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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.

researcher spotlight

Liangzhi You

Liangzhi You is a Senior Research Fellow and theme leader in the Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit, based in Washington, DC. His research focuses on climate resilience, spatial data and analytics, agroecosystems, and agricultural science policy. Gridded crop production data of the world (SPAM) and the agricultural technology evaluation model (DREAM) are among his research contributions. 

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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.

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The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is dedicated to advancing the knowledge in agricultural, human and natural resources. The Institute seeks to make their knowledge accessible to sustain and improve upon the quality of human life. IFAS also provides research and development for Florida’s agricultural, natural resources and related food industries.

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Publications

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Working Paper

Access to markets, weather risk, and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia

2020Abay, Kibrom A.; Jensen, Nathaniel D.
Details

Access to markets, weather risk, and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia

Despite several studies showing the effect of access to markets and weather conditions on crop production, we know quite little on whether and how livestock production systems respond to variation in weather risk and access to markets. In this paper, we study whether and how livestock production responds to access to markets and varying weather risk. We also explore whether such responses vary across livelihood zones and livestock production systems. We study these research questions using information on the livestock production, ownership, and marketing decisions of households in Ethiopia. We find that households living close to markets are more likely to engage in market-oriented livestock production and use modern livestock inputs. We also find that households exposed to more unpredictable weather are less likely to engage in livestock production for markets. Rather, they are more likely to engage in livestock production for precautionary savings and insurance. Furthermore, greater rainfall uncertainty influences livestock portfolio allocation towards those types of livestock which can be easily liquidated, while also discouraging investment in modern livestock inputs. However, these responses and patterns vary across livelihood zones and production systems – most of these stylized responses and impacts are more pronounced in the arid and semi-arid lands of Ethiopia, where livestock herding remains a dominant source of livelihood. Those households relying only on livestock production seem more sensitive and responsive to weather risk and weather shocks. The heterogeneity in responses to and impacts of weather risk among farming systems and livelihoods highlights the need for more tailored livestock sector policies and interventions.

Year published

2020

Authors

Abay, Kibrom A.; Jensen, Nathaniel D.

Citation

Abay, Kibrom A.; and Jensen, Nathaniel D. 2020. Access to markets, weather risk, and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 138. Washington, DC; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); and Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute. https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133611

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Livestock Production; Marketing; Market Access; Livestock; Weather; Risk

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133611 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Irrigation-nutrition linkages: Evidence from northern Ghana

2019Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Choufani, Jowel; Bryan, Elizabeth; Abizari, Abdul-Razak; Ringler, Claudia; Amikuzuno, Joseph
Details

Irrigation-nutrition linkages: Evidence from northern Ghana

We analyze the linkages between irrigation and nutrition using data from irrigators and non-irrigators in Northern Ghana. The results show that (i) there is a modest difference in the overall household dietary diversity score between irrigators and non-irrigators, (ii) there are significant differences in the consumption of animal source foods between irrigators and non-irrigators, (iii) there are significant differences in the consumption of fruits and vegetables as well as sugar and honey between irrigators and non-irrigators, and (iv) the sources of food consumption differ between irrigators and non-irrigators. The analysis shows strong association between households’ nutritional status and their access to irrigation, with evidences suggesting that the irrigation-nutrition linkages play out both through the income and production pathways in Northern Ghana.

Year published

2019

Authors

Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Choufani, Jowel; Bryan, Elizabeth; Abizari, Abdul-Razak; Ringler, Claudia; Amikuzuno, Joseph

Citation

Mekonnen, Dawit Kelemework; Choufani, Jowel; Bryan, Elizabeth; Abizari, Abdul-Razak; Ringler, Claudia; and Amikuzuno, Joseph. 2019. Irrigation-nutrition linkages: Evidence from northern Ghana. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1887. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Ghana

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Income; Production; Technology; Capacity Development; Nutrition; Irrigation; Food Consumption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133515 Source record

Project

Water, Land and Ecosystems

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Cities, value chains, and dairy production in Ethiopia

2019Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw
Details

Cities, value chains, and dairy production in Ethiopia

This paper explores the spatial heterogeneity in dairy production in the highland production area around the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. We look at how urban proximity – defined as the travel time from the farm to the central market of Addis Ababa – affects the production decisions of Ethiopian dairy farmers. We sampled 870 households from the major rural production zones around Addis Ababa, where villages were stratified according to their distance to Addis Ababa. Using an instrumental variable approach, we find evidence of strong spatial heterogeneity in dairy milk productivity in Ethiopia. With each additional hour of travel time, the milk productivity per cow is reduced by almost 1 liter per day, a reduction by 26 percent on average. This spatial heterogeneity in milk productivity reflects a pronounced spatial variation in dairy production decisions (producing liquid milk or processed dairy products), the application of modern inputs, and marketing. When trying to disentangle the mechanisms through which urban proximity affects dairy productivity, we show that the effect of travel time mainly runs through farmers’ inclusion into ‘modern’ value chains and more specifically through their access to commercial milk buyers. This finding holds when we control for prices, indicating that access to commercial value chains are an important determinant of dairy productivity. However, as only a limited number of farmers now have access to such value chains in these settings, measures to make dairy value chains more inclusive to remote farmers can have important economic development benefits for them.

Year published

2019

Authors

Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw

Citation

Vandercasteelen, Joachim; Minten, Bart; and Tamru, Seneshaw. 2019. Cities, value chains, and dairy production in Ethiopia. ESSP Working Paper 137. Washington, DC; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Policy Studies Institute.

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Milk Production; Supply Chains; Milk Products; Rural-urban Food Supply Chains; Urban Areas; Urbanization; Towns; Food Prices; Dairy Industry

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133437 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Working Paper

Events

CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture Convention
IFPRI at External Event

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October 3 to 5, 2018

CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture Convention

IFPRI Staff are participating in the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture co-hosted by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) taking place October 3-5, 2018 at the Campus of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya. This convention is the second yearly event to bring together the people and organizations that make the […]