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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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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

Food Crises

Food crises are shocks to food systems that lead to severe disruptions and cause a surge in acute food insecurity. Food system shocks have diverse causes and impacts. Today, global hunger and malnutrition are rising as a result of multiple overlapping crises—persistent conflicts, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and surging food prices.

More than half of all food-insecure people live in countries affected by conflict, where violence, civil strife, and food insecurity create a vicious cycle of market disruptions and food scarcity. The most vulnerable populations face the most severe impacts, including forced migration. Climate shocks are also becoming more frequent and damaging, and can have similarly negative impacts on food security.

… read more

IFPRI researchers work to break this cycle by identifying crisis triggers to better guide food security policy and other social protection policies and programs. Other research focuses on developing longer-term food security strategies that can improve crisis responses, including efforts to increase resilience and reduce the impact of crises and forced displacement, especially for women and other vulnerable groups.</P

IFPRI maintains the Food Security Portal, which provides early warning on prices and policy changes that can affect food security. IFPRI is also part of the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), a technical platform that produces the annual Global Report on Food Crises.IFPRI’s research on crises is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG8, SDG 10, SDG 11, and SDG16, and the CGIAR Impact Areas on Nutrition, Health, and Food Security and Climate Adaptation and Mitigation.

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topics

Publications

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Report

Food security and social assistance in Sudan during armed conflict: Evidence from the first round of the Sudan Rural Household Survey (November 2023–January 2024)

2024
Kirui, Oliver K.; Ahmed, Mosab; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Dorosh, Paul A.; Krishnaswamy, Siddharth; Monetta, Cinzia; Clough, Alice; Gualtieri, Alberto
…more Leaduma, Amos
Details

Food security and social assistance in Sudan during armed conflict: Evidence from the first round of the Sudan Rural Household Survey (November 2023–January 2024)

The conflict in Sudan has severely impacted the food security landscape in rural areas, with profound implications for household diets, coping strategies, and overall food insecurity levels. Data from a national rural household phone survey conducted between October 2023 and January 2024 highlights the dire food consumption patterns, the prevalence of food insecurity, and the reliance on reduced coping strategies among the rural population of Sudan. As of the end of 2023, nearly 40 percent of rural households were consuming inadequate diets, with West Kordofan, South Kordofan, North Darfur, East Darfur, and Sennar states experiencing the highest prevalence of poor food consumption (34, 33, 29 and 24 percent, respectively). The primary components of diets were cereals and oils, with nutrient-rich foods, such as meats and fruits, consumed less frequently, highlighting a critical gap in nutritional adequacy. The situation has resulted in households across Sudan resorting to a range of coping strategies to try to meet their food needs, such as buying less preferred or less expensive food (on average 4 days out of 7), limiting portion sizes, or reducing the number of daily meals. The five coping mechanisms that were examined in the analysis were found to be implemented with approximately similar frequencies across rural Sudan. However, the situation was particularly dire in West Darfur, South Kordofan, and Khartoum, the states recording the highest prevalence of consumption of inadequate diets and the highest reduced Coping Strategy Index (rCSI) scores.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kirui, Oliver K.; Ahmed, Mosab; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Dorosh, Paul A.; Krishnaswamy, Siddharth; Monetta, Cinzia; Clough, Alice; Gualtieri, Alberto; Leaduma, Amos

Citation

Kirui, Oliver K.; Ahmed, Mosab; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Dorosh, Paul A.; et al. 2024. Food security and social assistance in Sudan during armed conflict: Evidence from the first round of the Sudan Rural Household Survey (November 2023–January 2024). A joint report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Food Programme (WFP). June 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145388

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Capacity Development; Food Security; Rural Areas; Households; Diet

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Report

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Brief

Household resilience and coping strategies to food insecurity: An empirical analysis from Tajikistan

2024Rajiv, Sharanya; Aliev, Jovidon
Details

Household resilience and coping strategies to food insecurity: An empirical analysis from Tajikistan

Resilience Index Measurement Analysis (RIMA) is applied to panel household survey data from 2007, 2009, and 2011 in Tajikistan to investigate the causal impact of household resilience on food security in the presence of coping strategies. Key findings • Three significant factors define household resilience capacity: access to basic services, including affordable energy supply; assets; and social safety nets. The latter two factors underscore the importance of formal and informal transfers as effective responses when shocks intensify. • Coping strategies allow households to quickly adjust their behavior to adapt to shocks in the short-term, potentially enhancing their overall resilience in the long-term. • Resilience capacity at a given point in time enhances households’ future food security. Households with higher resilience capacity are likely to have a higher household food expenditure share (HFES) and less likely to face loss of food expenditure share, particularly due to the protective effect of resilience when shocks intensify. • While households with an older head have higher food expenditure share, households with a male head and/or located in rural areas are less likely to face a worsening household food expenditure share. • As household size increases, the household food expenditure share initially decreases but eventually increases at a gradual pace. Conversely, as size increases, households are initially less likely to experience loss of HFES, but this likelihood eventually increases.

