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

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

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

Where we work

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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

Development Strategies and Governance

Derek Headey

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Derek Headey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, where he has worked since 2008. A development economist, his research chiefly focuses on agricultural development and nutrition, though he has also worked on economic growth, food security, and poverty reduction issues. He was the Principal Investigator for the Advancing Research on Nutrition and Agriculture project (ARENA, 2013-2021), funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has published in a variety of journals on topics relating to economics, agriculture, and public health. He also co-authored a widely cited book on the global food crisis with Shenggen Fan, and a number of journal articles on the cause and consequences of higher food prices. He has lived and worked in India and Ethiopia, and joined the Myanmar Agricultural Policy Support Activity (MAPSA) in Yangon.  He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Languages spoken: English, Spanish

Publications

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Publications

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Journal Article

Feed handling practices, aflatoxin awareness and children’s milk consumption in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia

2024Anato, Anchamo; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha; Wu, Felicia; Baye, Kaleab
Details

Feed handling practices, aflatoxin awareness and children’s milk consumption in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia

Consumption of milk is linked to improved nutrient intake and reduced risk of child malnutrition in low and middle-income countries. However, these benefits are contingent on the safety and quality of the milk. Milk consumption may alleviate the widespread risk of malnutrition in rural Ethiopia, but milk-borne contaminants may also compromise child health. We aimed to: i) identify the types of dairy feeds used, their storage conditions, and potential risk of aflatoxin contamination; ii) assess stakeholders’ knowledge about aflatoxin contamination along the value chain; and iii) assess parental practices on feeding milk to infants and young children. This qualitative study was conducted in the Sidama region, southern Ethiopia. In-depth interviews (n = 12) and key-informant interviews (n = 18) were conducted with actors along the dairy value chain. Focus-group discussions were conducted with farmers (9FGD/n = 129) and child caregivers (9FGD/n = 122). Study participants were selected to represent a rural-urban gradient, as well as low- and high- dairy cow holdings. We found that while animal-feed processors and their distribution agents had relatively good knowledge about aflatoxin, farmers and retailers did not. Feed storage conditions were poor. Many respondents linked moldy feeds to animal health but not to human health. Farmers’ feed choice was influenced by cost, seasonality, and herd size. Small-holding farmers had limited access to commercial feed. Children’s consumption of milk was limited to skim milk, as butter was extracted and sold for income. The high cost of dairy products also led some parents to dilute skim milk with water before feeding children, compromising the nutritional value and safety of the milk. Our findings underscore the need to address the gaps in aflatoxin and food safety knowledge, improve storage conditions, and ensure the availability of quality feed to increase the sector’s productivity, but most importantly to protect consumers’ health and well-being, especially infants and young children.

Year published

2024

Authors

Anato, Anchamo; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha; Wu, Felicia; Baye, Kaleab

Citation

Anato, Anchamo; Headey, Derek; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha; Wu, Felicia; and Baye, Kaleab. Feed handling practices, aflatoxin awareness and children’s milk consumption in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia. One Health 18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100672

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Feed Safety; Aflatoxins; Child Health; Milk; Consumption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100672 Source record

Project

Agriculture for Nutrition and Health

Record type

Journal Article

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Book Chapter

Diet affordability: Understanding the high cost of healthy diets

2024Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold; de Pee, Saskia; Raghunathan, Kalyani
Details

Diet affordability: Understanding the high cost of healthy diets

As new metrics of healthy diet affordability have been developed in the past five years, it is estimated that between 2 and 3 billion people worldwide — mostly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) — cannot afford a healthy diet. The implications for human nutrition are striking: affordability is a binding constraint to achieving a healthy diet in the world’s poorest countries. This chapter poses several questions to initiate strategic thinking on possible responses to this challenge and recommends actions to support shifts toward healthy diets in LMICs.

Year published

2024

Authors

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold; de Pee, Saskia; Raghunathan, Kalyani

Citation

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Alderman, Harold; de Pee, Saskia; and Raghunathan, Kalyani. 2024. Diet affordability: Understanding the high cost of healthy diets. In Global food policy report 2024: Food systems for healthy diets and nutrition. Chapter 4, Pp. 36-45. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141885

Keywords

Food Prices; Food Affordability; Healthy Diets; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

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Journal Article

Study protocol to assess aflatoxin M1 health risks versus benefits of dairy consumption in Ethiopian children: An epidemiological trial and risk-benefit analysis

2024Wu, Felicia; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha
Details

Study protocol to assess aflatoxin M1 health risks versus benefits of dairy consumption in Ethiopian children: An epidemiological trial and risk-benefit analysis

