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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

Vartika Singh

Vartika Singh is a Senior Research Analyst in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, based in New Delhi, and a Senior Research Officer at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Humboldt University in Berlin and a guest researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany. Her research interest is in the nexus of food-water-energy and land. 

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IFPRI Publications: Briefs

Explore Our Latest Briefs

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Brief

Comprehensive mapping of food systems is necessary to guide transformation efforts: The case of Rwanda

2025Ulimwengu, John M.; Warner, James; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz
Details

Comprehensive mapping of food systems is necessary to guide transformation efforts: The case of Rwanda

Rwanda has made significant strides in improving its food systems, with notable progress in reducing malnutrition and stunting, especially among children. Stunting rates declined from over 50% in the early 2000s to 33% by 2020, reflecting the government’s commitment to addressing food insecurity and enhancing nutrition through a range of agricultural and public health initiatives. The country’s Crop Intensification Program (CIP) has played a pivotal role in increasing agricultural productivity, especially for staple crops like maize, beans, and Irish potatoes, which has contributed to better food availability across the country. Despite these achievements, substantial challenges persist. Almost 19% of households still face food insecurity, with the highest prevalence in rural areas. Additionally, malnutrition continues to affect vulnerable populations, with anemia rates among women of reproductive age at 37%, signaling gaps in nutrition security. Environmental concerns, including soil degradation, water scarcity, and climate change, further complicate efforts to sustain agricultural productivity. Approximately 40% of Rwanda’s land is affected by soil erosion, and shifting climate patterns pose increasing risks to agricultural yields. These challenges indicate the need for a more strategic, research-based approach to understanding and transforming Rwanda’s food system.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ulimwengu, John M.; Warner, James; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz

Citation

Ulimwengu, John; Warner, James; Mutyasira, Vine; and Keizire, Boaz. 2025. Comprehensive mapping of food systems is necessary to guide transformation efforts: The case of Rwanda. AGRA-IFPRI Policy Brief 4. Nairobi: AGRA, IFPRI, and IDRC. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169384

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Southern Africa; Food Systems; Malnutrition; Stunting; Food Security; Agriculture; Public Health; Intensification; Agricultural Productivity; Sustainability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

The case for post Malabo Agenda implementation guidelines

2025Ulimwengu, John M.; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz
Details

The case for post Malabo Agenda implementation guidelines

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), developed by the African Union (AU) in 2003, marked a significant turning point for Africa’s agricultural development. CAADP’s objective was to transform agriculture into a key driver of economic growth, poverty reduction, and food security across the continent. Through a focus on increasing agricultural productivity and ensuring that agricultural development was aligned with national and regional priorities, CAADP sought to tackle Africa’s persistent challenges of hunger, malnutrition, and economic stagnation. In 2014, the Malabo Declaration was introduced as the second phase of CAADP implementation, with a new set of ambitious targets aimed at ending hunger and halving poverty by 2025. The declaration reinforced the importance of agricultural-led growth and committed African governments to specific goals, including increasing agricultural productivity by at least 6% annually and allocating at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture. It also emphasized sustainable agriculture, resilience to climate change, and equitable access to resources, particularly for women and smallholder farmers.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ulimwengu, John M.; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz

Citation

Ulimwengu, John; Mutyasira, Vine; and Keizire, Boaz. 2025. The case for post Malabo Agenda implementation guidelines. AGRA-IFPRI Policy Brief 2. Nairobi: AGRA, IFPRI, and IDRC. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169385

Keywords

Africa; Caadp; Agricultural Development; Agriculture; Economic Development; Food Security; Poverty; Malnutrition; Hunger; Climate Resilience

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Agricultural advisory services in Tajikistan: Private sector role

2025Aliev, Jovidon; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Goibov, Manuchehr
Details

