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

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

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

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Where we work

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

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partnerships

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), one of fifteen CGIAR Research Centers, is a research-for-development organization, that provides solutions to hunger, poverty, and the degradation of natural resources in Africa. IITA works with international and national partners to improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA focuses on areas such as biotechnology and genetic Improvement, and natural resource management.

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Projects

Spatial Typologies for Targeted Food and Nutrition Security Interventions

Spatial Typologies for Targeted Food and Nutrition Security Interventions

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Publications

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Report

Impacts of Africa RISING in Ghana

2024Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Castaing, Pauline; Kizito, Fred; Vitellozzi, Sveva; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne
Details

Impacts of Africa RISING in Ghana

Sustainable intensification (SI) of the smallholder sector in Africa south of the Sahara is among the approaches pursued to build resilient food systems that can supply nutritionally adequate food in the face of rapid population growth and climatic changes. This study assesses the impact of Africa RISING, an SI program in Ghana implemented in the poorest and most food insecure areas of the country since 2012. The program first validated and then scaled up a wide range of SI interventions focused on improved agronomic management and crop cultivars; improved livestock feed, housing conditions, and species; crop-livestock integration; integrated natural resource management; vegetable production and nutritional education; and small-scale mechanization. Impact is estimated using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (conducted in 2014 and 2020), propensity score matching, and difference-indifferences techniques. The study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with those of two different control groups—one residing in program villages (within village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison) on several indicators across five SI domains—environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two control groups. Results from panel data analyses show improvements in several indicators in the environmental and productivity domains. We also find a positive impact on use of conservation practices (fallowing, disc/moldboard ploughing, manure), groundnut yield, livestock, net crop income, and women’s likelihood of becoming members of farmers groups relative to non-beneficiaries. We do not find a statistically significant effect on consumption- and asset-based poverty rates, household dietary diversity, and several indicators of maternal and child nutrition. For both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, the share of monetary-based non-poor, dietary diversity, and food security have declined between baseline (2014) and follow-up (2020) likely due COVID-19. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned for informing future program design and impact assessments.

Year published

2024

Authors

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Castaing, Pauline; Kizito, Fred; Vitellozzi, Sveva; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne

Citation

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Castaing, Pauline; Kizito, Fred; Vitellozzi, Sveva; and Boukaka, Sedi-Anne. 2024. Impacts of Africa RISING in Ghana. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148741

Country/Region

Ghana

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Impact Assessment; Sustainable Intensification; Smallholders; Resilience; Food Systems; Climate Change

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Report

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Report

Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania

2024Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Tzintzun, Ivan; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
Details

Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania

Sustainable intensification (SI) of the smallholder sector in Africa south of the Sahara is among the approaches pursued to build resilient food systems that can supply nutritionally adequate food in the face of rapid population growth and climatic changes. This study assesses the impact of an SI program in Tanzania implemented in the poorest and most food insecure areas of the country since 2012. The program first validated and then scaled up a wide range of SI interventions focused on improved agronomic management and crop cultivars; improved livestock feed, housing conditions, and species; crop-livestock integration; integrated natural resource management; vegetable production and nutritional education; and small-scale mechanization. Impact is estimated on several SI indicators and domains using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (conducted in 2014 and 2022), propensity score matching, and difference-in-differences techniques. The study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with two different counterfactual groups—one located inside program villages (within-village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison)—on several indicators across five SI domains environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two counterfactual groups. Results from panel data analyses show improvements in several indicators in the environmental and productivity domains. We also find positive impact of participation in Africa RISING on several indicators under all the considered domains: beneficiaries were less likely to experience soil erosion, used more inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds) per hectare, obtained higher legume yields, were more likely to produce meat and dairy, reported higher net livestock income, and experienced fewer months of food insecurity. Estimates based on within-village, out-of-village, overall, and placebo comparisons suggest important insights about the challenges in assessing the impact of agricultural programs in general and, specifically, participatory multi-intervention programs in the presence of sample (self-)selection and spillovers. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned for informing future program design and impact assessments.

Year published

2024

Authors

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Tzintzun, Ivan; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva

Citation

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Tzintzun, Ivan; and Vitellozzi, Sveva. 2024. Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148751

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Impact Assessment; Sustainable Intensification; Smallholders; Resilience; Food Systems; Climatic Change

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Report

Resource thumbnail

Report

Impacts of Africa RISING in Malawi

2024Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Chikowo, Regis; Vitellozzi, Sveva
Details

Impacts of Africa RISING in Malawi

This study evaluates the impact of Africa RISING, a large-scale sustainable intensification (SI) program that has been implemented in Central Malawi’s Dedza and Ntcheu districts beginning in 2012. Using a participatory action research framework, the program validated and promoted alternative SI options including fertilized maize, maize-legume intercropping, intercropping of two compatible legumes, cereal-legume rotation, and double-row planting of legumes. Impact is estimated on several SI indicators and domains using two rounds of panel data and difference-in-differences techniques. The unique study design allowed us to estimate impact by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with two different counterfactual groups—one located inside program villages (within village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison). We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two counterfactual groups. The within-village comparison shows positive impact on several agricultural and economic indicators including access to agricultural information, value of harvest, on-farm diversity, labor profitability, annual net household income, per capita household consumption expenditure, household wealth, and household dietary diversity score. We do not find a statistically significant impact on human indicators such as child and maternal nutrition. Estimates based on within-village, out-of-village, and placebo comparisons suggest important insights about the challenges in assessing the impact of agricultural programs in general and, specifically, participatory multi-intervention programs in the presence of sample (self-)selection and spillovers. Our study highlights important lessons learned to inform future program design and impact assessments.

Year published

2024

Authors

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Chikowo, Regis; Vitellozzi, Sveva

Citation

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Chikowo, Regis; and Vitellozzi, Sveva. 2024. Impacts of Africa RISING in Malawi. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148699

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sustainability; Intensification; Agriculture; Maize; Legumes; Indicators; Income; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Report

Events

Food System Transformations: National Actions in a Globalized World
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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November 14, 2019, 12:15 – 1:45 pm

Food System Transformations: National Actions in a Globalized World

Food systems in developing countries are undergoing a rapid transformation shaped by global and regional events. But country actions will be critical in shaping future food system outcomes.  Some countries are taking a systemic approach to assessing and acting on food system transformation—considering consumption and food environments, food supply and sustainability, health, and socioeconomic outcomes. […]