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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.

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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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Foresight and Policy Modeling

Olivier Ecker

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Olivier Ecker is a Senior Research Fellow in IFPRI’s Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit based in Washington, DC. Olivier leads the consumer behavior and dietary change workstream of the Unit’s country modeling team. His research focuses on economic issues of food systems transformation and food security in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. He specializes in models and methods to assess the effects of policies and shocks on food demand and household diets. Olivier also conducts research on armed conflict and humanitarian assistance. He serves as IFPRI’s focal point in the Fighting Food Crises along the Humanitarian-Peace-Nexus Coalition and as a member of the institute’s Publications Review Committee. Olivier received his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Hohenheim, Germany.

Language Skills: German, English, French

Publications

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Publications

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Brief

Consumer preferences matter for transforming food systems for sustainable healthy diets: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

2024Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew R.; de Brauw, Alan; Diao, Xinshen; Talukder, Md. Ruhul Amin
Details

Consumer preferences matter for transforming food systems for sustainable healthy diets: Evidence from rural Bangladesh

Food system transformation strategies rely on consumer demand response for achieving sustainable healthy diets, but food consumption patterns and consumer preferences are often not well understood in many countries of the global South. This brief examines consumer demand in Bangladesh, a country in the take-off stage of agrifood system transformation, that has experienced improvements in diet quality but also an increasing incidence of overweight, with faster increases in rural than urban areas. The authors estimate responses in consumer demand to changes in incomes and changes in food prices, finding that rural consumer demand is driven by strong preferences for animal-source foods, while the demand for sugar and highly processed foods increases faster than total food demand when income rises. They conclude that agricultural value chain development can be an important policy instrument for improving household diet quality but can also lead to undesirable dietary change if food consumption incentives conflict with nutritional needs.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew R.; de Brauw, Alan; Diao, Xinshen; Talukder, Md. Ruhul Amin

Citation

Ecker, Olivier; Comstock, Andrew R.; de Brauw, Alan; Diao, Xinshen; and Talukder, Md. Ruhul Amin. 2024. Consumer preferences matter for transforming food systems for sustainable healthy diets: Evidence from rural Bangladesh. IFPRI Issue Brief June 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144173

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Food Systems; Consumer Behaviour; Rural Areas; Healthy Diets; Demand; Overweight; Modelling; Animal Source Foods; Agricultural Value Chains; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

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Journal Article

Dairy consumption and household diet quality in East Africa: Evidence from survey-based simulation models

2024Ecker, Olivier; Pauw, Karl
Details

Dairy consumption and household diet quality in East Africa: Evidence from survey-based simulation models

Dairy foods are an important source of essential macro- and micronutrients in household diets, and their consumption is associated with reduced malnutrition, especially among young children. Low dairy consumption in many developing countries is a justification for programs that promote dairy livestock ownership, help develop dairy value chains, or stimulate dairy demand. While several studies confirm the beneficial effects of such dairy-specific interventions on nutritional outcomes, the purpose in this study is to consider more broadly the contribution of dairy to overall diet quality. Our assessment of consumer preferences for dairy, coupled with simulations of consumption responses to dairy price and household income changes, provide quantitative evidence that can inform policymakers about the possible effects of public policies on dairy consumption and diet quality. While our analysis is based on data from Kenya and Uganda, both countries with established dairy sectors, our findings are relevant for other East African countries with similar dietary patterns and emergent dairy sectors.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ecker, Olivier; Pauw, Karl

Citation

Ecker, Olivier; and Pauw, Karl. 2024. Dairy consumption and household diet quality in East Africa: Evidence from survey-based simulation models. Food Policy 122(January 2024): 102562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102562

Country/Region

Kenya; Uganda

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Africa; Developing Countries; Diet; Diet Quality; Households; Nutrition; Modelling; Milk Products

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102562 Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar

2023Ecker, Olivier; Alderman, Harold; Comstock, Andrew R.; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Pradesha, Angga
Details

Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe income losses, but little is known about its impacts on diets and nutritional adequacy, or the effectiveness of social protection interventions in mitigating dietary and nutritional impacts. We first assess the likely impacts of COVID-19 shocks in Bangladesh and Myanmar on poverty and food and nutrient consumption gaps. We then analyze the estimated mitigating effects of five hypothetical social protection interventions of a typical monetary value: (1) cash transfers; (2) in-kind transfers of common rice; (3) in-kind transfers of fortified rice enriched with multiple essential micronutrients; (4) vouchers for a diversified basket of rice and non-staple foods; and (5) food vouchers with fortified rice instead of common rice. The simulation results suggest modest effectiveness of the cash transfers for mitigating poverty increases and little effectiveness of all five transfers for preventing increasing food and nutrient consumption gaps among the poorest 40%. Rice fortification is, however, effective at closing key micronutrient consumption gaps and could be a suitable policy instrument for averting “hidden hunger” during economic crises.

