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

researcher spotlight

Kalyani Raghunathan

Kalyani Raghunathan is Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, based in New Delhi, India. Her research lies at the intersection of agriculture, gender, social protection, and public health and nutrition, with a specific focus on South Asia and Africa. 

Where we work

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Where we work

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

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experts

Foresight and Policy Modeling

Olivier Ecker

Senior Research Fellow

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ORCiD

Bio

Olivier Ecker is a Senior Research Fellow in IFPRI’s Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit based in Washington, DC. Olivier leads the consumer behavior and dietary change workstream of the Unit’s country modeling team. His research focuses on economic issues of food systems transformation and food security in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He specializes in models and methods to assess the effects of policies and shocks on food demand and household diets. Olivier also conducts research on armed conflict and humanitarian assistance. He serves as IFPRI’s focal point in the Fighting Food Crises along the Humanitarian-Peace-Nexus Coalition and as a member of the institute’s Publications Review Committee. Olivier received his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Hohenheim, Germany.

Language Skills: German, English, French

Publications

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Publications

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Book Chapter

Dietary quality and nutrition: Past progress, current and future challenges

2024Mahrt, Kristi; Headey, Derek D.; Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew; Tauseef, Salauddin
Details

Dietary quality and nutrition: Past progress, current and future challenges

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the military coup in 2021, Myanmar was experiencing a period of rapid economic growth and transformation in the wake of economic and political liberalization. Between 2005 and 2017, average annual growth in real GDP per capita was 7.8 percent, making Myanmar the fastest growing economy among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. Strong growth was accompanied by a halving of the national poverty rate between 2005 and 2017 from 48.2 to 24.8 percent (CSO, UNDP, and World Bank 2019). COVID19 and the economic and political shocks affecting the country since 2021 have led to an economic contraction: 2021 saw an 18 percent drop in real GDP per capita; in 2022, real GDP per capita was estimated to be 15 percent lower than in 2019 (World Bank 2022). The impacts on poverty were even more dire. A high-frequency panel phone survey of mothers and young children in urban Yangon and the rural Dry Zone revealed incomes collapsing during the COVID-19 lockdowns and further income losses in the wake of the February 2021 military takeover (Headey et al. 2022). Prices rose dramatically, with the consumer price index rising by 20 percent between July 2021 and July 2022 (MOPF 2022), while food prices rose by 34 percent over the same period and by about 50 percent between December 2021 and December 2022. Nationally, a variety of different poverty indicators suggest that between 40 and 50 percent of the population was living in poverty in 2022 —poverty rates similar to those found between 2005 and 2010.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mahrt, Kristi; Headey, Derek D.; Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew; Tauseef, Salauddin

Citation

Mahrt, Kristi; Headey, Derek; Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew; and Tauseef, Salauddin. 2024. Dietary quality and nutrition: Past progress, current and future challenges. In Myanmar’s agrifood system: Historical development, recent shocks, future opportunities, Duncan Boughton, Ben Belton, Isabel Lambrecht, and Bart Minten, eds. Chapter 4, Pp. 79-120. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155148

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Development; Diet Quality; Economic Shock; Governance; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

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Book Chapter

Food processing: A stalled transformation

2024Minten, Bart; Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew; Mahrt, Kristi; Fang, Peixun; Goeb, Joseph; Zone, Phoo Pye
Details

Food processing: A stalled transformation

Processed foods account for 80 percent of global food sales. Such foods are becoming increasingly important in low- and middle-income countries, driven by growing demand for convenient and ready-to-eat products. The aim of this chapter is to analyze the state and evolution of food processing in Myanmar and to assess the effect of the crises (COVID-19 and the military coup) on the different segments—production, trade, and consumption—of the sector. This assessment is important given the possible implications of changes in food processing for agriculture, employment opportunities in the food processing industry and food service sector, and nutritional outcomes.

Year published

2024

Authors

Minten, Bart; Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew; Mahrt, Kristi; Fang, Peixun; Goeb, Joseph; Zone, Phoo Pye

Citation

Minten, Bart; Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew; Mahrt, Kristi; Fang, Peixun; Goeb, Joseph; and Zone, Phoo Pye. 2024. Food processing: A stalled transformation. In Myanmar’s agrifood system: Historical development, recent shocks, future opportunities. Boughton, Duncan; Belton, Ben; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Masias, Ian; and Minten, Bart (Eds.). Chapter 13, Pp. 341-372. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155155

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

South-eastern Asia; Food Processing; Shock; Agro-industrial Sector; Markets; Trade; Processed Foods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

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Journal Article

School feeding for improving child nutrition in conflict-affected settings: Feasibility and cost efficiency of alternative models in Yemen

2024Bliznashka, Lilia; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Kurdi, Sikandra; Ecker, Olivier; Gelli, Aulo
Details