Introduction In Sidama, Ethiopia, animal-source foods can be difficult to access. Milk has important nutrients for child growth, but carries the risk of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) contamination. AFM1 is a metabolite of the mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in dairy feed; cows secrete AFM1 in milk when their feed contains AFB1 produced by Aspergillus fungi in maize, nuts and oilseeds. It is unknown whether AFM1 compromises child growth and health. Methods and analysis This protocol paper describes our study in Sidama to determine the impact of milk consumption and AFM1 on child growth in the first 18 months of life. We will collect baseline and end-line data on dairy production, socioeconomic and nutritional factors of 1000 dairy-owning households with children ages 6–18 months at baseline; and gather samples of milk and dairy feed and child anthropometrics. We will conduct phone interviews every 6 months to ascertain changes in practices or child health. Dairy feed will be tested for AFB1; milk for AFM1, pathogens and nutrients. Controlling for herd size, socioeconomic, nutritional and behavioural factors, we will determine the association between child anthropometrics and milk consumption, as well as AFM1 exposure. We will examine whether AFM1 exposure affects child growth in the first 18 months of life, and weigh the benefits and risks of milk consumption. Ethics and dissemination The protocol is approved by the Institutional Review Boards of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI-IRB-481–2022), Michigan State University (STUDY00007996) and International Food Policy Research Institute (DSGD-23–0102). Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants, who may withdraw from the study at any time. Confidentiality of collected data will be given high priority during each stage of data handling. The study’s findings will be disseminated through stakeholder workshops, local and international conferences, journal articles and technical reports.

Year published

2024

Authors

Wu, Felicia; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; Tessema, Masresha

Citation

Wu, Felicia; Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Pokharel, Ashish; and Tessema, Masresha. 2024. Study protocol to assess aflatoxin M1 health risks versus benefits of dairy consumption in Ethiopian children: An epidemiological trial and risk-benefit analysis. BMJ Open 14(4): e084257. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084257

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Aflatoxin M1; Animal Source Foods; Epidemiology; Milk; Risk Analysis

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-084257 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Rising food prices are putting children in harm’s way
IFPRI Blog
 | 
February 29, 2024

Rising food prices are putting children in harm’s way

By Derek Headey and Marie Ruel

New evidence quantifies significant negative health effects.

Cash, COVID, coup, crisis: A pre-pandemic maternal and child cash transfer program had sustained dietary benefits during Myanmar’s ongoing emergency
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 15, 2023

Cash, COVID, coup, crisis: A pre-pandemic maternal and child cash transfer program had sustained dietary benefits during Myanmar’s ongoing emergency

By Derek Headey and Elisa Maffioli

Positive health and nutrition results persist even in adverse circumstances.

The global food price crisis threatens to cause a global nutrition crisis: New evidence from 1.27 million young children on the effects of inflation
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 14, 2022

The global food price crisis threatens to cause a global nutrition crisis: New evidence from 1.27 million young children on the effects of inflation

By Derek Headey and Marie Ruel

Research links high food prices to wasting and stunting.

Events

Famines and Fragility: Making humanitarian, developmental, and peacebuilding responses work
Series/Special Event

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June 11, 2024, 9:30 – 11:15 am

Famines and Fragility: Making humanitarian, developmental, and peacebuilding responses work

Virtual Event: June 11, 2024 – 9:30 AM- 11:15 AM EDT. This seminar will take stock of what we know of key drivers about protracted food crises and persistent fragility and about the obstacles to successful HDP action.

Dairy and Nutrition in the Global South: Potential, Progress, and Obstacles Ahead
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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April 24, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Dairy and Nutrition in the Global South: Potential, Progress, and Obstacles Ahead

Virtual Event: April 24, 2024 at 9:30am-11:00am EDT. This policy seminar examines the potential of dairy development to improve nutrition outcomes, focusing on dairy’s sizable potential for reducing child stunting and other forms of malnutrition, and how dairy systems are being developed to help meet this potential. 

Global Food Security Forum for Young Scientists
IFPRI at External Event

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December 2 to 3, 2022

Global Food Security Forum for Young Scientists

Hybrid Event: December 2, 2022 – 8:00 AM to December 3, 2022 – 6:00 PM HKT. This forum aims to bring together scientists, scholars and innovators from different subjects to discuss their research findings and exchange innovative ideas on all aspects of global food security.

News

September 20, 2023 | Press Release

New study reveals alarming impact of food inflation on child undernutrition in low and middle-income countries

September 20, 2023, Washington, DC: A new study published in Nature Communications sheds light on the critical relationship between food inflation and child undernutrition in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The study, conducted by Derek Headey and Marie Ruel of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), explores the impact of food price volatility on […]

July 03, 2023 | In the News

Low dairy consumption linked to increased rate of child stunting – research (Food Navigator)

“The study’s findings provide compelling arguments for policymakers, public health officials and nutrition experts to prioritize context-specific dairy development strategies that rely on the right mix of local dairy sector interventions and more consumer-oriented trade policies”. The article is featuring a recent study by IFPRI researchers Beliyou Haile and Derek Headey,  “Growth in milk consumption and […]

June 28, 2023 | Press Release

New research shows potential of dairy development to reduce child undernutrition

Washington, DC: Stunting, a form of chronic undernutrition, affects 150 million children worldwide. While nutrition interventions have been shown to reduce stunting, experts have long concluded that other sectors, like agriculture, need to lift more weight. A new research article in the journal Food Policy, by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) authors Beliyou Haile […]