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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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experts

Natural Resources and Resilience

Hua Xie

Research Fellow

Bio

Hua Xie is a Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. He specializes in water resources and environmental systems analysis and is interested in developing and applying analytical and modeling tools to address various issues in water resources and environmental management. Topics of his research at IFPRI include irrigation investment analysis, global water quality modeling, large-scale hydrologic and crop simulation, climate change impact assessment, and sustainable land management. Hua Xie is a citizen of China. He holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Languages spoken: Chinese, English

Publications

CV

Publications

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Brief

Effect of organic fertilizer use on crop yield and soil health in maize production in Kenya

2024Xie, Hua
Details

Effect of organic fertilizer use on crop yield and soil health in maize production in Kenya

Sub-Saharan Africa faces an elevated risk of food insecurity. The agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan African countries encounters significant challenges in increasing crop production to meet the ever-growing food demand driven by population growth and economic development. Nutrient management is a critical component of crop production, yet nutrient input levels in the region are notably low. In many areas of cropland, nutrient balances are in deficit (Liu et al., 2010). At the recent Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit, African leaders pledged to strengthen nutrient management practices to enhance food production through increased fertilizer use. Fertilizers can be categorized into different types. Most discussions on fertilizer policy to date have focused on inorganic fertilizers, which are produced through industrial processes. In contrast, organic fertilizers are derived from naturally occurring materials. The use of organic fertilizers may offer additional long-term benefits, particularly for improving soil health. Notably, soil organic carbon is a key indicator of soil health, and organic fertilizers, being rich in carbon, can contribute to increasing soil carbon content. A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of organic fertilizers on crop productivity and soil health, focusing on maize production in Kenya. Maize is the primary staple crop in Kenya, with a harvested area of 2.1 million hectares, representing about 40% of the total harvested area for all crops in the country (FAOSTAT). Maize is also the largest consumer of fertilizers in Kenya. It is estimated that maize cultivation uses 2.8 million tons of fertilizers annually, accounting for approximately 50% of the country’s total fertilizer consumption. Fertilizers are applied on about 70% of the maize-planted area (IFDC & AFAP, 2018). However, the average maize yield in Kenya remains low, at less than 2 metric tons per hectare (FAOSTAT), indicating suboptimal management practices or inadequate input levels, including insufficient fertilizer use (De Groote, 2023).

Year published

2024

Authors

Xie, Hua

Citation

Xie, Hua. 2024. Effect of organic fertilizer use on crop yield and soil health in maize production in Kenya. Policy Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169881

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Fertilizers; Crop Yield; Soil Quality; Maize; Agricultural Production; Food Security

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Agroecology

Record type

Brief

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Brief

Financial and environmental outlook of groundwater-solar irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa

2024Xie, Hua; Zeng, Ruijie; Ringler, Claudia
Details

Financial and environmental outlook of groundwater-solar irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa

Groundwater-fed irrigation holds great promise for enhancing food production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Solar energy offers a renewable and cost-effective solution to power groundwater irrigation; however, unregulated use may threaten the long term sustainability of groundwater resources.

Year published

2024

Authors

Xie, Hua; Zeng, Ruijie; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Xie, Hua; Zeng, Ruijie; and Ringler, Claudia. 2024. Financial and environmental outlook of groundwater-solar irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa. IFPRI Policy Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168413

Keywords

Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Groundwater Irrigation; Food Production; Solar Energy; Renewable Energy; Groundwater; Agriculture

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

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Journal Article

Ending groundwater overdraft without affecting food security

2024Perez, Nicostrato; Singh, Vartika; Ringler, Claudia; Xie, Hua; Zhu, Tingju; Sutanudjaja, Edwin H.; Villholth, Karen G.
Details

Ending groundwater overdraft without affecting food security

Groundwater development is key to accelerating agricultural growth and to achieving food security in a climate crisis. However, the rapid increase in groundwater exploitation over the past four decades has resulted in depletion and degradation, particularly in regions already facing acute water scarcity, with potential irreversible impacts for food security and economic prosperity. Using a climate–water–food systems modelling framework, we develop exploratory scenarios and find that halting groundwater depletion without complementary policy actions would adversely affect food production and trade, increase food prices and grow the number of people at risk of hunger by 26 million by 2050. Supportive policy interventions in food and water systems such as increasing the effective use of precipitation and investments in agricultural research and development could mitigate most negative effects of sustainable groundwater use on food security. In addition, changing preferences of high-income countries towards less-meat-based diets would marginally alleviate pressures on food price. To safeguard the ability of groundwater systems to realize water and food security objectives amidst climate challenges, comprehensive measures encompassing improved water management practices, advancements in seed technologies and appropriate institutions will be needed.

Year published

2024

Authors

Perez, Nicostrato; Singh, Vartika; Ringler, Claudia; Xie, Hua; Zhu, Tingju; Sutanudjaja, Edwin H.; Villholth, Karen G.

Citation

Perez, Nicostrato; Singh, Vartika; Ringler, Claudia; Xie, Hua; Zhu, Tingju; Sutanudjaja, Edwin H.; and Villholth, Karen G. 2024. Ending groundwater overdraft without affecting food security. Nature Sustainability 7: 1007–1017. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01376-w

Keywords

Agriculture; Food Security; Groundwater; Climate Change Adaptation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01376-w Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

How can we address recurring global food and fuel crises? The role of solar powered irrigation
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 20, 2022

How can we address recurring global food and fuel crises? The role of solar powered irrigation

By Claudia Ringler and Hua Xie

Confronting wicked problems from the ground up.

Modeling the optimal energy solutions for irrigation in Ethiopia
IFPRI Blog
 | 
September 23, 2022

Modeling the optimal energy solutions for irrigation in Ethiopia

By Dawit Mekonnen and Hua Xie

The best places for grid-based, solar, and diesel powered equipment.

World Water Day: Feeding millions from the ground up – the promise of groundwater-fed irrigation in Africa South of the Sahara
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 22, 2018

World Water Day: Feeding millions from the ground up – the promise of groundwater-fed irrigation in Africa South of the Sahara

By Hua Xie and Claudia Ringler

Small, inexpensive solar pumps can greatly expand the availability of irrigation, research shows.

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Events

Groundwater: Potential and Pitfalls for Africa
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

March 20, 2023, 8:00 – 9:30 am

Groundwater: Potential and Pitfalls for Africa

Virtual Event: March 20, 2023 – 8:00 AM- 9:30 AM EST. This event will discuss the African Ministers’ Council on Water’s (AMCOW) groundwater program with case studies on the benefits of groundwater development as well as institutional advances in several African countries.

World Water Week 2021
IFPRI at External Event

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August 23 to 27, 2021

World Water Week 2021

AUG 24, 2021 – 06:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT. This session will showcase new insights into the multiple and synergistic roles of water in food systems and for the nutrition that was deliberated during the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. 

News

June 14, 2024 | Press Release

New study emphasizes tradeoffs between arresting groundwater depletion and food security

A new study published today in Nature Sustainability, reaffirms the world’s growing dependence on depleting groundwater systems.