elderly Lebanese include long-term healthcare, emotional companionship, and domestic labor, at an affordable price. Workers highlighted the overwhelming nature of elderly work, their need for workplace support, and ultimately, their demands for a better legislative framework to protect them as migrant workers.

Year published

2023

Authors

Nassif, Gabriella; Dakkak, Sabine

Citation

Nassif, Gabriella; and Dakkak, Sabine. 2023. Elder care in Lebanon: An analysis of care workers and care recipients in the face of crisis. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2176. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136639

Country/Region

Lebanon

Keywords

Western Asia; Asia; Ageing; Care Work; Migrant Labour; Elderly; Services; Economic Crises; Migrants; Prices; Domestic Work; Health Care; Legislation; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136639 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Valuing control over income and time use: A field experiment in Rwanda

2023Hickman, William; Kramer, Berber; Mollerstrom, Johanna; Seymour, Greg
Details

Valuing control over income and time use: A field experiment in Rwanda

Agricultural development programs often aim to increase women’s incomes and to enhance their control over family resources by offering new work opportunities, but as an unintended negative consequence, these programs may further increase women’s already heavy workloads. By means of a lab-in-the-field experiment in rural Rwanda, we elicit men’s and women’s valuations of control over income, time use, and trade-offs between them. We find that women are willing to sacrifice more household income to increase their control over income than their husbands are. However, the magnitude of respondents’ valuations of control over income is low. On the other hand, both women and men place a high value on time, and this relationship does not vary by gender. Consequently, development programs introducing time-saving practices, technologies, and services may have more positive welfare impacts than programs that primarily increase control over monetary resources.

Year published

2023

Authors

Hickman, William; Kramer, Berber; Mollerstrom, Johanna; Seymour, Greg

Citation

Hickman, William; Kramer, Berber; Mollerstrom, Johanna; and Seymour, Greg. 2023. Valuing control over income and time use: A field experiment in Rwanda. ICES Discussion Paper March 2023. Fairfax, VA: George Mason University. https://d101vc9winf8ln.cloudfront.net/documents/46102/original/Valuing_Control_Over_Income_and_Time_Use_A_Field_Experiment_in_Rwanda_by_Hickman_et.al.pdf?1679602724

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; West and Central Africa; Gender; Women; Time Use; Labour; Households; Income; Household Expenditure; Family Budget; Experimentation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The impact of price insulation on world wheat markets during Covid-19 and the Ukraine crisis

2023Martin, Will; Minot, Nicholas
Details

The impact of price insulation on world wheat markets during Covid-19 and the Ukraine crisis

This paper begins with a survey of recent commodity price developments that highlights the magnitude of this price surge and identifies the rapid rise in wheat prices as a key element. The analysis in this paper focuses on the extent to which domestic markets are insulated from these changes and on the resulting impacts on world prices. An econometric analysis using Error Correction Models finds stable long-term relationships between world wheat prices and most domestic prices of wheat and wheat products, but with considerable variation across countries in the rate of price transmission. A case study of the price shocks during the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine food price crisis finds that price insulation roughly doubled the overall increase in world wheat prices and raised their volatility both during periods of price increase and price decline.

Year published

2023

Authors

Martin, Will; Minot, Nicholas

Citation

Martin, Will; and Minot, Nicholas. 2023. The impact of price insulation on world wheat markets during Covid-19 and the Ukraine crisis. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2175. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136616

Keywords

Models; Coronavirus; Covid-19; Coronavirinae; Price Stabilization; Cointegration; Coronavirus Disease; Food Prices; Wheat; Shocks; Russia-ukraine War

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136616 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Food prices and the wages of the poor: A low-cost, high-value approach to high-frequency food security monitoring

2023Headey, Derek D.; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Marshall, Quinn; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Mahrt, Kristi
Details

Food prices and the wages of the poor: A low-cost, high-value approach to high-frequency food security monitoring

