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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

Carlo Azzarri

Carlo Azzarri is a Senior Research Fellow in the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. His work focuses on the relationships among poverty, nutrition, food security, agriculture, the environment, production, and migration—analyzed at both micro and macroeconomic levels, primarily using quantitative methods.

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Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

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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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Mali

countries and regions

Publications

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Brief

Unique datasets on shocks, food security, and household coping strategies: Creating new analytical playgrounds to study coping behavior in the multi-shock environments of Mali, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso (2018-2023)

2025Marivoet, Wim; Sib, Ollo; Samake, Aliou Badara; Dieme, Ndeye Fatou; Hema, Aboubacar; Doehnert, Federico; Suzuki, Mina
Details

Unique datasets on shocks, food security, and household coping strategies: Creating new analytical playgrounds to study coping behavior in the multi-shock environments of Mali, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso (2018-2023)

To inform the Cadre Harmonisé process in West Africa, large-scale national household surveys are usually implemented twice a year to capture data on household food security and several forms of consumption- and livelihood-based coping strategies. These cross-sectional surveys typically take place around February-March (before the start of the lean season) and September-October (at the end of the lean season or beginning of the harvesting period), and they are generally representative at the second-tier administrative level. Despite their different names (that is, ENSAN in Mali, ENSA in Chad, EVIAM in Niger, and ENISAN in Burkina Faso) and the methodological revisions introduced over the years, these surveys have a large common set of variables that were pooled together by standardizing the modalities of all common variables found across the multiple survey waves between 2018 and 2023. Apart from reconsolidation and reprocessing of initial data files, this process also involved the re-computation of several key indicators on food security and household coping as to assure maximum methodological consistency over time.

Year published

2025

Authors

Marivoet, Wim; Sib, Ollo; Samake, Aliou Badara; Dieme, Ndeye Fatou; Hema, Aboubacar; Doehnert, Federico; Suzuki, Mina

Citation

Marivoet, Wim; Sib, Ollo; Samake, Aliou Badara; Dieme, Ndeye Fatou; Hema, Aboubacar; Doehnert, Federico; and Suzuki, Mina. 2025. Unique datasets on shocks, food security, and household coping strategies: Creating new analytical playgrounds to study coping behavior in the multi-shock environments of Mali, Chad, Niger, and Burkina Faso (2018-2023). CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173063

Country/Region

Mali; Chad; Niger; Burkina Faso

Keywords

Western Africa; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Datasets; Shock; Food Security; Households

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

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Working Paper

Household coping strategies and food security in the multi-shock environment of Mali

2025Ulimwengu, John M.
Details

Household coping strategies and food security in the multi-shock environment of Mali

This study investigates household coping strategies and food security outcomes within the context of multiple, overlapping shocks, including conflict, food price volatility, climate events, and economic instability. Utilizing a unique household dataset on Mali combined with probit models to account for the compounded effects of these systemic shocks, the analysis highlights significant elasticities between specific shocks and household responses. Key findings demonstrate that while preventive measures, such as income diversification, strengthen resilience, reactive strategies like selling productive assets or borrowing money or food provide only short-term relief but undermine long-term sustainability. The impact of coping strategies on food security measures, including the Food Consumption Score (FCS), Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), and Household Hunger Scale (HHS), reveals the trade-offs Malian households make between immediate needs and future stability. The study emphasizes the critical role of policy interventions in mitigating these vulnerabilities, including strengthening social safety nets, expanding access to financial services, and promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices. By integrating the analysis of multiple shocks, this research provides actionable insights for building household and community resilience in environments of compounded risk.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ulimwengu, John M.

