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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.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

Where we work

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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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Development Strategies and Governance

Bart Minten

Senior Research Fellow/ Program Leader of the Myanmar Strategy Support Program

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Bio

Bart Minten, a Belgian citizen, is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. Since 2020, he has been out-posted in Yangon, Myanmar, as the Program Leader of the Myanmar Strategy Support Program, focusing on research, capacity building, and outreach and communication of research related to food and agricultural issues in Myanmar. Previously, he worked in Addis Ababa as the Program Leader of the Ethiopia Strategy Support Program and in the New Delhi Office, where his work focused on agricultural value chains in South Asia. Prior to joining IFPRI, he was a Senior Research Associate for the Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program in Madagascar. He also has held the position of Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Economics, KU Leuven, as well as teaching positions at Cornell University and the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Bart received his PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Cornell University and his bio-engineering degree from KU Leuven.

Publications

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Publications

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Journal Article

African domestic supply booms in value chains of fruits, vegetables, and animal products fueled by spontaneous clusters of SMEs

2024Reardon, Thomas; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Belton, Ben; Dolislager, Michael; Minten, Bart; Popkin, Barry; Vos, Rob
Details

African domestic supply booms in value chains of fruits, vegetables, and animal products fueled by spontaneous clusters of SMEs

There is an international consensus that Africans consume less fruits and vegetables (FV), and animal products (AP) than they need for adequate nutrition, and that production and supply chains of these products are constrained. Yet, in this paper, we show that despite these problems, there is a lot of dynamism in demand and supply of these nutrient-dense products in Africa: (1) macro evidence of “domestic supply booms”—with supply growing as fast as or faster than in Asia and Latin America; (2) only 2–4% of FV, and 10% of AP consumption in Africa is imported, and only about 1–2% of the output of FV and AP is exported: the supply booms have thus been overwhelming domestically sourced, not imported; (3) micro evidence of substantial shares of consumption of FV and AP in total food consumption, similar to Asia’s; (4) evidence of rapid development of spontaneous clusters of farms and off-farm SMEs (output wholesalers, logistics, processors, and agro-dealers supporting farmers). These clusters are important in fueling the supply booms. Illustrative cases from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia are presented. We recommend that African governments and international partners: (1) internalize the fact that these spontaneous clusters are forming and already fueling supply booms; (2) note that important drivers of the booms have been government investments in wholesale markets, roads, and other infrastructure like electrification, and agricultural research/extension; (3) leverage and support existing spontaneous clusters and help new ones to form by greatly increasing those three types of public investments. JEL Codes: O20, Q13, Q18

Year published

2024

Authors

Reardon, Thomas; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Belton, Ben; Dolislager, Michael; Minten, Bart; Popkin, Barry; Vos, Rob

Citation

Reardon, Thomas; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Belton, Ben; Dolislager, Michael; Minten, Bart; Popkin, Barry; and Vos, Rob. 2024. African domestic supply booms in value chains of fruits, vegetables, and animal products fueled by spontaneous clusters of SMEs. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 46(2): 390-413. https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13436

Country/Region

Ethiopia; Nigeria; Zambia

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Eastern Africa; Western Africa; Southern Africa; Animal Products; Enterprises; Fruits; Vegetables; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13436 Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Journal Article

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Brief

Outsource agrifood service MSMEs facilitating pivoting by fruits & vegetables farmers, wholesalers, and retailers

2024Reardon, Thomas; Awokuse, Titus; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Minten, Bart; Nguyen, Geneviève; Qanti, Sara; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, Rob; Zilberman, David
Details

Outsource agrifood service MSMEs facilitating pivoting by fruits & vegetables farmers, wholesalers, and retailers

There is an important gap in the literature regarding evidence about the emergence of outsource agrifood services. We contend that there are few studies on outsource services for differentiated product value chains, particularly in developing countries. To some extent, also, there is a knowledge gap regarding the use and effectiveness of eco-certification and labeling compliance-assisting services in developed countries. The bulk of attention on outsource services is centered at the commodity phase (such as with bulk grains) and the modern stage, and less attention is being paid to the product differentiation phase. To fill these voids, we focus on three country illustrations, ranging in the product cycle phases from transitional to transitional-modern to modern, and from early differentiating case in Ethiopia (on basic quality) to intermediate differentiating case in Indonesia (on advanced quality and variety differentiation in mangoes), to advanced-differentiating case in France (on eco-labeling and certification). We focus on horticulture as it is rapidly growing, and rapidly differentiating both in developed and developing countries. We conclude that policies and public investments facilitating the formation of these services are important. Importantly, we found that without these emerging outsource services, farmers would not have been able to be resilient to the shocks of market requirements and climate change.