International food prices have become increasingly volatile in recent decades, with “global food crises” in 2008, 2011 and most recently in 2022. The 2008 crisis prompted international agencies to ambitiously extend their monitoring of domestic food prices in developing countries to strengthen early warning systems and food and nutrition surveillance. However, food inflation by itself is not sufficient for measuring disposable income or food affordability; for that, one must measure either changes in income or changes in an income proxy. Here we propose the use of a low-cost income proxy that can be monitored at the same high frequency and spatial granularity as food prices: the wages of poor unskilled workers. While not all poor people are unskilled wage earners, changes in the real “reservation wages” of low skilled activities are likely to be highly predictive of changes in disposable income for poorer segments of society (Deaton and Dreze 2002). We demonstrate this by estimating changes in “food wages” – wages deflated food price indices – during well-documented food price crises in Ethiopia (2008, 2011 and 2022), Sri Lanka (2022) and Myanmar (2022). In all these instances, food wages declined by 20-30%, often in the space of a few months. Moreover, in Myanmar we use a household panel survey data to show that the decline in food wages over the course of 2022 closely matches estimate declines in household disposable income and proportional increases in income-based poverty. We argue that the affordability of nutritious food for “all people, at all times” is a critically important dimension of food security, and we advocate for monitoring the wages of the poor as a cheap and accurate means of capturing that dimension.

Year published

2023

Authors

Headey, Derek D.; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Marshall, Quinn; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Mahrt, Kristi

Citation

Headey, Derek D.; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Marshall, Quinn; Raghunathan, Kalyani; and Mahrt, Kristi. 2023. Food prices and the wages of the poor: A low-cost, high-value approach to high-frequency food security monitoring. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2174. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136614

Country/Region

Ethiopia; Myanmar; Sri Lanka

Keywords

Africa; Asia; Eastern Africa; South-eastern Asia; Southern Asia; Food Prices; Crises; Food Security; Nutrition; Wages; Diets; Monitoring; Inflation; Household Income; Early Warning Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136614 Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Measuring empowerment across the value chain: The evolution of the project-level Women’s Empowerment Index for Market Inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI)

2023
Malapit, Hazel J.; Heckert, Jessica; Adegbola, Patrice Ygué; Crinot, Geraud Fabrice; Eissler, Sarah; Faas, Simone; Gantoli, Geoffroy; Kalagho, Kenan; Martinez, Elena M.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
…more Mswero, Grace; Myers, Emily; Mzungu, Diston; Pereira, Audrey; Pinkstaff, Crossley; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Ragasa, Catherine; Rubin, Deborah; Seymour, Greg; Tauseef, Salauddin; GAAP2 Market Inclusion Study Team
Details

Measuring empowerment across the value chain: The evolution of the project-level Women’s Empowerment Index for Market Inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI)

Many development agencies design and implement interventions that aim to reach, benefit, and empower rural women across the value chain in activities ranging from production, to processing, to marketing. Determining whether and how such interventions empower women, as well as the constraints faced by different value chain actors, requires quantitative and qualitative tools. We describe how we adapted the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agricultural Index (pro-WEAI), a mixed-methods tool for studying empowerment in development projects, to include aspects of agency relevant for multiple types of value chain actors. The resulting pro-WEAI for market inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI) includes quantitative and qualitative instruments developed over the course of four studies. Studies in the Philippines (2017), Bangladesh (2017), and Malawi (2019) were intended to diagnose areas of disempowerment to inform programming, whereas the Benin (2019) study was an impact assessment of an agricultural training program. The pro-WEAI+MI includes all indicators included in pro-WEAI, plus a dashboard of complementary indicators and recommended qualitative instruments. These tools investigate the empowerment of women in different value chains and nodes and identify barriers to market access and inclusion that may restrict empowerment for different value chain actors. Our findings highlight three lessons. First, the sampling strategy needs to be designed to capture the key actors in a value chain. Second, the market inclusion indicators cannot stand alone; they must be interpreted alongside the core pro-WEAI indicators. Third, not all market inclusion indicators will be relevant for all value chains and contexts. Users should research the experiences of women and men in the target value chains in the context of the programto select priority market inclusion indicators.

