Building on the previous IFAD-IFPRI-PIM (CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets project), “Decreasing Vulnerability to Conflict in Arab Countries through Rural Development,” the Agricultural Investment Data Analyzer (AIDA) project will develop a set of forward-looking planning and evaluation tools to help improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scaling up of rural development policies and projects. 

This Close Up event will present an overview of the project achievements to date and present results from the AIDA Egypt case study. The presenters will show how selected agricultural and social protection policies and investments can help improve food security, with special focus on food subsidies, cash transfers, and land reclamation. The event will also showcase the first beta version of the AIDA online tool and give an outlook on the expected policy impact across the participating countries.

Following this presentation will be a panel session involving agricultural and rural policy experts and practitioners from the Cairo field office/IFPRI and IFAD, as well as a discussion around implications for IFAD’s lending operations. The discussion will focus on how AIDA-based results can be leveraged in country-level policy dialogues to influence policy making and investment decision making, and also how the AIDA tool can be promoted for enhancing evidence-based decision making more generally among NEN countries and beyond. Additional highlight of the Close-up event will be the demonstration of the first online AIDA country case of Egypt.

AIDA is a three-year project (2017-2020) funded by IFAD with co-financing from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) and implemented by the IFPRI MENA office in Cairo and other partners with focus on Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia.

Welcome Address

• Khalida Bouzar, Director, Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia Division

Overview and Key Achievements: Introducing the Agricultural Investment Data Analyzer (AIDA) and Soft-Launch of Online AIDA for Egypt

• Clemens Breisinger, Senior Research Fellow and Country Program Leader, IFPRI
• Yumna Kassim, Senior Research Assistant, IFPRI
• James Thurlow, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Panel Discussion

Facilitator

• Abdelkarim Sma, Lead Regional Economist for the Near East, North Africa and Europe division, IFAD

Panelists

• Khalida Bouzar, Director, Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia Division
• Thouraya Triki, Director, Sustainable Production, Markets and Institutions Division (PMI), IFAD
• Dina Saleh, Head of the Cairo Hub, IFAD (connected remotely)
• Clemens Breisinger, Senior Research Fellow and Country Program Leader, IFPRI
• James Thurlow, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI

Q&A

Closing Remarks

• Khalida Bouzar, Director, Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia Division
• Clemens Breisinger, Senior Research Fellow and Country Program Leader, IFPRI