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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

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. 

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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

Foresight and Policy Modeling

Liangzhi You

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

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. He has published more than 160 articles in  journals including Science Advances, Nature Food, PNAS, Global Change Biology, Agricultural Systems, The Economic Journal, and Agricultural Economics.

Liangzhi earned a BS in hydraulic engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, and an MS in environmental economics and a PhD in civil engineering from Johns Hopkins University, US.

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Publications

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Observed trends in multiple breadbasket yield shocks

2024Chen, Xuan; Anderson, Weston; You, Liangzhi; Pope, Edward
Details

Observed trends in multiple breadbasket yield shocks

Extreme climate events in breadbasket regions have become more frequent due to climate change, exposing crops to a greater frequency and intensity of abiotic stress. But by using observed crop yield statistics and an ensemble of statistical models, we demonstrate that over the last six decades the frequency of crop yield shocks in breadbasket regions has been decreasing due to both climate and non-climate factors. Here non-climate factors refer to interannual variability unrelated to abiotic stress, such as biotic stress and management decisions. We find that although the risk posed by extreme heat to crop yields has been increasing, this risk has been offset by changes to precipitation, extremely cold days, and average growing season temperature in many breadbaskets. As a result, total climate-related crop yield shocks have been decreasing for soybeans and wheat, while they have remained roughly constant for maize. Meanwhile, non-climate risks to crop yields have decreased in nearly every breadbasket region across crops. Because non-climate risks have decreased faster than climate risks, we find that the climate accounts for a greater proportion of crop yield shocks in the recent period (1991–2020) compared to an earlier period (1961–90). Our results indicate that extreme climate events are more important than ever to the relative stability of the food production system, even as the overall frequency of multiple breadbasket yield shocks decreases.

Year published

2024

Authors

Chen, Xuan; Anderson, Weston; You, Liangzhi; Pope, Edward

Citation

Chen, Xuan; Anderson, Weston; You, Liangzhi; and Pope, Edward. 2024. Observed trends in multiple breadbasket yield shocks. Environmental Research Letters 19(10): 104005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad7040

Keywords

Abiotic Stress; Climate Change; Crop Yields; Extreme Weather Events; Food Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad7040 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase gaps of rice yields between low- and middle-to-high-income countries

2024
Song, Lian; Tao, Ye; van Groenigen, Kees Jan; Chang, Scott X.; Peñuelas, Josep; Zhang, Jishuang; You, Liangzhi; Cai, Chuang; Wang, Songhan; Jiang, Yu
…more Ma, Chuanqi; Yan, Xiaoyuan; Ni, Kang; Wang, Dongming; Wang, Yu; Zhu, Chunwu
Details

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase gaps of rice yields between low- and middle-to-high-income countries

The rising carbon dioxide concentrations are expected to increase future rice yields. However, variations in the CO2 fertilization effect (CFE) between rice subspecies and the influence of concurrent global warming introduce uncertainty in future global rice yield projections. Here we conducted a meta-analysis of rising carbon dioxide field experiments and employed crop modelling to assess future global rice yields for the top 14 rice producing countries. We found a robust parabolic relationship between rice CFE and temperature, with significant variations between rice subspecies. Our projections indicate that global rice production in the 2050s is expected to increase by 50.32 million tonnes (7.6%) due to CFE compared with historical production. Because low-income countries will experience higher temperatures, the gaps (difference of Δyield) between middle-to-high-income and low-income countries are projected to widen from the 2030s to the 2090s under elevated carbon dioxide. These findings underscore the critical role of CFE and emphasize the necessity to increase investments in research and technology for rice producing systems in low-income countries.

Year published

2024

Authors

Song, Lian; Tao, Ye; van Groenigen, Kees Jan; Chang, Scott X.; Peñuelas, Josep; Zhang, Jishuang; You, Liangzhi; Cai, Chuang; Wang, Songhan; Jiang, Yu; Ma, Chuanqi; Yan, Xiaoyuan; Ni, Kang; Wang, Dongming; Wang, Yu; Zhu, Chunwu

Citation

Song, Lian; Tao, Ye; van Groenigen, Kees Jan; Chang, Scott X.; Peñuelas, Josep; Zhang, Jishuang; You, Liangzhi; et al. 2024. Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase gaps of rice yields between low- and middle-to-high-income countries. Nature Food 5: 754-763. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01021-x

Keywords

Carbon Dioxide; Crop Yields; Global Warming; Less Favoured Areas; Rice; Technology

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01021-x Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Farmers’ willingness to pay for smart farming technologies: Evidence from a smart drip irrigation technology in North China

2024Tao, Hui; Xiong, Hang; You, Liangzhi; Li, Fan
Details

Farmers’ willingness to pay for smart farming technologies: Evidence from a smart drip irrigation technology in North China