Agricultural advisory services in Tajikistan: Private sector role

Agricultural advisory services (AAS) may play a crucial role in supporting Tajikistan’s food security and rural development by helping farmers to increase productivity, adopt new technologies, and access to the markets. Despite their significance, AAS remain underdeveloped with limited coverage and accessibility. Strengthening AAS through government support, private sector engagement, and in partnership with NGOs can address the challenges and contribute to sustainable growth of the sector. Key challenges and developments • Limited coverage and accessibility: In 2021, around 5 percent of Tajikistan’s farms and 14 percent of arable land benefited from professional AAS, while over 90 percent of farmers need these services. • Resource constraints: Financial needs and limited number of AAS providers are the main constraints to scaling-up the services to meet nationwide farmers’ needs. • Positive impacts of current initiatives: Despite limited resources, Sarob and Neksigol Mushovir private and non-profit cooperatives through providing AAS to the farmers contributes on yield increases across the country, at the same time reduce an irrigation water use. • Digital innovation: Neksigol Mushovir’s AgroSpace platform, with mobile applications, e-library resources, and online consultations, has significantly improved access to agricultural knowledge. • Climate-smart agriculture: Sarob’s initiatives in climate-smart practices, such as zero tillage and water-saving technologies, have reduced inputs use and an increased crops yield. Recommended actions • Expand institutional support: Public support to scaling up of the AAS is crucial. • Enhance public-private partnerships: Encourage collaboration between public institutions, private sector, and NGOs to pool resources and knowledge is vital to expanding AAS to the farmers. • Enhance digital solutions for AAS: Invest in digital platforms to provide accessible, low-cost advisory services, real-time market information, and climate adaptation tools to the farmers. • Focus on climate resilience: Scale up climate-smart agricultural practices and provide training in water management, pest control, and sustainable farming techniques to enhance productivity under changing climate conditions.

Year published

2025

Authors

Aliev, Jovidon; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Goibov, Manuchehr

Citation

Aliev, Jovidon; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; and Goibov, Manuchehr. 2025. Agricultural advisory services in Tajikistan: Private sector role. Central Asia Policy Brief 21. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168661

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Agriculture; Advisory Services; Food Security; Rural Development; Digital Innovation; Climate-smart Agriculture; Private Sector

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan

2025Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr
Details

Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan

Tajikistan’s heavily relies on imported mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, are crucial for enhancing crop yields, increasing income and supporting farmers’ livelihoods. However, limited access to this input, along with rising global fertilizer prices, has restricted farmers’ ability to fully benefit from them. Particularly due to the result of this, agricultural productivity has been constrained, affecting food security and farmer incomes. Key challenges • Fertilizer application rates, particularly for both mineral and organic types, remain below the recommended norms set by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). Farmers across the country, especially smallholders, struggle to apply adequate amounts of fertilizers due to high costs and limited access. • Access to high-quality mineral fertilizers is further hindered by the country’s dependency on imports, which can exacerbate local price volatility. • Fertilizer use varies across different regions of Tajikistan. In Khatlon and Sughd regions fertilizer use is higher, particularly for cotton and vegetable farming. However, in other regions fertilizer use remains comparatively low, limiting agricultural productivity. • While fertilizers are essential for improving crop yields, excessive or inefficient use can lead to environmental risks, including soil salinity and degradation. Careful management of fertilizer use is needed to prevent harm to biodiversity and soil ecosystems, particularly in regions with intensive farming, such as those producing cotton. Recommended actions • Promote training on organic fertilizer benefits and sustainable practices like composting. Support better manure management to increase organic fertilizer application. • Abolishing or reducing value added tax and import tariffs for fertilizers could make them more cost-effective and attainable for farmers. • Introduce targeted subsidies for mineral fertilizers to make fertilizers more affordable and accessible. • Promote efficient fertilizer use and broader sustainable practices like soil conservation and integrated pest management to ensure long-term productivity.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr

Citation

Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; and Goibov, Manuchehr. 2025. Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 19. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168662

