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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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Innovation Policy and Scaling

Rewa Misra

Program Head

Rewa Misra

Bio

Rewa Misra is the Head of National Policy and Innovative Financing in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. She is responsible for supporting the scale-up of biofortification through policy and partnerships with governments and multilateral financial institutions. Through her work, Rewa helps to develop public-private investment and technical support models that can enable a strong ecosystem for nutrition and climate-smart agriculture. Prior to joining HarvestPlus, Rewa worked with the MasterCard Foundation in Toronto, leading a $200 million rural and agriculture financing portfolio. She is a development economist and holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and is undertaking her PhD in Economic Sciences with the University of Gottingen, Germany, with a focus on climate-smart agriculture.

Publications

Research Gate Profile

Publications

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Working Paper

Promoting a bundle of biofortified seeds and agricultural inputs in northeastern Nigeria

2023Misra, Rewa; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ambler, Kate; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Wagner, Julia
Details

Promoting a bundle of biofortified seeds and agricultural inputs in northeastern Nigeria

Smallholder farmers in northeastern Nigeria face the triple threat of food insecurity, climate volatility, and conflict. Northeastern Nigeria has some of the highest levels of food insecurity in Nigeria. Additionally, delayed, shorter, and more volatile rainy seasons have led to massive floods, depleted soil quality, and disrupted agricultural growing seasons which ultimately constrain agricultural productivity. Moreover, conflict between pastoralist livestock herders and settled agricultural communities over land use, as well as extremism, has led millions of people to flee from their homes. These threats are closely interrelated. As in much of sub-Saharan Africa, climate change has extended dry seasons in Nigeria. This change in seasonal rainfall patterns both limits local agricultural production and disrupts long-standing symbiotic relationships between pastoralist livestock herders and settled ag ricultural households, leading to conflict between these groups. Exposure to conflict itself contributes to reduced agricultural production and increased food insecurity. With limited social safety nets available, many households exposed to conflict either turn to informal self-employment while reducing agricultural labor or migrate domestically in search of safety, peace, and security.

Year published

2023

Authors

Misra, Rewa; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ambler, Kate; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Wagner, Julia

Citation

Misra, Rewa; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ambler, Kate; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; and Wagner, Julia. 2023. Promoting a bundle of biofortified seeds and agricultural inputs in northeastern Nigeria. Fragility, Conflict, and Migration Project Note December 2023. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137045

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Biofortification; Smallholders; Food Security; Climate Change; Conflicts; Agricultural Productivity; Migration; Social Safety Nets; Food Insecurity

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137045 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

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Journal Article

Transforming Nigerian food systems through their backbones: Lessons from a decade of staple crop biofortification programing

2022Birol, Ekin; Foley, Jennifer; Herrington, Caitlin; Misra, Rewa; Mudyahoto, Bho; Pfeiffer, Wolfgang; Diressie, Michael Tedla; Ilona, Paul
Details

Transforming Nigerian food systems through their backbones: Lessons from a decade of staple crop biofortification programing

This article presents the evolution of the biofortification program in Nigeria over the last decade and the role of interdisciplinary research in informing cost-effective, efficient, and inclusive development; implementation; and scaling of this program. Launched in 2011 to improve Nigeria’s food systems to deliver accessible and affordable nutrients through commonly consumed staples, the Nigeria biofortification program was implemented through an effective partnership between the CGIAR and public, private, and civil society sectors at federal, state, and local levels. By the end of 2021, several biofortified varieties of Nigeria’s 2 main staples, namely cassava and maize, were officially released for production by smallholders, with several biofortified varieties of other key staples (including pearl millet, rice, and sorghum) either under testing or in the release pipeline. In 2021, the program was estimated to benefit 13 million Nigerians consuming biofortified cassava and maize varieties. The evidence on the nutritional impact, consumer and farmer acceptance, and cost-effective scalability of biofortified crops documented by the program resulted in the integration of biofortified crops in several key national public policies and social protection programs; private seed and food company products/investments, as well as in humanitarian aid.

Year published

2022

Authors

Birol, Ekin; Foley, Jennifer; Herrington, Caitlin; Misra, Rewa; Mudyahoto, Bho; Pfeiffer, Wolfgang; Diressie, Michael Tedla; Ilona, Paul

Citation

Birol, Ekin; Foley, Jennifer; Herrington, Caitlin; Misra, Rewa S.; Mudyahoto, Bho; Pfeiffer, Wolfgang; Diressie, Michael Tedla; and Ilona, Paul. 2023. Transforming Nigerian food systems through their backbones: Lessons from a decade of staple crop biofortification programing. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 44(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/03795721221117361

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Sorghum; Pearl Millet; Biofortification; Rice; Interdisciplinary Research; Maize; Cassava; Food Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1177/03795721221117361 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Report

Potential impacts and demand for picture-based crop insurance: Qualitative research findings from Haryana state, India

2020Misra, Rewa S.; Ceballos, Francisco; Kannan, Samyuktha; Kramer, Berber
Details

Potential impacts and demand for picture-based crop insurance: Qualitative research findings from Haryana state, India

This report summarizes results from qualitative research on a picture-based insurance solution to improve agricultural risk management. We conducted focus group discussions with 122 male and 77 female members of farming households in the state of Haryana in India. Participants perceive horticulture crops like tomato as high-risk, high-return investments. Excess rainfall, hail, and pests are considered key risks for both wheat and paddy farming, while disease and hail are identified as more important risks for tomato production. Respondents distrust insurance and there is widespread use of informal credit as a risk coping strategy. Female household members not involved in production have limited knowledge about investments in and returns from crops but are aware of price and production shocks as well as the coping strategies in response to these. In addition, households do not show sufficient knowledge of crop insurance as a coping mechanism. Smartphone penetration and use was found to be high among interviewed households, but women rarely own smartphones and rely instead on younger members of the household. Given households’ familiarity with credit and their distrust of insurance, credit and insurance bundles are a potential mechanism to encourage adoption of smartphone-based insurance solutions. Moreover, additional research is needed about female financial knowledge, attitudes towards risk and risk coping, and households’ demand for insurance.

Year published

2020

Authors

Misra, Rewa S.; Ceballos, Francisco; Kannan, Samyuktha; Kramer, Berber

Citation

Misra, Rewa; Ceballos, Francisco; Kannan, Samyuktha; and Kramer, Berber. 2020. Potential impacts and demand for picture-based crop insurance: Qualitative research findings from Haryana state, India. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133771

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Risk Management; Gender; Technology; Households; Demand; Crop Insurance; Horticulture; Impact Assessment; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133771 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Report

Research

Topics/Countries