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What we do

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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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.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country Programs

Research by country and region

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TOPIC

Environment and Natural Resources

The world’s natural resources provide food, water, fuel, fiber, and many other ecosystem services to society. Agriculture and food systems depend on healthy ecosystems and natural resources, but these resources face rising pressure from unsustainable production practices, population growth, and climate change. Additionally, food systems account for one-third of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, consume an estimated 85 percent of global freshwater withdrawals, and drive the loss of biodiversity and natural ecosystems.

Natural ecosystems, such as wetlands and tropical forests, are declining in quality and functioning, due to population growth, climate change, and poor management. Desertification, deforestation, overgrazing, salinization, soil erosion and biodiversity loss are on the rise, especially in low-income countries, with major impacts on the ecosystems underlying agrifood systems. The deterioration in vital natural resources and ecosystem services—from fertile soil to freshwater streams—has devastating impacts on the poor, who rely on these resources for much of their livelihoods, food, fuel, and clean water.

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Current research

IFPRI conducts research on the incentives and institutions affecting the sustainable management of natural resources underlying agrifood systems and on the economics of ecosystem services and biodiversity. Work at the global and river basin level examines ways to reduce trade-offs in achieving goals for sustainable water, energy, and food security. This research is complemented by the development of policy innovations that can promote nature-based or nature-positive solutions, reduce costly and environmentally harmful practices, halt the loss of critical natural habitats or carbon sinks, and increase the use of clean energy.At the local level, IFPRI partners with NGOs and rural communities to design and test behavioral change interventions to strengthen collective action and self-governance. Participatory action research such as Living Labs for People that supports locally driven multi-actor innovation processes and transformative change can help empower women and vulnerable people most affected by resource scarcity and degradation in decision-making that affects their livelihoods.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 12, and SDG 15, and the CGIAR Impact Areas on Climate Adaptation and Mitigation; Environmental Health and Biodiversity; and Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs.

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topics

Publications

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Book Chapter

Improved governance: Creating supportive environments for diet and nutrition policies

2024Resnick, Danielle; Nogales, Maria-Teresa
Details

Improved governance: Creating supportive environments for diet and nutrition policies

Most policy interventions to improve diet quality and nutrition require sound governance to be successful. Governance encompasses the interrelationships between formal institutions and informal modes of power, across different geographic scales, and among state and non-state actors. This chapter examines how multilevel and multistakeholder governance can be strengthened to improve diets, with a focus on enhancing state capacities, navigating corporate influence, and fostering citizen agency. The chapter highlights existing challenges in each of these areas while also discussing approaches that have potential to improve the governance environment at national and local scales.

Year published

2024

Authors

Resnick, Danielle; Nogales, Maria-Teresa

Citation

Resnick, Danielle; and Nogales, Maria-Teresa. 2024. Improved governance: Creating supportive environments for diet and nutrition policies. In Global food policy report 2024: Food systems for healthy diets and nutrition. Chapter 8, Pp. 72-80. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141892

Keywords

Governance; Socioeconomic Environment; Food Policies; Nutrition Policies; Developing Countries; Social Protection

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

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Journal Article

Impact of farmer-managed natural regeneration on resilience and welfare in Mali

2024Nkonya, Ephraim; Kato, Edward; Kabore, Carolyn
Details

Impact of farmer-managed natural regeneration on resilience and welfare in Mali

Climate change, poverty, and low environmental education have contributed to increasing vulnerability of poor farmers in Mali. This study was done to determine the impact of low-cost adaptation strategies on resilience and welfare. We analyzed the impact of a World Vision project which promoted climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices in Mali from 2016-2019. We identified the impact using a two-stage weighted regression (2SWR). Results show that the World Vision Project significantly increased the adoption of Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) practice and eventually crop yield. These intermediate impacts were translated into a significant reduction in food and nutrition insecurity and an increase in household income. The impacts of the project on child health were especially greater for farmers who participated in the project for a longer time. However, the project did not have a significant impact on the adoption of a combination of CSA practices – which could have enhanced the effectiveness of the FMNR practice. The results suggest the need for future interventions to emphasize the promotion of complementary CSA practices, which significantly increases returns to farmer investments.

Year published

2024

Authors

Nkonya, Ephraim; Kato, Edward; Kabore, Carolyn

Citation

Nkonya, Ephraim; Kato, Edward; and Kabore, Carolyn. 2024. Impact of farmer-managed natural regeneration on resilience and welfare in Mali. Green and Low-Carbon Economy 2(1): 14-27. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewGLCE3202698

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Western Africa; Child Health; Climate Change; Environment; Farmers; Households; Income; Poverty; Vulnerability; Capacity Development

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewglce3202698 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

The role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers’ participation in voluntary agri-environmental schemes: A systematic review

2023Schaub, Sergei; Ghazoul, Jaboury; Huber, Robert; Zhang, Wei; Sander, Adelaide; Rees, Charles; Banerjee, Simanti; Finger, Robert
Details

The role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers’ participation in voluntary agri-environmental schemes: A systematic review

Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) are increasingly implemented to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly practices by farmers. We use a systematic review to explore the role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers’ decisions to participate in AESs in Australia, Europe and North America. Behavioural factors influence how farmers value and perceive options, while opportunity costs relate to farmers’ forgone utility when choosing to participate in schemes. We synthesise insights from 79 articles and over 700 factors explaining the participation in AESs. We find that a set of behavioural factors seem consistently connected to participation, including agricultural training, advice and having positive attitudes towards AESs. Moreover, several factors related to opportunity costs also have a rather consistent relationship with AES participation, including market conditions, implementation efforts, profitability, and management and contract flexibility. However, many relationships of behavioural factors and opportunity costs with AES participation are not as consistent and generalizable as sometimes portrayed and require context-specific interpretation. Those factors with mixed results can still provide insights into farmers’ participation decisions as several of them are either ‘positively and insignificantly’ or ‘negatively and insignificantly’ related to participation, such as environmental attitude, trust and farm size. These results suggest that their relationship with AES participation depends on other factors or the setting, highlighting interactions and raising important new research questions. Overall, our results provide several entry points for both researchers and policy-makers, highlighting uncertainties in relationships between factors and participation that should be considered when designing policies.

Year published

2023

Authors

Schaub, Sergei; Ghazoul, Jaboury; Huber, Robert; Zhang, Wei; Sander, Adelaide; Rees, Charles; Banerjee, Simanti; Finger, Robert

Citation

Schaub, Sergei; Ghazoul, Jaboury; Huber, Robert; Zhang, Wei; Sander, Adelaide; Rees, Charles; Banerjee, Simanti; and Finger, Robert. 2023. The role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers’ participation in voluntary agri-environmental schemes: A systematic review. Journal of Agricultural Economics 74(3): 617-660. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12538

Country/Region

Australia

Keywords

Europe; Northern America; Australia and New Zealand; Participation; Costs; Opportunity Costs; Farmers; Contracts; Agriculture; Environment; Markets; Behaviour; Profit; Behavioural Responses

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12538 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

To improve Africa’s soil health and plant nutrition, empower women farmers
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 06, 2024

To improve Africa’s soil health and plant nutrition, empower women farmers

By Claudia Ringler and Cargele Masso

A contintental summit offers an important opportunity.

Policy seminar: Reforming agricultural policies to sustainably transform food systems
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 27, 2024

Policy seminar: Reforming agricultural policies to sustainably transform food systems

By Swati Malhotra

Country experiences show the way forward.

The fallout from COVID-19, land grabs, and deforestation in Argentina’s Gran Chaco Forest region
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 25, 2024

The fallout from COVID-19, land grabs, and deforestation in Argentina’s Gran Chaco Forest region

By Madison Davis

Overlapping impacts on indigenous communities and a key ecosystem.

Events

Tackling the Hidden Costs of our Food Systems
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

June 6, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Tackling the Hidden Costs of our Food Systems

Hybrid Event: June 6, 2024 at 9:30am-11:00am EDT. This event will have a discussion on the hidden costs of food systems and the remedies to reduce economic burdens, while moving toward more sustainable, health-promoting, and socially inclusive food systems.

5th Global Food Security Conference
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

April 9 to 12, 2024

5th Global Food Security Conference

Conference: April 9-12, 2024 – 7:30 AM- 6:00 PM CET. Building on the momentum from the UN Food System Summit and recognizing that the 2030 target year of the Sustainable Development Goals is on the horizon, this 5th Global Food Security Conference will bring together science, business, and policy to address this need.

Launch of the FSEC Global Policy Report
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

January 29, 2024, 3:00 – 5:00 pm

Launch of the FSEC Global Policy Report

Hybrid Event: January 29, 2024 – 03:00 PM to 5:00 PM CET. IFPRI is participating in the launch of the FSEC Global Policy Report.

News

June 14, 2024 | Press Release

New study emphasizes tradeoffs between arresting groundwater depletion and food security

A new study published today in Nature Sustainability, reaffirms the world’s growing dependence on depleting groundwater systems.

September 21, 2023 | In the News

How does promoting modern seed varieties impact forest conservation? (VoxDev) 

VoxDev published a research-based commentary by Tanguy Bernard (Professor of Economics, University of Bordeaux; Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI), Sylvie Lambert (Chaired Professor, Paris School of Economics), Karen Macours (Professor, Paris School of Economics), and Margaux Vinez (Senior Economist, World Bank) looking at how promoting modern seed varieties accelerated the deforestation of primary forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  […]

February 11, 2023 | In the News

IPOR gives Zomba communities MK6.6m worth tree seedlings (Malawi Nyasa Times)  

An article in the Malawi Nyasa Times reports that the Institute of Public Opinion and Research (IPOR), donated tree seedlings worth MK6.6m to communities around the Zomba and Malosa Forest Reserves. The seedlings will be donated to villages in Traditional Authorities (TAs) Malemia, Mlumbe, Nkula, and Sub TA Nkapita in Zomba and Machinga Districts. This […]

Our experts

Claudia Ringler

Claudia Ringler

Director, Natural Resources and Resilience (NRR), Natural
Resources and Resilience

David Spielman

David Spielman

Director, Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS), Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Kristin Davis

Kristin Davis

Senior Research Fellow, Natural
Resources and Resilience, Latin America and the Caribbean

Khalid Siddig

Khalid Siddig

Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Liangzhi You

Liangzhi You

Senior Research Fellow, Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Prapti Barooah

Prapti Barooah

Senior Research Analyst, Natural
Resources and Resilience

Yumna Kassim

Yumna Kassim

Program Manager, Development
Strategies and Governance