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Fertilizers; Agricultural Sector; Inorganic Fertilizers; Farmers; Crop Yield; Prices; Food Security; Income; Sustainability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Agrifood trade in Tajikistan

2025Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr
Details

Agrifood trade in Tajikistan

Despite being an agrarian economy, Tajikistan heavily relies on agrifood imports. Agrifood imports have increased sharply in recent years, while export growth has been modest. This brief outline the key trends in Tajikistan’s agrifood trade and provides policy recommendations to reduce import dependence and boost domestic agricultural production. Key trends in agrifood trade • Between 2000 and 2023, Tajikistan’s agrifood imports grew 16 times, with vegetable products (primarily cereals) and prepared foodstuffs (sugar, animal fodder, flour, oil) accounting for 83 percent of total imports. • While imports have surged, agrifood exports have grown by only 2.2 times during the same period. Exports remain concentrated in a few products, with dry fruits and nuts making up 75 percent of total agrifood exports in 2023. • Processed food imports have significantly increased, reflecting both changing consumer preferences and domestic production gaps. This shift, particularly in urban areas, underscores the growing role of imports in meeting demand for food products beyond basic staples. • Tajikistan’s agrifood imports and exports are dominated by trade with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. These long-standing trade ties reflect logistical advantages and shared histories. However, this reliance on a narrow set of trading partners limits the potential to access new, more lucrative markets. Recommended actions • Tajikistan needs to focus on modernizing its agricultural sector to raise productivity and lessening the country’s reliance on imports. • Strengthening Tajikistan’s agrifood processing sector will help reduce the growing dependency on processed food imports. Investments in food processing infrastructure and the promotion of local agribusinesses could meet the rising demand for processed products. • Diversifying the range of exported agrifood products is crucial. Developing processing industries and value added products can help reduce dependency on a few commodities and open doors to new export markets. • While CIS countries are important trading partners, Tajikistan should explore opportunities to expand market access outside the region. Improving the quality of agrifood exports and meeting international standards will enable the country to participate in more global value chains and trade agreements.

Year published

2025

Authors

Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr

Citation

Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon; and Goibov, Manuchehr. 2025. Agrifood trade in Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 17. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168644

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Agrifood Systems; Imports; Exports; Agricultural Sector; Trade; Markets

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Agriculture sector reform and sectoral programs in Tajikistan

2025Goibov, Manuchehr; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon
Details

Agriculture sector reform and sectoral programs in Tajikistan

Tajikistan’s agricultural sector, despite its challenging environment and limited natural resources, remains a vital component of the national economy, providing employment and income for a significant portion of the rural population. However, the sector faces critical challenges including inefficient land use, outdated farming practices, inadequate infrastructure, and the lingering influence of Soviet-era agricultural systems. Since the early 1990s, Tajikistan has embarked on a series of agricultural reforms aimed at improving productivity and sustainability. Key reforms include land redistribution, water sector restructuring, and the adoption of policies to modernize the agricultural sector. The “Agriculture Reform Program” (ARP) for 2012-2020 was a major initiative targeting structural changes in land and water management, as well as the reorientation of the Ministry of Agriculture from a central planning body to a facilitator and regulator.

Year published

2025

Authors

Goibov, Manuchehr; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon

Citation

Goibov, Manuchehr; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; and Aliev, Jovidon. 2025. Agriculture sector reform and sectoral programs in Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 15. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168561

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Agricultural Sector; Employment; Rural Population; Agricultural Productivity; Sustainability; Reforms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

National seminar on Regulations and Governance Issues in India’s Seed Sector: 26-27 September 2023, New Delhi

2024Dadlani, Narendra; Kumar, Anjani; Spielman, David J.
Details

National seminar on Regulations and Governance Issues in India’s Seed Sector: 26-27 September 2023, New Delhi

India has a very mature and vibrant seed sector with a wide network of public and private sector enterprises working closely together to make quality seeds available to farmers at affordable prices, ensuring seed security in the country. Ranked fifth in the global seed trade with a reported turnover of more than USD 6 billion, India is likely to double this figure by 2028 due to a healthy growth rate (CAGR) which is already faster than the global rate. With improved seed replacement rate (SRR) of major food security crops, better variety replacement rate (VRR) in most crops and a declining informal trade of farm saved seed (FSS), the industry is showing a strong upswing in its growth. Much of this progress can be at tributed to the continued scientific contributions of both the public and private sector which were assisted by the enabling policies of the government.

