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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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The Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) provides policy-based research on challenges facing Bangladesh and other developing countries. BIDS fosters discussion and learning through research to develop answers to prominent problems in developing countries, such as macroeconomic fundamentals, agriculture and rural development, poverty and inequality, trade, and more. BIDS also contributes directly to formulating government policies through their interaction and participation in the making of policies.

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Publications

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Working Paper

Diagnostic study of DG Food: An assessment of DG Food’s current mandates, performance, and capacity gaps, and a remedial program to strengthen the agency

2024Mustafa, Shoumi; Ali, A. M. M. Shawkat; Islam, Kazi Nurul; Dorosh, Paul A.; Rashid, Shahidur; Shaima, Nabila Afrin
Details

Diagnostic study of DG Food: An assessment of DG Food’s current mandates, performance, and capacity gaps, and a remedial program to strengthen the agency

This study conducts an assessment of the current mandates, performance, and capacity gaps of the Directorate General of Food (DG Food) and suggests remedies to strengthen the agency. Formed originally as the Supply Department in undivided Bengal under British rule in the early 1940s, the organization was named the Directorate General of Food by the provincial government of East Pakistan in 1956. Upon the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, DG Food became a part of the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies and was later renamed as the Directorate General of Food in 1975. The last major reorganization of the agency took place in 1984. The current mandates and organogram are from 1984. As the custodian of the Public Food Distribution System (PFDS), DG Food plays an important role for the Government of Bangladesh (GoB). Under the Social Safety Net Programs (SSNP) of the GoB, DG Food ensures food security for vulnerable populations. In its sprawling countrywide network of 650-plus traditional warehouses, DG Food has an effective storage capacity of 1.9 million tons. In recent years, DG Food has procured and distributed approximately 3.0 million tons of foodgrains per year. A very large organization, DG Food has a sanctioned workforce of over 13,000 officers and employees, and an annual budget of approximately 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mustafa, Shoumi; Ali, A. M. M. Shawkat; Islam, Kazi Nurul; Dorosh, Paul A.; Rashid, Shahidur; Shaima, Nabila Afrin

Citation

Mustafa, Shoumi; Ali, A M M Shawkat; Islam, Kazi Nurul; Dorosh, Paul A.; Rashid, Shahidur; and Shaima, Nabila Afrin. 2024. Diagnostic study of DG Food: An assessment of DG Food’s current mandates, performance, and capacity gaps, and a remedial program to strengthen the agency. Integrated Food Policy Research Program Working Paper 14. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149092

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Capacity Assessment; Food Security; Rice; Wheat

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Feasibility of nationwide warehouse receipt system: An assessment of the potential for a nationwide warehouse receipt system and recommendation for the requisite legal and regulatory framework

2024Narayanan, Sudha; Hussain, Siraj; Rashid, Shahidur
Details

Feasibility of nationwide warehouse receipt system: An assessment of the potential for a nationwide warehouse receipt system and recommendation for the requisite legal and regulatory framework

Warehouse receipts systems (WRS) have been used to tackle multiple challenges faced by farmers. In the absence of adequate collateral and consequent credit constraints, a WRS enables the use of inventory as collateral for loans, thus removing a key constraint farmers face. With growing digital reach, electronic based Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (e-NWR) that can be swapped, exchanged and traded and can assist in deepening financial markets while maintaining the integrity of the system. While e-NWRS can potentially address farmer level constraints, they can also be viewed from a larger policy perspective as a system that aids government plans for food security and manage public procurement operations better and more nimbly; it can also play a key role for enhancing the efficiency and food quality and safety along value chains by enabling mid-stream players like traders and importers to manage these chains better. This report seeks to inform the policy process around e-NWRS by focusing on the potential of Ware house Receipt Financing, more broadly, in the agricultural development of Bangladesh. To do this we review global evidence as well as evidence closer to home, within South Asia, to understand the pre-conditions and prerequisites for a successful system.

Year published

2024

Authors

Narayanan, Sudha; Hussain, Siraj; Rashid, Shahidur

Citation

Narayanan, Sudha; Hussain, Siraj; and Rashid, Shahidur. 2024. Feasibility of nationwide warehouse receipt system: An assessment of the potential for a nationwide warehouse receipt system and recommendation for the requisite legal and regulatory framework. IFPRP Working Paper 15. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149086

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Storehouses; Smallholders; Credit; Digital Agriculture; Markets; Policies; Agricultural Development

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Implementation of paddy drying technology: Introducing small/medium paddy dryers in remote areas

2024Alam, Md. Monjurul; Kalita, Prasanta Kumar; Saha, Chayan Kumer; Sarkar, Surajit; Winter-Nelson, Alex
Details

Implementation of paddy drying technology: Introducing small/medium paddy dryers in remote areas

Grain drying has become increasingly challenging for the Bangladesh food system as postharvest innovations have not kept pace with production growth and an increasing volume of grain is harvested during wet or foggy periods, when conventional open-air drying is problematic. This activity sought to build capacity for mechanical dryer service provision by small-scale entrepreneurs and to demonstrate a model for providing mobile grain drying services through entrepreneurs using a locally manufactured small-scale dryer. In coordination with Ministry of Food officials, the project selected 20 farmers to train as mechanized drying service providers, provided them with use of small-scale mobile batch dryers, and deployed them in rural areas from which Local Supply Depots (LSDs) source grain. The service providers were active in Bogura and Rangpur Districts in late May 2023, during the closing phases of the Boro harvest season. The pilot revealed nuances of the costs of operation and indicated potential for viable business activities, especially in areas where open-air drying is relatively costly or inadequately available. Additionally, a scoping visit to Naogaon District revealed significant interest in mechanized drying services. The findings suggest a value to additional observation of the service providers to document capacity utilization over an Aman season and a full Boro season. Such observations would allow confirmation about parameters related to annual capacity utilization which are important determinants of business viability

Year published

2024

Authors

Alam, Md. Monjurul; Kalita, Prasanta Kumar; Saha, Chayan Kumer; Sarkar, Surajit; Winter-Nelson, Alex

Citation

Alam, Md. Monjurul; Kalita, Prasanta Kumar; Saha, Chayan Kumer; Sarkar, Surajit; and Winter-Nelson, Alex. 2024. Implementation of paddy drying technology: Introducing small/medium paddy dryers in remote areas. IFPRP Working Paper 17. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149089

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Grain; Drying; Food Systems; Postharvest Technology; Small Enterprises

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Policy seminar: Rohingyas displaced to Bangladesh face an uncertain future
IFPRI Blog
 | 
July 23, 2019

Policy seminar: Rohingyas displaced to Bangladesh face an uncertain future

By Katarlah Taylor

What can be done to improve nutrition, health, and economic prospects for Rohingya in camps in Bangladesh? A discussion.