Year published

2023

Authors

Malapit, Hazel J.; Heckert, Jessica; Adegbola, Patrice Ygué; Crinot, Geraud Fabrice; Eissler, Sarah; Faas, Simone; Gantoli, Geoffroy; Kalagho, Kenan; Martinez, Elena M.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Mswero, Grace; Myers, Emily; Mzungu, Diston; Pereira, Audrey; Pinkstaff, Crossley; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Ragasa, Catherine; Rubin, Deborah; Seymour, Greg; Tauseef, Salauddin; GAAP2 Market Inclusion Study Team

Citation

Malapit, Hazel J.; Heckert, Jessica; Adegbola, Patrice Ygué; Crinot, Geraud Fabrice; Eissler, Sarah; Faas, Simone; et al. 2023. Measuring empowerment across the value chain: The evolution of the project-level Women’s Empowerment Index for Market Inclusion (pro-WEAI+MI). IFPRI Discussion Paper 2172. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136606

Country/Region

Philippines; Bangladesh; Malawi; Benin

Keywords

South-eastern Asia; Asia; Southern Asia; Southern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Western Africa; Eastern Africa; Value Chains; Women’s Empowerment; Gender; Agriculture; Market Access; Rural Areas; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136606 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The economywide effects of reducing food loss and waste in developing countries

2023Aragie, Emerta; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James
Details

The economywide effects of reducing food loss and waste in developing countries

One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reducing food loss and waste (FLW) across all stages of food value chains, including the on-farm production, the off-farm postharvest, processing, and distribution, and the household consumption stages. We employ general equilibrium models for Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nigeria to assess the economywide implications of reducing FLW at different stages of value chains. Halving FLW results in GDP increases of between 1.1 and 2 percent, with up to 13 million people lifted out of poverty across the three countries. Diets also improve – especially in Kenya and Nigeria – due to greater availability and lower prices of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. Although most of the gains originate from reducing FLW in the on-farm production stage, strong intersectoral linkages mean around 30 percent of measured GDP gains are realized in non-agricultural sectors. Reducing waste at the final consumption stage has small negative impacts on GDP as households purchase less food without reducing their food intake. We conclude that the significant economywide gains provide a justification for adopting FLW reduction strategies, although costing the policy and investment options needed to reduce FLW is an important area for future research.

Year published

2023

Authors

Aragie, Emerta; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James

Citation

Aragie, Emerta; Pauw, Karl; and Thurlow, James. 2023. The economywide effects of reducing food loss and waste in developing countries. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2173. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136605

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Kenya; Nigeria

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Eastern Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Sustainable Development Goals; Postharvest Losses; Food Waste; Value Chain; General Equilibrium Model; Economy; Poverty; Diets; Policies; Food Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136605 Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Analyse des flux physiques, performances économiques et relations au sein des filières de manioc, de riz, de lait et de poisson au Sud-Kivu et Tanganyika (RDC 2021)

2023Marivoet, Wim; Ulimwengu, John M.; Cissé, Abdallah
Details

Analyse des flux physiques, performances économiques et relations au sein des filières de manioc, de riz, de lait et de poisson au Sud-Kivu et Tanganyika (RDC 2021)

Ce document présente une analyse des chaînes de valeur agroalimentaires de manioc, de riz, de lait et de poisson le long du corridor économique entre les capitales provinciales de Bukavu (Sud-Kivu) et Kalemie (Tanganyika) situées dans la partie orientale de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Les principales données utilisées pour cette étude proviennent d’enquêtes menées en 2021 auprès d’environ 3000 acteurs conomiques familiaux, y compris des agriculteurs, des transformateurs et des intermédiaires, actifs dans une ou plusieurs des quatre filières ciblées. Les questionnaires ont été conçus pour recueillir des données clés sur les principales opérations entrepreneuriales (telles que les recettes, les coûts et les valeurs ajoutées) ventilées par activités de production, de transformation et de commercialisation au sein de chacune des chaînes. En utilisant des outils de comptabilité économique, cette approche a permis de quantifier les flux physiques des aliments frais/non transformés et transformés et d’estimer la valeur ajoutée et la viabilité économique des différentes activités réalisées. En outre, des techniques descriptives et de réseaux sociaux ont été utilisées pour caractériser les relations entre les différents acteurs de chaque filière.

