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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. 

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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experts

Development Strategies and Governance

Bedru Balana

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Bedru Balana is a research fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, based in IFPRI’s Nigeria office. He is an agricultural economist with extensive experience in applied microeconomic research to inform agricultural development and food policies in Africa. His core research areas include technical and institutional constraints to investments in smallholder agriculture, agricultural markets, rural finance, agricultural technology adoption, climate-smart agriculture, livelihoods and poverty, and food and nutrition security in developing countries. He currently leads and manages large research-for-development (R4D) projects, oversees the planning and implementation of household surveys, and delivers capacity strengthening trainings. Through his supervision, mentorship, and communication with research staff, local partners, and collaborators, Bedru ensures timely completion of project activities, and his engagement with program implementers, policymakers, and donors helps inform the design and delivery of programs and policies that can sustainably enhance food security and reduce poverty in low-income countries. He has published more than 50 articles in high-impact, peer-reviewed international journals as well as book chapters, policy briefs, and technical reports. He has experience in Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso, where he undertakes several agriculture development research, policy dialogue, and capacity strengthening activities. Prior to joining IFPRI, Bedru worked in different academic and development research organizations including Mekelle University (Ethiopia), James Hutton Institute (UK), and in two CGIAR centers (IWMI and IFPRI). He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Addis Ababa University, and a PhD in agricultural economics from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

CV

Publications

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Report

Cool transportation in Nigeria: Intervention, baseline and randomized controlled trial

2024Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; Balana, Bedru; Edeh, Hyacinth; Shi, Weilun
Details

Cool transportation in Nigeria: Intervention, baseline and randomized controlled trial

In many developing countries, including Nigeria, much of fruit and vegetable production is lost largely because of lack of an adequate cold chain, including postharvest handling, cold storage and temperature-controlled transportation. As a result, not only the availability of fish, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and meat but also the safety and nutritional content of the food are affected. Under such conditions, all agents in the supply chain including farmers suffer from income reduction, while consumers face un-stable and lower-quality supply of normally more nutritious foods. Inadequate development of value chains and deficiencies in high costs associated with cooling systems are main causes of such losses.

Year published

2024

Authors

Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; Balana, Bedru; Edeh, Hyacinth; Shi, Weilun

Citation

Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; Balana, Bedru; Edeh, Hyacinth; and Shi, Weilun. 2024. Cool transportation in Nigeria: Intervention, baseline and randomized controlled trial. CGIAR Initiative on Rethinking Food Markets Technical Report. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Fruits; Vegetables; Agricultural Production; Postharvest Losses; Cold Storage; Food Safety; Agricultural Value Chains; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Report

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Working Paper

Financial inclusion, agricultural inputs use, and household food security evidence from Nigeria

2024Balana, Bedru; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi
Details

Financial inclusion, agricultural inputs use, and household food security evidence from Nigeria

This paper examines the effects of financial inclusion on adoption and intensity of use of agricultural inputs and household welfare indicators using data from the nationally representative Nigerian LSMS wave-3 (2015/2016) survey. For this, we constructed a financial inclusion index from four formal financial services access indicators (bank account, access to credit, insurance coverage, and digital transaction) using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). We used Cragg’s two-step hurdle, instrumental variables for binary response variables, and a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) models in the econometric analysis. Results show that households with access to formal financial services are more likely to adopt agricultural inputs and to apply these more intensively. These same households are less likely to experience severe food insecurity and are more likely to consume diverse food items. We also find that these effects are less for female farmers regardless of formal financial inclusion, suggesting that they may bear more non-financial constraints than their male counterparts. The results suggest a need for targeted interventions to increase access to formal financial services of farm households and gender-responsive interventions to address the differential constraints women farmers face.