Year published

2023

Authors

Ecker, Olivier; Alderman, Harold; Comstock, Andrew R.; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; Pradesha, Angga

Citation

Ecker, Olivier; Alderman, Harold; Comstock, Andrew R.; Headey, Derek D.; Mahrt, Kristi; and Pradesha, Angga. 2023. Mitigating poverty and undernutrition through social protection: A simulation analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 45(4): 2034-2055. https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13357

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Myanmar

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; South-eastern Asia; Coronavirus; Covid-19; Economic Crises; Rice; Social Protection; Hunger; Nutrition; Coronavirinae; Cash Transfers; Coronavirus Disease; Diet; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13357 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

The Reference Diet Deprivation (ReDD) index: A new diet quality measure for more effective nutrition-sensitive policies
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 14, 2023

The Reference Diet Deprivation (ReDD) index: A new diet quality measure for more effective nutrition-sensitive policies

By Karl Pauw, Olivier Ecker, James Thurlow, and Andrew R. Comstock

Assessing how household diets fall short.

Addressing the food crisis in Yemen: The private sector’s key role amid local conflict and global market disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 21, 2022

Addressing the food crisis in Yemen: The private sector’s key role amid local conflict and global market disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war

By Sikandra Kurdi, Olivier Ecker, Joseph Glauber, and David Laborde

A tenuous food security situation faces shifting pressures.

Transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system for healthier diets and higher farm incomes
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 01, 2021

Transforming Nigeria’s agrifood system for healthier diets and higher farm incomes

By Olivier Ecker, Tracy Brown, and Kwaw S. Andam

A policy shift focusing on nutritious foods and consumers.

Events

The E-FooD Dataset and Food Security Simulators for Kenya and Nigeria: Innovative Tools to Support National Policies and Strategies
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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December 7, 2023, 8:00 – 9:00 am

The E-FooD Dataset and Food Security Simulators for Kenya and Nigeria: Innovative Tools to Support National Policies and Strategies

Virtual Event: December 7, 2023 – 8:00 AM- 9:00 AM EST. This webinar, organized by the CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS), introduces the E-FooD dataset and FSS for Kenya and Nigeria, showcases their applications, and discusses the role that such tools can play in policymaking.

Middle East and North Africa Discussion of IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report: Rethinking Food Crisis Responses
Series/Special Event

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May 24, 2023, 8:30 – 11:10 am

Middle East and North Africa Discussion of IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report: Rethinking Food Crisis Responses

Event: May 24, 2023 – 8:30 AM to 11:10 AM EEST. Please join the Middle East and North Africa Discussion of IFPRI’s 2023 Global Food Policy Report and the FCM Initiative on May 24 in Amman, Jordan, in person or virtually.

Food Systems Dashboard: How it will work
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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January 27, 2020, 12:15 – 1:45 pm

Food Systems Dashboard: How it will work

Our food systems are bankrupting our health systems, accelerating climate change and using natural resources in an unsustainable way.  Most people agree they need to be transformed to change this.  But how?  Food systems are complex and offer many entry points for change.  In addition, the data to describe food systems and their performance is […]

News

June 14, 2018 | In the News

Study finds supermarket shopping significantly increases body mass index in Kenya (African News Agency)

African News Agency published a report on a recent IFPRI research by Senior Research Fellow, Olivier Ecker, that found shopping in supermarkets significantly increases Body Mass Index (BMI) in Kenya.

June 30, 2024 | Press Release

What can be done about food and nutrition insecurity in the Arab World?

Manama, Bahrain, May 5, 2015—Child stunting, a result of malnutrition, is a larger problem than gross domestic product would suggest in nine Arab countries, while the Arab region as a whole imports more than 50 percent of its population’s daily caloric intake. These indicators and others pose serious challenges to sustainable development, including food security and […]