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Who we are

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.

Ahmed Akhter

researcher spotlight

Akhter Ahmed

Akhter Ahmed is a Senior Research Fellow in the IFPRI’s Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit and Country Representative for IFPRI Bangladesh. He has worked on strategies for agricultural and rural development, social protection, and women’s empowerment to reduce poverty, food insecurity, and undernutrition in developing countries including Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Malawi, the Philippines, and Turkey.

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What we do

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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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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partnerships

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), government agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, is dedicated to reducing poverty throughout the world. SIDA works to help implement Sweden’s Policy for Global Development (PGU), reform cooperation with Eastern Europe, and distribute humanitarian aid to people in need of assistance. Its mission is to allocate aid and other funding to international development initiatives.

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Projects

Supporting ReSAKSS and CAADP

Supporting ReSAKSS and CAADP

From 2006 to 2020, IFPRI facilitated the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development……

Publications

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Working Paper

Trade competitiveness among COMESA countries in agricultural commodity exports

2019Guthiga, Paul M.; Ogada, Maurice Juma; Karugia, Joseph T.; Ongudi, Silas; Mugweru, Lydiah
Details

Trade competitiveness among COMESA countries in agricultural commodity exports

This paper uses trade data from the COMESA statistical database covering 19 countries covering the period 1997 to 2013 to analyze the trade competitiveness of selected agricultural commodities traded among COMESA member states using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) methodology. The computed RCA indices showed that countries in the COMESA region had fluctuating advantages in trade in different food staples over the years. The highest positive RCA indices include; bovine meat and cassava (Kenya and Uganda), live bovine animals (Kenya), maize grain (Uganda), tomatoes (Ethiopia, Madagascar), fish (Eritrea), cassava (Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda) wheat flour (Zambia), Onions (Madagascar) and dry legumes and pulses (Malawi). The results of the study can inform policy discussions on how integration through specialization and trade envisaged in the COMESA Treaty can be realized. The fluctuating RCA indices from year to year reflect weather- dependent agricultural production systems. This means that individual countries’ competitiveness fluctuates year to year depending on weather. To address the observed fluctuation in RCA indices countries should invest in production systems that are less weather-dependent, such as irrigated agriculture. Countries also need to promote drought-resistant and drought-tolerant crop varieties and early warning systems.

Year published

2019

Authors

Guthiga, Paul M.; Ogada, Maurice Juma; Karugia, Joseph T.; Ongudi, Silas; Mugweru, Lydiah

Citation

Guthiga, P., Ogada, M., Karugia, J., Ongudi, S. and Mugweru, L. 2019. Trade competitiveness among comesa countries in agricultural commodity exports. ReSAKSS Working Paper 41. Washington, DC: IFPRI. https://www.resakss.org/node/6749

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Southern Africa; Agricultural Products; Competitiveness; Caadp; Trade

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

The CAADP inaugural Biennial Review and Africa Agricultural Transformation Scorecard: Results and areas for improvement

2018Benin, Samuel; Ulimwengu, John M.; Tefera, Wondwosen
Details

The CAADP inaugural Biennial Review and Africa Agricultural Transformation Scorecard: Results and areas for improvement

This paper uses the Biennial Review (BR) data and simple correlations to analyze the potential relationship between progress in recommitting to CAADP or mutual accountability and progress in meeting commitments in the other five broad areas. Various weighting systems are used to demonstrate the sensitivity of the weights chosen for computing the scores to develop the Africa Agricultural Transformation Scorecard (AATS). The current BR applies equal weights to the seven thematic areas, followed by equal weights to performance categories and indicators within each thematic area and performance category, respectively. The other weighting systems considered for the sensitivity analysis include equal weights applied at performance category or indicator level, differential weights based on the ease or difficulty in achieving various commitments using the Items Response Theory (IRT), and differential weighting system that gives more weight to performance categories or indicators that are more directly linked to agricultural transformation.

Year published

2018

Authors

Benin, Samuel; Ulimwengu, John M.; Tefera, Wondwosen

Citation

Benin, Samuel; Ulimwengu, John M.; and Tefera, Wondwosen. 2018. The CAADP inaugural Biennial Review and Africa Agricultural Transformation Scorecard: Results and areas for improvement. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1754. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145867

Keywords

Land Productivity; Development Indicators; Sustainability; Capacity Development; Caadp; Agriculture; Evaluation; Agricultural Development; Malabo Declaration; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Heterogeneity in riverine ecosystem service perceptions: Insights for water-decision processes in transboundary rivers

2017Khan, Hassaan Furqan; Yang, Yi-Chen E.; Ringler, Claudia
Details

Heterogeneity in riverine ecosystem service perceptions: Insights for water-decision processes in transboundary rivers

The objective of this study is to analyze heterogeneous perceptions of the relative importance of riverine ecosystem services to inform policy decisions. To improve allocation of scarce resources across competing uses, it is crucial to understand the values placed on various water uses. Based on electronic surveys conducted across three transboundary river basins—the Indus, Mekong, and Niger—we assess how perceptions of ecosystem services provided by these river basins differ by geography within and across basins, by type of respondent, and under alternative future conditions. The results reveal regions within each basin that are deemed to be most at risk ecologically and identify services with the most pressing need for investment. Water for irrigation and energy production are considered the most important services across all basins, with importance shifting from energy to food production from upstream to downstream. Comparative analysis reveals that perceptions are influenced to some extent by the technical and organizational background of stakeholders. These results emphasize the need for diverse stakeholders to be involved in water resources decision-making processes. Rules derived from the electronic surveys can enhance water systems modeling, in particular, decentralized modeling approaches that use bottom-up processes with enhanced representation of the interactions between heterogeneous subsystems.

Year published

2017

Authors

Khan, Hassaan Furqan; Yang, Yi-Chen E.; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Khan, Hassaan Furqan; Yang, Yi-Chen E.; and Ringler, Claudia. 2017. Heterogeneity in riverine ecosystem service perceptions: Insights for water-decision processes in transboundary rivers. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1668. Washington, DC https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147737

Keywords

Resource Management; Water Management; Surveys; Stakeholders; Water; Transboundary Waters; Ecosystem Services

Language

English

Source

Source record

Project

Water, Land and Ecosystems

Record type

Working Paper

Events

Virtual Event - COVID-19: The role of the agriculture-ecosystem health interface
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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August 18, 2020, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Virtual Event – COVID-19: The role of the agriculture-ecosystem health interface

Presenters discuss possible cross-sectoral policies and actions for enhancing human and ecosystem health, with a focus on the role of One CGIAR. WATCH VIDEO

Blogs

Can sports and life skills programs improve labor force outcomes for vulnerable youth?
IFPRI Blog
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February 11, 2021

Can sports and life skills programs improve labor force outcomes for vulnerable youth?

By Lori Beaman, Sylvan Herskowitz, Niall Keleher, and Jeremy Magruder

Analyzing impacts of a program in Monrovia, Liberia.