Year published

2024

Authors

Dadlani, Narendra; Kumar, Anjani; Spielman, David J.

Citation

Dadlani, Narendra; Kumar, Anjani; and Spielman, David. 2024. National seminar on Regulations and Governance Issues in India’s Seed Sector: 26-27 September 2023, New Delhi. IFPRI Program Note February 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168571

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Regulations; Governance; Agricultural Sector; Seeds; Food Security; Economic Growth; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Seed Equal

Record type

Brief

Brief

Unlocking Innovation in homestead farms: Exploring drivers and barriers to innovation adoption among farming households in Uzbekistan

2024Rajiv, Sharanya; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Dhehibi, Boubaker
Details

Unlocking Innovation in homestead farms: Exploring drivers and barriers to innovation adoption among farming households in Uzbekistan

Homestead, or tomorqa, farms play a key role in agriculture and food security in Uzbekistan. These small-scale farms are integral to the livelihoods of more than 5.5 million rural households, collectively utilizing over 500,000 hectares of agricultural land, which accounts for nearly 15 percent of the country’s total arable agricultural land area.1 The significance of homestead farms is also underscored by their substantial contribution to the overall agricultural output of the country, producing the majority of horticulture and livestock products. In 2023, homestead farms produced approximately 62 percent of agricultural products, 37 percent of crop output, and an impressive 88 percent of livestock production. Recognizing their critical importance, the Uzbek government has positioned homestead farms at the heart of its poverty reduction strategy. This strategy includes the allocation of additional land to rural households, thereby expanding their capacity for agricultural production and improving the economic stability of rural communities. Furthermore, the government actively promotes the adoption of innovative agricultural technologies and practices by homestead farms.

Year published

2024

Authors

Rajiv, Sharanya; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Dhehibi, Boubaker

Citation

Rajiv, Sharanya; Akramov, Kamiljon; and Dhehibi, Boubaker. 2024. Unlocking Innovation in homestead farms: Exploring drivers and barriers to innovation adoption among farming households in Uzbekistan. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168427

Country/Region

Uzbekistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Innovation Adoption; Farms; Agriculture; Food Security; Poverty Reduction; Capacity Development; Climate-smart Agriculture

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Strengthening women’s voice and agency in Nigeria: Evidence from a randomized control trial on women’s advocacy and men’s allyship trainings

2024Adida, Claire; Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Mo, Cecilia H.; Arriola, Leonardo; Adeyanju, Dolapo; Fisher, Rachel
Details

Strengthening women’s voice and agency in Nigeria: Evidence from a randomized control trial on women’s advocacy and men’s allyship trainings

This policy brief presents insights from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted across three states of southwestern Nigeria (Oyo, Ogun, and Osun), examining the effectiveness of advocacy and leadership training for women, along with allyship training for men (their husbands), in improving women’s voice and agency in community governance. With over 5,800 women participants across 450 communities, this study tested whether training women alone, as well as whether training them in tandem (though in separate sessions) with their husbands, can increase women’s political participation in local governance or the responsiveness of local leaders to women’s priorities. We show causal improvements in both when women are trained and chart out emerging policy lessons.