Year published

2024

Authors

Reardon, Thomas; Awokuse, Titus; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Minten, Bart; Nguyen, Geneviève; Qanti, Sara; Swinnen, Johan; Vos, Rob; Zilberman, David

Citation

Reardon, Thomas; Awokuse, Titus; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Minten, Bart; Nguyen, Geneviève; Qanti, Sara; et al. 2024. Outsource agrifood service MSMEs facilitating pivoting by fruits & vegetables farmers, wholesalers, and retailers. CGIAR Rethinking Food Markets Initiative Technical Paper January 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/137594

Country/Region

Ethiopia; France

Keywords

Agrifood Systems; Value Chains; Developing Countries; Horticulture

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Double jeopardy: COVID-19, coup d’état and poverty in Myanmar

2023
Boughton, Duncan; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Cho, Ame; Diao, Xinshen; Lambrecht, Isabel; Minten, Bart; Goeb, Joseph; Masias, Ian; Belton, Ben
…more Aung, Nilar; San, Cho Cho
Details

Double jeopardy: COVID-19, coup d’état and poverty in Myanmar

Myanmar experienced multiple COVID shocks as well as a military takeover in February 2021. Impacts on household poverty remain uncertain, however, because large-scale in-person surveys were impossible during the pandemic and heightened internal conflict. We use ex ante simulation models and phone survey evidence to estimate the poverty effects of these shocks and identify factors correlated with them. While each approach has limitations, and cannot explicitly validate each other, they both indicate rising rural and urban poverty and capital-depleting coping mechanisms. Wider use of simulation modeling could help mobilize social protection faster than waiting for survey results in emergencies.

Year published

2023

Authors

Boughton, Duncan; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Cho, Ame; Diao, Xinshen; Lambrecht, Isabel; Minten, Bart; Goeb, Joseph; Masias, Ian; Belton, Ben; Aung, Nilar; San, Cho Cho

Citation

Boughton, Duncan; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Cho, Ame; Diao, Xinshen; Lambrecht, Isabel; Minten, Bart; Belton, Ben; et al. Double jeopardy: COVID-19, coup d’état and poverty in Myanmar. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 45(4): 1998-2016. https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13390

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

South-eastern Asia; Asia; Surveys; Coronavirus; Covid-19; Households; Coronavirinae; Coronavirus Disease; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13390 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on vegetable value chains in Ethiopia
IFPRI Blog
 | 
April 13, 2020

Impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on vegetable value chains in Ethiopia

By Seneshaw Tamru, Kalle Hirvonen, and Bart Minten

As restrictions take effect, a survey shows reductions in food trade and consumption.

2019 Global Food Policy Report Ethiopia Launch: Achieving rural Africa's inclusive transformation
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 09, 2019

2019 Global Food Policy Report Ethiopia Launch: Achieving rural Africa’s inclusive transformation

By Nahume Yadene and Bart Minten

Ethiopia's rural areas are at risk. Revitalizing them, and rural regions across Africa, requires a sustained strategic effort.

Teff love: Ethiopia’s staple crop requires a big push
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 24, 2018

Teff love: Ethiopia’s staple crop requires a big push

By Bart Minten, Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, and Smita Aggarwal

A new book explores the potential for expanding production of one of Ethiopia's signature crops.

Events

2022 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting
IFPRI at External Event

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July 31 to August 2, 2022

2022 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

Virtual Event: July 31, 2022 – 10:00 AM to August 2, 2022 – 6:15 PM PDT. IFPRI is participating in the 2022 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting.

Retail food prices at the country level and implications for food security
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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March 29, 2022, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Retail food prices at the country level and implications for food security

Virtual Event: March 29, 2022 – 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM EDT. How are rising food prices, further aggravated by the invasion of Ukraine, being transmitted at the country level? This policy seminar will examine how global commodity prices are transmitted at the national level and what other country-specific aspects influence retail prices.

31st International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE)
IFPRI at External Event

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August 17 to 31, 2021

31st International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE)

Virtual Event: AUG 17, 2021 – 08:00 AM to AUG 31, 2021 08:00 PM EDT. IFPRI is participating in the 31st Conference of Agriculture Economists organized by the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE). 

News

April 27, 2020 | In the News

The global food system, under pressure (ARA Newspaper)

ARA Newspaper (Spain) published an article on the current food supply. Globally, from Peru to the US, tons of vegetables and dairy are thrown in the trash while some countries limit exports. Senior Research Fellow Bart Minten stated, “Africa is heavily dependent on food imports, especially rice and cereals. Last year’s harvests were very good and there are enough reserves in […]

March 10, 2019 | In the News

Will the latest superfood come from Africa? Ethiopian traditional fruit is a dream to avoid wheat – and it was already patented in Europe (YLE)

Finland’s YLE released an article highlighting the country’s gluten-free crop, teff, gaining traction as a superfood, essential ingredient, and top export. Senior Research Fellow Bart Minten and Research Fellow Kalle Hirvonen were interviewed in the article, cautioning major exportation of the crop as it would increase domestic prices for Ethiopians.

July 19, 2018 | Press Release

NEW BOOK: Higher Investments in Research, Adoption of New Technologies to Improve Productivity and Export Potential of Teff

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia could increase production of its gluten-free and nutrient-rich cash crop teff, and tap into the expanding domestic and international markets, by ramping up investments in basic research; adopting new and better technologies; improving input distribution systems; and extending markets , according to a new book launched by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Addis Ababa today.   “Teff makes a considerable contribution to Ethiopians’ incomes and food security, and has potential to provide […]