Citation

Ulimwengu, John M. 2025. Household coping strategies and food security in the multi-shock environment of Mali. CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172684

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Households; Food Security; Shock; Conflicts; Food Prices; Resilience; Social Safety Nets

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Rainy day funds? How men and women adapt to heavy rainfall shocks and the role of cash transfers in Mali

2024Hidrobo, Melissa; Mueller, Valerie; Roy, Shalini; Fall, Cheikh Modou Noreyni; Lavaysse, Christophe; Belli, Anna
Details

Rainy day funds? How men and women adapt to heavy rainfall shocks and the role of cash transfers in Mali

Weather shocks can affect men and women differently, due in part to differences in their adaptive capacities. We merge weather data with survey data from a randomized control trial of a cash transfer program in Mali to describe how men and women cope with weather shocks and the role of cash transfer programs in supporting adaptive responses. We find that heavy rainfall reduces household’s consumption but that the cash transfer program mitigates these impacts, primarily by allowing households to draw down both men’s and women’s savings, increasing the value of livestock and farming assets held jointly by men and women, and facilitating a reallocation of men’s and women’s labor to livestock production and women’s labor to domestic work.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hidrobo, Melissa; Mueller, Valerie; Roy, Shalini; Fall, Cheikh Modou Noreyni; Lavaysse, Christophe; Belli, Anna

Citation

Hidrobo, Melissa; Mueller, Valerie; Roy, Shalini; Fall, Cheikh Modou Noreyni; Lavaysse, Christophe; and Belli, Anna. 2024. Rainy day funds? How men and women adapt to heavy rainfall shocks and the role of cash transfers in Mali. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2301. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163076

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Cash Transfers; Gender; Men; Rainfall; Shock; Women; Social Protection

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Datasets

Dataset

ACLED Conflict Index G5 Sahel (2018-2023)

2024International Food Policy Research Institute
Details

ACLED Conflict Index G5 Sahel (2018-2023)

This dataset contains the ACLED conflict index, its classification, and related underlying dimensions and rankings of deadliness, danger, diffusion, and fragmentation for the 279 second-level administrative areas of Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad between 2018 and 2023. Following a slightly modified version of ACLED’s conflict index methodology, the dataset is generated based on ACLED’s curated dataset for Africa (5 January 2024) and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’s (OCHA) geographic dataset for the Sahel (including P-codes).

Year published

2024

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2024. ACLED Conflict Index G5 Sahel (2018-2023). Washington, DC: IFPRI [dataset]. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139799

Country/Region

Mauritania; Mali; Burkina Faso; Niger; Chad

Keywords

Western Africa; Africa; Middle Africa; Conflicts; Migration; Fragility

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/t6ut9o Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Dataset

Dataset

GIS Mapping of Implemented Technologies across Different Agro-Ecologies and Demographic Settings to Help Evaluation of Adoption Practices

2023Association Malienne d’éveil au Développement Durable
Details

GIS Mapping of Implemented Technologies across Different Agro-Ecologies and Demographic Settings to Help Evaluation of Adoption Practices

Technology adoption by farmers is linked to changes in environmental and climate variations but also to the household socio economic status and the cultural acceptance of technologies. The reliability and replicability of the technologies depend to the specific context where technologies are developed and implemented. Regarding the available technologies developed in phase I of the Africa RISING project and technologies under validation in phase II it is important to map and characterize using GIS and remote sensing technologies under different agro-ecological and socio-economic context.

Year published

2023

Authors

Association Malienne d’éveil au Développement Durable

Citation

Association Malienne d’éveil au Développement Durable (AMEDD). 2023. GIS Mapping of Implemented Technologies across Different Agro-Ecologies and Demographic Settings to Help Evaluation of Adoption Practices. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HGEW9Q. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1.

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Innovation Adoption; Geographical Information Systems; Remote Sensing

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/hgew9q Source record

Record type

Dataset

Dataset

Survey of Land and Water Management Practices Over Time on the Productivity and Economic Benefits of Cereal Crops

2023International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
Details

Survey of Land and Water Management Practices Over Time on the Productivity and Economic Benefits of Cereal Crops

Land and water management practices like that of contour bunding, drip irrigation and shallow wells have been implemented by farmers over time in southern Mali. Farmers use these practices to improve yield performance and increase the household income. The impact of land and water management practices was evaluated on different crops (sorghum, millet, maize, groundnut and cotton) grown in two agro-ecologies of southern Mali. The data collected complete the data on environmental domain (field experiment from 2015 to 2017). That data were collected from the four established technology parks in Bougouni and Koutiala.

Year published

2023

Authors

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

Citation

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). 2023. Survey of Land and Water Management Practices Over Time on the Productivity and Economic Benefits of Cereal Crops. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) [dataset]. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/HIMC9V. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1.