Year published

2023

Authors

Marivoet, Wim; Ulimwengu, John M.; Cissé, Abdallah

Citation

Marivoet, Wim; Ulimwengu, John M.; and Cissé, Abdallah. 2023. Analyse des flux physiques, performances économiques et relations au sein des filières de manioc, de riz, de lait et de poisson au Sud-Kivu et Tanganyika (RDC 2021). IFPRI Discussion Paper 2171. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136602

Keywords

Congo, Democratic Republic of; Central Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Middle Africa; Value Chains; Social Networks; Milk; Rice; Enterprises; Capacity Development; Economics; Food Industry; Cassava; Fish

Language

French

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136602 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar

2023Ecker, Olivier; Alderman, Harold; Comstock, Andrew R.; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Pradesha, Angga
Details

Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe income losses, but little is known about its impacts on diets and nutritional adequacy, or the effectiveness of social protection interventions in mitigating dietary and nutritional impacts. We first assess the likely impacts of COVID-19 shocks in Bangladesh and Myanmar on poverty and food and nutrient consumption gaps. We then analyze the estimated mitigating effects of five hypothetical social protection interventions of a typical monetary value: (1) cash transfers; (2) in-kind transfers of common rice; (3) in-kind transfers of fortified rice enriched with multiple essential micronutrients; (4) vouchers for a diversified basket of rice and non-staple foods; and (5) food vouchers with fortified rice instead of common rice. The simulation results suggest modest effectiveness of the cash transfers for mitigating poverty increases and little effectiveness of all five transfers for preventing increasing food and nutrient consumption gaps among the poorest 40%. Rice fortification is, however, effective at closing key micronutrient consumption gaps and could be a suitable policy instrument for averting ‘hidden hunger’ during economic crises.

Year published

2023

Authors

Ecker, Olivier; Alderman, Harold; Comstock, Andrew R.; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Pradesha, Angga

Citation

Ecker, Olivier; Alderman, Harold; Comstock, Andrew R.; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; and Pradesha, Angga. 2023. Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2170. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136593

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Myanmar

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; South-eastern Asia; Simulation; Coronavirus; Covid-19; Poverty Alleviation; Social Protection; Nutrition; Coronavirinae; Cash Transfers; Food Consumption; Coronavirus Disease; Diet; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136593 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The role of market concentration in the agrifood industry

2023Hernández, Manuel A.; Espinoza, Alvaro; Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Deconinck, Koen; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, Rob
Details

The role of market concentration in the agrifood industry

The role of market concentration and potential market power exertion in the agri-food industry is a topic of longstanding interest and concern to policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers. This study provides a comprehensive overview of recent trends in market concentration upstream, midstream, and downstream the agri-food industry at the global, regional, and country level, and assesses how and to what extent concentration could be affecting market conduct and performance of food systems in developed and developing countries. The analysis additionally discusses, to the extent detectable, implications of concentration, including vertical and horizontal integration that favor concentration, for food security and nutrition and environmental sustainability. While market concentration in the agri-food industry has increased across most segments, the evidence on market power exertion is inconclusive. Several knowledge and data gaps are identified and additional research is necessary to derive more general conclusions and policy recommendations.

Year published

2023

Authors

Hernández, Manuel A.; Espinoza, Alvaro; Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Deconinck, Koen; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, Rob

Citation

Hernandez, Manuel A.; Espinoza, Alvaro; Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Deconinck, Koen; Swinnen, Johan; and Vos, Rob. 2023. The role of market concentration in the agrifood industry. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2168. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136567

Keywords

Agricultural Economics; Agrifood Sector; Environment; Food Security; Nutrition; Sustainability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136567 Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