Year published

2024

Authors

Balana, Bedru; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi

Citation

Balana, Bedru; and Olanrewaju, Opeyemi. 2024. Financial inclusion, agricultural inputs use, and household food security evidence from Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2293. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Farm Inputs; Financial Inclusion; Food Security; Households; Inorganic Fertilizers; Seeds

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

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Report

Cooling technologies and long-term efficiency improvement of horticulture market agents: Panel data evidence from solar-powered cold-storage intervention in Nigeria

2024Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; Balana, Bedru
Details

Cooling technologies and long-term efficiency improvement of horticulture market agents: Panel data evidence from solar-powered cold-storage intervention in Nigeria

Modern cooling technologies, including cold storage, have been considered one of the critical tools to address increasingly complex challenges in agrifood systems in developing countries, including poverty, economic growth, food loss and waste, food and nutrition security, and environmental sustainability (e.g., IFPRI 2020; Kashyap & Agarwal 2020). Cold storage can minimize most human pathogens, ensuring enhanced food safety (Uçar & Özçelik 2013; Kopp & Mishra 2022) and contribute to increased consumption of micronutrient-rich horticulture crops (Schreinemachers et al. 2018). Cooling technologies can also improve market functions by enabling higher and more stable prices received by suppliers (Rakshit 2011; Schreinemachers et al. 2018) and reducing losses (Allen & de Brauw 2018). Cooling-chain development has been a significant part of food system transformation outside Africa South of the Sahara (SSA) (IFPRI 2020). Similar technologies may become more broadly relevant in SSA in the near future (Tschirley et al. 2015). Traditionally, the use of cold storage has been constrained by high energy consumption and adverse environmental effects like carbon emissions (Pueyo et al. 2020; Steyn et al. 2016). However, a growing set of potential energy solutions are being proposed and introduced on a pilot basis, including solar power (Takeshima et al. 2023).

Year published

2024

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; Balana, Bedru

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Dauda, Bawa; and Balana, Bedru. 2024. Cooling technologies and long-term efficiency improvement of horticulture market agents: Panel data evidence from solar-powered cold-storage intervention in Nigeria. CGIAR Initiative on Rethinking Food Markets Technical Report November 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Agrifood Systems; Agricultural Technology; Capacity Development; Cold Storage; Cooling; Horticulture

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Report

Events

WFP Climate Impact Evaluation Forum
IFPRI at External Event

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October 7 to 9, 2024

WFP Climate Impact Evaluation Forum

Extreme weather events pose one of the biggest threats to global food security. Increasingly, climate disasters like floods, droughts, and cyclones, are striking regions previously unaccustomed to such crises. In the Asia Pacific region, the United Nations World Food Programme work hand-in-hand with several partners to support vulnerable communities preparing, responding, and recovering from climate shocks […]

Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 Summit
IFPRI at External Event

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September 2 to 6, 2024

Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 Summit

The Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 annual summit will be a timely opportunity to convene diverse stakeholders, including world leaders, investors, academia, farmers’ organizations, and the private sector, to spotlight innovations, technologies, best practices, business models, policy delivery mechanisms, and investments to accelerate food systems transformation in Africa and beyond, with youth and women at […]

WFP Impact Evaluation Forum
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

December 4 to 7, 2023

WFP Impact Evaluation Forum

Event: December 4, 2023 – 09:00 AM to December 7, 2023 – 6:30 PM CET. IFPRI is participating in the first United Nations World Food Programme Impact Evaluation Forum in Rome, Italy.

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News

August 27, 2022 | In the News

FG inaugurates six-year policy to promote innovation, investment in agric sector (The Cable) 

The Cable (Nigeria) published an article announcing the six-year national agricultural technology and innovation policy (NATIP) from 2022 to 2027 to enhance agribusiness in the country. The policy also aims to increase resilience and digital agriculture, thereby, promoting agricultural investments.   Bedru Balana, country program leader, IFPRI, said women and youth should be mainstreamed across the […]

August 26, 2022 | In the News

Untapped potential in agriculture can help food security – USAID/Nigeria (News Agency Nigeria) 

News Agency Nigeria posted an article on the launch of the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) 2022 – 2027.  Agriculture is important to the growth and development of the economy, adding that in 2020, agriculture contributed over 25 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The new policy is a deliberate effort by […]

July 26, 2019 | In the News

Irrigation earns flood-prone farmers US$4,344 a hectare (SciDev.Net)

Promoting flood-recession agriculture could reduce seasonal migration during the dry season, helping farmers increase production, income, and food security. 

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