School feeding for improving child nutrition in conflict-affected settings: Feasibility and cost efficiency of alternative models in Yemen

School feeding programs can support children’s nutrition, health, and education in emergencies. This study assessed the feasibility, trade-offs, cost efficiency, and perceived benefits of school feeding modalities operating in urban Yemen. It draws on primary data from a qualitative evaluation with 21 school feeding implementers and 88 beneficiaries conducted in Feb–Mar 2023, and secondary data from a desk review of published and program literature on school feeding operations. Results showed that school feeding provided students with on average 18%, 40%, and 66% of daily energy, protein, and micronutrient requirements, respectively. Models including fortified snacks were 3–11 times more cost-efficient in terms of nutrient delivery. The most prominent strength of the models examined were the perceived benefits on child, family, and financial outcomes. Among the main weaknesses was the poor nutritional quality of the meal, which in turn emerged as a primary opportunity to improve school feeding through hybrid models providing a combination of fortified snacks and healthy meals. Other weaknesses such as poor water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, and desired improvements such as the school kitchen and canteen, require considerable investments. Hybrid models are cost-efficient, acceptable, and feasible in Yemen and can serve the diet and nutrition needs of school-aged children.

Year published

2024

Authors

Bliznashka, Lilia; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Kurdi, Sikandra; Ecker, Olivier; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Bliznashka, Lilia; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Kurdi, Sikandra; Ecker, Olivier; and Gelli, Aulo. 2024. School feeding for improving child nutrition in conflict-affected settings: Feasibility and cost efficiency of alternative models in Yemen. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1540(1): 251-264. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15222

Country/Region

Yemen

Keywords

Middle East; Western Asia; Capacity Development; Child Nutrition; Fortified Foods; School Feeding; Snack Foods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15222 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

The Reference Diet Deprivation (ReDD) index: A new diet quality measure for more effective nutrition-sensitive policies
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 14, 2023

The Reference Diet Deprivation (ReDD) index: A new diet quality measure for more effective nutrition-sensitive policies

By Karl Pauw, Olivier Ecker, James Thurlow, and Andrew R. Comstock

Assessing how household diets fall short.

Addressing the food crisis in Yemen: The private sector’s key role amid local conflict and global market disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 21, 2022

Addressing the food crisis in Yemen: The private sector’s key role amid local conflict and global market disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war

By Sikandra Kurdi, Olivier Ecker, Joseph Glauber, and David Laborde

A tenuous food security situation faces shifting pressures.

Transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system for healthier diets and higher farm incomes
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 01, 2021

Transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system for healthier diets and higher farm incomes

By Olivier Ecker, Tracy Brown, and Kwaw S. Andam

A policy shift focusing on nutritious foods and consumers.

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Events

Tracking Global and National Agricultural Transformation
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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July 25, 2024, 9:30 – 10:30 am

Tracking Global and National Agricultural Transformation

Agricultural transformation involves the shift in production and workers from traditional agriculture to more productive activities, both within primary agriculture and across sectors within the broader agrifood system. This evolution enhances productivity and typically reduces poverty, raises incomes, and promotes healthier diets. However, not all countries are experiencing the same pace of agricultural transformation, and […]

The E-FooD Dataset and Food Security Simulators for Kenya and Nigeria: Innovative Tools to Support National Policies and Strategies
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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December 7, 2023, 8:00 – 9:00 am

The E-FooD Dataset and Food Security Simulators for Kenya and Nigeria: Innovative Tools to Support National Policies and Strategies

Virtual Event: December 7, 2023 – 8:00 AM- 9:00 AM EST. This webinar, organized by the CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS), introduces the E-FooD dataset and FSS for Kenya and Nigeria, showcases their applications, and discusses the role that such tools can play in policymaking.

Middle East and North Africa Discussion of IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report: Rethinking Food Crisis Responses
Series/Special Event

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May 24, 2023, 8:30 – 11:10 am

Middle East and North Africa Discussion of IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report: Rethinking Food Crisis Responses

Event: May 24, 2023 – 8:30 AM to 11:10 AM EEST. Please join the Middle East and North Africa Discussion of IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report and the FCM Initiative on May 24 in Amman, Jordan, in person or virtually.

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News

June 14, 2018 | In the News

Study finds supermarket shopping significantly increases body mass index in Kenya (African News Agency)

African News Agency published a report on a recent IFPRI research by Senior Research Fellow, Olivier Ecker, that found shopping in supermarkets significantly increases Body Mass Index (BMI) in Kenya.

November 21, 2024 | Press Release

What can be done about food and nutrition insecurity in the Arab World?

Manama, Bahrain, May 5, 2015—Child stunting, a result of malnutrition, is a larger problem than gross domestic product would suggest in nine Arab countries, while the Arab region as a whole imports more than 50 percent of its population’s daily caloric intake. These indicators and others pose serious challenges to sustainable development, including food security and […]