When will civil society sanction the state? Evidence from Mali

2023Bleck, Jaimie; Gottlieb, Jessica; Kosec, Katrina
Details

When will civil society sanction the state? Evidence from Mali

Under what conditions will civil society organizations (CSOs) sanction corruption (the private use of public funds)? CSOs have overcome coordination problems, but could either use this capacity to hold government accountable for public goods provision or to extract rents from politicians. We develop a model and test its predictions using a face-to-face survey with 1,014 CSO leaders from 48 communes in Mali. We describe a forthcoming performance-based funding program (PBF) providing a formal channel for civil society monitors to sanction mayoral corruption: they influence whether or not mayors receive a performance bonus. We ask CSO leaders their likelihood of sanctioning known corruption under the program and their expected transfer price if they instead enter into a collusive bargain. We find that CSOs most embedded in the community are best able to extract informal transfers from the mayor and least likely to sanction. By contrast, CSOs with high technical and informational capacity are most likely to sanction.

Year published

2023

Authors

Bleck, Jaimie; Gottlieb, Jessica; Kosec, Katrina

Citation

Bleck, Jaimie; Gottlieb, Jessica; and Kosec, Katrina. 2023. When will civil society sanction the state? Evidence from Mali. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2169. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136571

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Bargaining Power; Civil Society Organizations; Corruption; Governance; Politics; Public Goods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136571 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Temperature and low-stakes cognitive performance

2023Zhang, Xin; Chen, Xi; Zhang, Xiaobo
Details

Temperature and low-stakes cognitive performance

This paper offers one of the first evidence in a developing country context that transitory exposure to high temperatures may disrupt low-stakes cognitive activities across a range of age cohorts. By matching eight years of repeated cognitive tests among all the participants in a nationally representative longitudinal survey in China with weather data according to the exact time and geographic location of their assessment, we show that exposure to a temperature above 32 °C on the test date, relative to a moderate day within 22–24 °C, leads to a sizable decline in their math scores by 0.066 standard deviations (equivalent to 0.23 years of education). Also, the effect on the math test scores becomes more pronounced as people age, especially for males and the less educated. However, the test takers living in hotter regions or those with air conditioning installed on site are less vulnerable to extreme high temperatures, indicating the role of adaptation.

Year published

2023

Authors

Zhang, Xin; Chen, Xi; Zhang, Xiaobo

Citation

Zhang, Xin; Chen, Xi; and Zhang, Xiaobo. 2023. Temperature and low-stakes cognitive performance. IZA Discussion Paper No. 15972. https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/15972/temperature-and-low-stakes-cognitive-performance

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Asia; Eastern Asia; Adaptation; Age; Age Groups; Air Conditioning; Climate; Climate Change; Cohorts; Data; Data Analysis; Developing Countries; Mathematics; Vulnerability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Effects of weather and food market risks on household agriculture-nutrition linkage: Micro-level insights from India

2023Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Saroj, Sunil; Kumar, Anjani
Details

Effects of weather and food market risks on household agriculture-nutrition linkage: Micro-level insights from India

Agriculture-nutrition linkages in developing countries remain complex and continue evolving as weather and market risks intensify due to climate change and other geopolitical and socioeconomic factors. Knowledge gaps remain regarding the exact interrelationship among these dimensions of agriculture-nutrition linkages. This study aimed to partly fill this knowledge gap by assessing how the associations between home production of various food groups and household/individual level nutritional outcomes are affected by weather anomalies and price risks of these food groups in the market, using panel data from India. Our results indicate that, generally, the associations between home production and nutritional outcomes are greater under more normal weather, with rainfall and temperature during the production season being closer to the historical median, potentially because of greater productivity realized and sufficient harvest that can be consumed throughout the year. The associations are also greater when households face greater market price fluctuations of food commodities conditional on the distance to the market, potentially because such price risks lead to reduced food purchases from the market. These effects generally hold not only during the average month but also during the lean month, indicating robustness against seasonality. These results also hold more consistently in remote areas than in areas closer to the market. Overall, our results suggest that efforts to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture in developing countries should also consider evolving patterns of weather risks and agrifood market price risks to improve their effectiveness.