Smart farming technologies (SFTs) can increase yields and reduce the environmental impacts of farming by improving the efficient use of inputs. This paper is to estimate farmers’ preference and willingness to pay (WTP) for a well-defined SFT, smart drip irrigation (SDI) technology.This study conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) among 1,300 maize farmers in North China to understand their WTP for various functions of SDI using mixed logit (MIXL) models.The results show that farmers have a strong preference for SDI in general and its specific functions of smart sensing and smart control. However, farmers do not have a preference for the function of region-level agronomic planning. Farmers’ preferences for different functions of SDI are heterogeneous. Their preference was significantly associated with their education, experience of being village cadres and using computers, household income and holding of land and machines. Further analysis show that farmers’ WTP for functions facilitated by hardware is close to the estimated prices, whereas their WTP for functions wholly or partially facilitated by software is substantially lower than the estimated prices.Findings from the empirical study lead to policy implications for enhancing the design of SFTs by integrating software and hardware and optimizing agricultural extension strategies for SFTs with digital techniques such as videos.This study provides initial insights into understanding farmers’ preferences and WTP for specific functions of SFTs with a DCE.

Year published

2024

Authors

Tao, Hui; Xiong, Hang; You, Liangzhi; Li, Fan

Citation

Tao, Hui; Xiong, Hang; You, Liangzhi; and Li, Fan. 2024. Farmers’ willingness to pay for smart farming technologies: Evidence from a smart drip irrigation technology in North China. China Agricultural Economic Review 16(1): 114-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-03-2023-0050

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Eastern Asia; Agricultural Technology; Crop Yield; Farmers; Irrigation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1108/caer-03-2023-0050 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Webinar: Launching SPAM2020, the latest innovation in global crop mapping
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 09, 2024

Webinar: Launching SPAM2020, the latest innovation in global crop mapping

By Zhe Guo, Eleanor Jones, and Liangzhi You

Tools for understanding global trends.

Using atmospheric satellite data to monitor unfolding economic impacts of conflict in Sudan
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 28, 2023

Using atmospheric satellite data to monitor unfolding economic impacts of conflict in Sudan

By Hala Abushama, Zhe Guo, Khalid Siddig, Oliver Kirui, Kibrom Abay, and Liangzhi You

Changes in nitrogen dioxide emissions reflect migration, other changes.

Heat shocks linked to lower maize yields and reduced child height: Evidence from Tanzania
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 05, 2021

Heat shocks linked to lower maize yields and reduced child height: Evidence from Tanzania

By Steven Block, Beliyou Haile, Liangzhi You, and Derek Headey

The first time such a connection has been established between climate change, agricultural productivity, and health.

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Events

Implications of El Niño 2023/24 for Africa South of the Sahara
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

November 29, 2023, 7:30 – 9:00 am

Implications of El Niño 2023/24 for Africa South of the Sahara

Virtual Event: November 29, 2023 at 7:30am-9:00am EST. IFPRI in collaboration with USAID FEWS NET and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is hosting a presentation on the potential impact of the upcoming El Niño on the global agrifood system, with special emphasis on low-income countries in Africa South of the Sahara. The event will be organized around four short talks.

Global Food Security Forum for Young Scientists
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

December 2 to 3, 2022

Global Food Security Forum for Young Scientists

Hybrid Event: December 2, 2022 – 8:00 AM to December 3, 2022 – 6:00 PM HKT. This forum aims to bring together scientists, scholars and innovators from different subjects to discuss their research findings and exchange innovative ideas on all aspects of global food security.

2021 ReSAKSS Conference
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

November 15 to 17, 2021

2021 ReSAKSS Conference

Virtual Event: Nov 15, 2021 – 07:00 AM to Nov 17, 2021 – 10:30 AM EST. IFPRI is participating in the virtual 2021 ReSAKSS Conference. 

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News

October 23, 2019 | In the News

Real-time insurance for farm credit helps Kenyans weather drought (Reuters)

Reuters reported on the  Risk-Contingent Credit (RCC), an insurance scheme that provides security for a farmer’s loan by paying it down if the harvest is damaged by extreme weather. Senior Research Fellow  Liangzhi You, a scientist with tIFPRI, which co-led and designed the RCC project explained, “If the droughts come, it takes much more resources […]

September 21, 2019 | In the News

International HE partnership cracks drought debt problem (University World News)

The University World News reported on a new credit scheme that cushions smallholder farmers in Kenya’s dryland areas from frequent droughts. IFPRI researcher, Liangzhi You, stated the new program faces some impediments. “I would say the commercial bank still needs some kind of incentives from the government to lend to poor farmers.”

September 05, 2019 | In the News

Kenyan Farmers Benefit From Insured Loans (VOA)

Voice of America (VOA) published an online feature story on a novel approach to funding small farmers called Risk Contingent Credit Scheme (RCC). Led by IFPRI’s Liangzhi You, RCC offers farmers insured loans that help them purchase farm inputs, while also cushioning them against potential losses accrued from crop failures. 

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