Year published

2024

Authors

Rajiv, Sharanya; Aliev, Jovidon

Citation

Rajiv, Sharanya; and Aliev, Jovidon. 2024. Household resilience and coping strategies to food insecurity: An empirical analysis from Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 13. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Resilience; Food Security; Energy Consumption; Social Safety Nets; Assets; Households; Financial Institutions

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Brochure

IFPRI’s country programs: Facilitating country-led food systems transformation

2024International Food Policy Research Institute
Details

IFPRI’s country programs: Facilitating country-led food systems transformation

In most low- and middle-income countries, agrifood systems constitute a sizable share of economic activity and serve as a primary source of livelihoods, especially for poorer members of the population. As a result, national development strategies frequently put strong emphasis on the agrifood sector to achieve key goals, such as accelerating economic growth, reducing poverty, improving food and nutrition security, and confronting climate change. This emphasis was confirmed at the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, where more than 100 countries committed to transforming their food systems to make them more productive, nutrition-focused, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, and it was further reinforced by the Food and Agriculture Declaration at COP28. To achieve these desired transformations, governments require data and research based evidence to assess the situation, identify solutions, and prioritize actions. Governments are also increasingly interested in enhancing institutional capacity to support country-led development pathways.

Year published

2024

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024. IFPRI’s country programs: Facilitating country-led food systems transformation. IFPRI Brochure.

Country/Region

Ghana; Sudan; Egypt; Ethiopia; Tajikistan; China; Pakistan; Bangladesh; Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; Kenya; Rwanda; Malawi; Nigeria; Senegal

Keywords

Africa; Asia; Oceania; Economic Development; Food Systems; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brochure

Blogs

Risk of famine remains high in Gaza
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 28, 2024

Risk of famine remains high in Gaza

By Rob Vos, Sara Gustafson, Sediqa Zaki, and Brendan Rice

After a reprieve, dangerous conditions are reemerging.

Sudan food emergency: Unpacking the scale of the disaster and the actions needed
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 14, 2024

Sudan food emergency: Unpacking the scale of the disaster and the actions needed

By Oliver Kiptoo Kirui

More than 20 million face acute food insecurity.

Trade policy and food price volatility: Beggar thy neighbor or beggar thyself?
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 07, 2024

Trade policy and food price volatility: Beggar thy neighbor or beggar thyself?

By Will Martin, Abdullah Mamun, Nick Minot, and Rob Vos

The downsides of emergency trade measures.

Events

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

 | 

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.

Facilitating Anticipatory Action with Improved Early Warning Guidance
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

September 26, 2023, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Facilitating Anticipatory Action with Improved Early Warning Guidance

Virtual IFPRI-AMIS Seminar Series: September 26, 2023 at 9:00am-10:30am EDT. This seminar will take stock of existing early warning, early action systems (EWEAs) and examine whether they provide sufficient guidance to policymakers and decisionmakers keen to enhance anticipatory action.

Market Concentration in the Grain Industry: Implications for Food Security?
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

September 7, 2023, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Market Concentration in the Grain Industry: Implications for Food Security?

Virtual IFPRI-AMIS Seminar Series: September 7, 2023 at 9:30am-11:00am EDT. This session will examine whether increased concentration necessarily leads to increased market power or simply reflects the underlying economic efficiencies controlling value chains.

News

November 16, 2023 | Press Release

The IPC expands global partnership to further tackle food insecurity and malnutrition – IFPRI, UNDP, World Bank and WHO

November 16, 2023, Rome — The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative reaches a new milestone today as it expands its global partnership to include four new partners – the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) – and establishes […]

October 29, 2023 | In the News

India is pushing the world toward another rice crisis (Bloomberg)

“With duties, export bans, and other restrictions, New Delhi is harming the same developing nations it claims to want to lead,” writes Mihir Sharma, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. Sharma adds, “Three calamities have caused grain supplies to dry up: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine […]

October 23, 2023 | In the News

The return of the rice crisis (Financial Times)

“Export restrictions and extreme weather are threatening the global supply of a staple commodity relied on by millions,” writes the Financial Times. The sharp increase in the cost of this everyday staple can be traced to a crackdown by India, the world’s largest rice exporter, in response to fears of a production shortfall and rising […]

Our experts

James Thurlow

James Thurlow

Director, Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM), Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Jan Duchoslav

Jan Duchoslav

Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Olivier Ecker

Olivier Ecker

Senior Research Fellow, Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Katrina Kosec

Katrina Kosec

Senior Research Fellow, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion

Sikandra Kurdi

Sikandra Kurdi

Research Fellow and Country Program Leader, Egypt, Development
Strategies and Governance

Ester Jimmy

Ester Jimmy

Research Associate, Innovation
Policy and Scaling