Year published

2023

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Saroj, Sunil; Kumar, Anjani

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Saroj, Sunil; and Kumar, Anjani. 2023. Effects of weather and food market risks on household agriculture-nutrition linkage: Micro-level insights from India. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2167. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136557

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Data; Agriculture; Markets; Nutrition; Weather; Risk; Prices; Seasonality

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136557 Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Common lands in India: Spatial distribution and overlay with socioeconomic and environmental indicators

2023ElDidi, Hagar; Khurana, Ritika; Zhang, Wei; Jadav, Maheshkumar Kalidas; Guha, Chiranjit; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Guo, Zhe; Sandhu, Harpinder; Nagendra, Harini; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Details

Common lands in India: Spatial distribution and overlay with socioeconomic and environmental indicators

Common pool resources provide important socioeconomic and ecological benefits for local communities and beyond, with around 2.5-3 billion people depending on commons for their livelihoods and other needs globally. In India, common lands constitute around a quarter of the country’s landmass, help meet the subsistence and livelihood needs of at least 350 million people and are of social and cultural significance to rural communities, as well as providing ecosystem services that benefit wider society. Despite these vital contributions, India’s commons have been facing widespread degradation, and policymakers tend to perceive some commons as “wastelands” because their true extent and value is not known. This study contributes to improved understanding of the magnitude and vitality of commons for rural communities, focusing on land-based commons in India. We provide a national assessment of the spatial extent and usage of common lands across districts, using publicly available spatial datasets and 2011 Census of India data and Household Census data. We further examine the spatial overlap between common lands and officially recognized protected areas to shine light on the possible locations where sustainable management or restoration of commons can potentially add value to conservation, in addition to benefiting local communities. Our results show that common lands are spread out spatially across the country and are intertwined, with more than one type of commons often present within the same district. Further, communities, especially poor, marginalized and indigenous communities such as Scheduled Tribe rely on forest commons, barren lands, pastures and culturable wastelands for their livelihoods, including for extraction of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for housing and cooking, grazing livestock, among others. Common lands and the communities that depend on them also often live in proximity to or are surrounded by officially recognized protected areas. Our study points to the need to drill down to more disaggregated level for commons mapping, which, in conjunction with information on the values of ecosystem services provide by commons, could inform land use policies and conservation and development planning.

Year published

2023

Authors

ElDidi, Hagar; Khurana, Ritika; Zhang, Wei; Jadav, Maheshkumar Kalidas; Guha, Chiranjit; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Guo, Zhe; Sandhu, Harpinder; Nagendra, Harini; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.

Citation

ElDidi, Hagar; Khurana, Ritika; Zhang, Wei; Jadav, Maheshkumar Kalidas; Guha, Chiranjit; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Guo, Zhe; Sandhu, Harpinder; Nagendra, Harini; and Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.. 2023. Common lands in India: Spatial distribution and overlay with socioeconomic and environmental indicators. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2166. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136556

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Data Analysis; Rural Communities; Data; Policy Innovation; Degradation; Pastures; Resource Conservation; Forests; Capacity Development; Land Use; Protected Areas; Livelihoods; Land-use Planning; Tribal Peoples; Common Lands; Ecosystem Services; Restoration; Communities

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136556 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

The role of spatial inequalities on youth migration decisions: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

2023Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Chamberlin, Jordan
Details

The role of spatial inequalities on youth migration decisions: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

We combine nationally representative data from Nigeria with spatiotemporal data from remote sensing and other sources to study how young migrants respond to observable characteristics of potential destinations, both in absolute terms and relative to origin locations. Migrants prefer destinations with better welfare, land availability and intensity of economic activity. We also find that migrants prefer shorter distances and those destinations with better urban amenities and infrastructure. However, responses vary by type of migrant and migration. For example, rural-rural migrants are more responsive to land availability and agricultural potential, while rural-urban and urban-urban migrants are more responsive to welfare and economic vibrancy (measured by nightlight intensity) in destinations. Distance induces varying impact on migration choices of poor and non-poor migrants as well as across more educated and less educated migrants. Longer distances discourage migration for female migrants, poorer migrants and less educated migrant while the implication for the non-poor and more educated migrants appears to be negligible. This is intuitive because poorer and less educated migrants have liquidity constraints to finance high migration costs. Our results suggest potential scope for predicting how labor mobility responds to alternative regional development policies.