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Water Management; Land Management; Contour Bunding; Drip Irrigation; Agroecology; Household Income; Crops; Sorghum; Maize; Groundnuts; Cotton

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/himc9v Source record

Record type

Dataset

Blogs

The ECOWAS breakup: Implications for West African food security and regional cooperation
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 28, 2025

The ECOWAS breakup: Implications for West African food security and regional cooperation

By Danielle Resnick

Facing the “Sahelexit.”

Adapt, assess, progress: Integrating measures of women’s empowerment into rural development projects
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 13, 2024

Adapt, assess, progress: Integrating measures of women’s empowerment into rural development projects

By Carlo Azzarri, Sedi-Anne Boukaka, Jessica Heckert, Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Greg Seymour, and Sara Savastano

A new tool developed by IFPRI and IFAD.

Get ready to be schooled! (…about IFPRI’s research on education)
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 24, 2023

Get ready to be schooled! (…about IFPRI’s research on education)

By Harold Alderman, Daniel O. Gilligan, Aulo Gelli, Naureen Karachiwalla, and Jessica Leight

Building incentives to foster more effective teaching and learning.

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Events

Irrigation sensible à la nutrition au Mali : un guide pour progresser en matière de sécurité hydrique, alimentaire et nutritionnelle au Mali
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

August 2, 2023, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Irrigation sensible à la nutrition au Mali : un guide pour progresser en matière de sécurité hydrique, alimentaire et nutritionnelle au Mali

Virtual Event: August 2, 2023 – 9:00 AM- 10:30 AM EDT. Irrigation contributes to agricultural intensification and farm profitability, helps farm households extend the growing season, and is increasingly important for farmers’ resilience to climate shocks and stressors. Please join us for a webinar to discuss this important topic on August 2 at 9:00 EST and 13:00 GMT (Bamako time).

Irregular Migration and Food Security: A View from West Africa
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

July 20, 2023, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Irregular Migration and Food Security: A View from West Africa

Event: July 20, 2023 – 9:30 AM- 11:00 AM EDT. This seminar will present study results and the website, with discussion by researchers from IFPRI, WFP, and MIT as well as other experts.

Research Findings on Resilience & Social Cohesion in Burkina Faso and Niger
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

July 11, 2023, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Research Findings on Resilience & Social Cohesion in Burkina Faso and Niger

Virtual Event: July 11, 2023 – 9:00 AM- 10:30 AM EDT. WFP, IFPRI and IPD are jointly offering this webinar to disseminate the study’s findings on social cohesion in Niger and Burkina Faso to create an opportunity for interested actors to discuss their feedback and the way forward.

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News

June 21, 2023 | Press Release

WFP resilience programmes in Sahel act as buffer against instability, build peace and social cohesion – study finds

DAKAR – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)’s efforts to build resilience to climate-related and human-made shocks and stressors have been shown to boost food security, while also strengthening social cohesion and improving the prospects for peace in Burkina Faso and Niger – a new study reveals.  The “Sahel Social Cohesion Research in Burkina […]

April 12, 2022 | In the News

West Africa faces mixed food security impacts from the Russia-Ukraine conflict (Telos)

Telos (France) published an op-ed by senior research fellows Antoine Bouet and David Laborde, and research fellow Fousseini Traoré about how food security in West Africa has been deteriorating since 2015.  Now, like the rest of the world, the region faces rapidly growing impacts from Russia’s war in Ukraine, including spiking food prices and disruptions […]

October 22, 2019 | In the News

Cash transfers and intimate partner violence (Agrilinks)

Agrilinks reported on an IFPRI study. The authors identify three policy-relevant knowledge gaps related to the potential of transfer programs to reduce intimate partner violence, drawing on case studies from Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Mali.

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Projects

Spatial Typologies for Targeted Food and Nutrition Security Interventions

Spatial Typologies for Targeted Food and Nutrition Security Interventions

…

COVID-19: Measuring Impacts and Prioritizing Policies for Recovery

COVID-19: Measuring Impacts and Prioritizing Policies for Recovery

…

COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal

COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal

…

View all Projects