Year published

2023

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Chamberlin, Jordan

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; and Chamberlin, Jordan. 2023. The role of spatial inequalities on youth migration decisions: Empirical evidence from Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2160. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136528

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Africa; Data; Data Analysis; Destinations; Development Policies; Economics; Educational Opportunities; Labour; Land; Land Access; Migration; Migrants; Provenance; Remote Sensing; Welfare; Educational Resources; Spatial Analysis

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136528 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Micro insights on the pathways to agricultural transformation: Comparative evidence from Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

2022Amare, Mulubrhan; Parvathi, Priyanka; Nguyen, Trung Thanh
Details

Micro insights on the pathways to agricultural transformation: Comparative evidence from Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

Most studies of agricultural transformation document the impact of agricultural income growth on macroeconomic indicators of development. Much less is known about the micro-scale changes within the farming sector that signal a transformation precipitated by agricultural income growth. This study provides a comparative analysis of the patterns of micro-level changes that occur among small-holder farmers in Uganda and Malawi in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia (SEA). Our analysis provides several important insights on agricultural transformation in these two regions. First, agricultural income in all examined countries is vulnerable to changes in precipitation and temperature, an effect that is nonlinear and asymmetric. SSA countries are more vulnerable to these weather changes. Second, exogenous increases in agricultural income in previous years improve non-farm income and trigger a change in labor allocation within the rural sector in SEA. However, this is opposite in SSA where the increase in agricultural income reduces non-farm income, indicating a substitution effect between farm and non-farm sectors. These findings reveal clear agricultural transformation driven by agricultural income in SEA, but no similar evidence in SSA.

Year published

2022

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Parvathi, Priyanka; Nguyen, Trung Thanh

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Parvathi, Priyanka; and Nguyen, Trung Thanh. 2022. Micro insights on the pathways to agricultural transformation: Comparative evidence from Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2165. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136546

Country/Region

Uganda; Malawi; Thailand; Vietnam

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Africa; Southern Africa; South-eastern Asia; Asia; Agricultural Transformation; Comparative Analysis; Data; Data Analysis; Development; Farm Income; Farmers; Income; Macroeconomics; Patterns; Precipitation; Smallholders; Temperature; Vulnerability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136546 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

Working Paper

Policy issues and options in aquatic food systems: Review of frameworks, tools, and studies

2022Ragasa, Catherine; Loison, Sarah Alobo
Details

Policy issues and options in aquatic food systems: Review of frameworks, tools, and studies

Although policies can be critical constraining or enabling factors for aquatic food systems (AqFS) development, scarce evaluation of the impacts of existing policies means that decision-makers have limited understanding of how to improve the design and implementation of effective policies. This paper reviews key policy issues in AqFS and how they have been analyzed and assessed to provide context-tailored policy options and guidance. Our review shows that countries face many policy issues but have little analysis on them. Despite the availability of a wide variety of frameworks, concepts, tools, methods, and approaches, their application in empirical analysis to solve policy issues in AqFS has been limited. More research is available on local- and community-level governance of fisheries, but less on national or subnational policies and regulations in AqFS. The few available policy studies focus on developed countries, with fewer applications in developing countries where growth of the aquaculture and fisheries sectors is much stronger. The studies provide useful policy options and guidance, and this review highlights the need for more such studies to address policy-related issues in the sector.

Year published

2022

Authors

Ragasa, Catherine; Loison, Sarah Alobo

Citation

Ragasa, Catherine; and Loison, Sarah Alobo. 2022. Policy issues and options in aquatic food systems: Review of frameworks, tools, and studies. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2161. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Keywords

Fisheries Governance; Decision Making; Evaluation; Evaluation Techniques; Fishery Management; Governance; Implementation; Literature Reviews; Policies; Regulations; Research; Policy Analysis; Aquatic Food Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136523 Source record

Project

Aquatic Foods

Record type

Working Paper

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