Year published

2024

Authors

Adida, Claire; Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Mo, Cecilia H.; Arriola, Leonardo; Adeyanju, Dolapo; Fisher, Rachel

Citation

Adida, Claire; Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Mo, Cecilia H.; Arriola, Leonardo; Adeyanju, Dolapo; and Fisher, Rachel. 2024. Strengthening women’s voice and agency in Nigeria: Evidence from a randomized control trial on women’s advocacy and men’s allyship trainings. IFPRI Policy Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168449

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Women; Women’s Empowerment; Gender; Governance; Policies; Training

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Effet de l’insécurité (conflit armé) sur l’autonomisation des femmes au Burkina Faso

2024Heckert, Jessica; Sow, Doulo; Tranchant, Jean-Pierre; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Paz, Flor; Gelli, Aulo
Details

Effet de l’insécurité (conflit armé) sur l’autonomisation des femmes au Burkina Faso

Le présent synopsis est un résumé succinct des résultats et conclusions de l’analyse des effets de l’in sécurité (conflits armés) au Burkina Faso sur de multiples domaines de l’autonomisation des femmes mesurés dans l’indice d’autonomisation des femmes dans l’agriculture au niveau du projet (pro-WEAI, acronyme Anglais). En utilisant les données de la première phase du projet « Soutenir l’Exploitation fa miliale pour Lancer l’Elevage de la Volaille et valoriser l’Economie Rurale » (SELEVER), l’étude a exa miné si une proximité accrue avec les événements violents affectait l’autonomisation et si le pro gramme SELEVER contribuait à protéger l’autonomisation des effets négatifs du conflit durant la phase1.

Year published

2024

Authors

Heckert, Jessica; Sow, Doulo; Tranchant, Jean-Pierre; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Paz, Flor; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Heckert, Jessica; Sow, Doulo; Tranchant, Jean-Pierre; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Paz, Flor; and Gelli, Aulo. 2024. Effet de l’insécurité (conflit armé) sur l’autonomisation des femmes au Burkina Faso. Fragility, Conflict, and Migration Initiative. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168567

Country/Region

Burkina Faso

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Conflicts; Women’s Empowerment; Agriculture; Poultry; Rural Economics

Language

French

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Evaluating hydropower and irrigation development in Sudan under climate change uncertainties

2024Basheer, Mohammed; Elnour, Zuhal; Pérez, Cristo Facundo; Liao, Wenxi; Siddig, Khalid; Ringler, Claudia
Details

Evaluating hydropower and irrigation development in Sudan under climate change uncertainties

Hydropower and irrigation development on the Nile in Sudan can help meet growing food and energy needs. However, these potential infrastructures must be evaluated considering climate change uncertainties and multisector socioeconomic trade-offs. Increased streamflow combined with the recently constructed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam would provide reliable irrigation water supplies in Sudan under most climate change scenarios but there are distributional impacts.

Year published

2024

Authors

Basheer, Mohammed; Elnour, Zuhal; Pérez, Cristo Facundo; Liao, Wenxi; Siddig, Khalid; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Basheer, Mohammed; Elnour, Zuhal; Pérez, Cristo Facundo; Liao, Wenxi; Siddig, Khalid; and Ringler, Claudia. 2024. Evaluating hydropower and irrigation development in Sudan under climate change uncertainties. IFPRI Policy Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168426

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Water Power; Irrigation; Infrastructure; Climate Change; Food; Energy Consumption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Integrating consumer traits is key to increasing uptake of improved crop varieties: Evidence and policy insights from seed sample packs and cooking events in Uganda

2024Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Kramer, Berber; Trachtman, Carly; Abate, Gashaw T.
Details

Integrating consumer traits is key to increasing uptake of improved crop varieties: Evidence and policy insights from seed sample packs and cooking events in Uganda

 Semi-subsistence farmers in developing countries often play dual roles as both consumers and producers of the same crops. Consequently, decisions regarding crop selection are influenced by a com bination of household consumption needs and market-oriented considerations.  In this policy note, we summarize findings from a field experiment suggesting that integrating con sumption-oriented traits such as taste, color, and ease of cooking alongside production advantages is crucial for driving demand for improved crop varieties.  The field experiment consists of two interventions designed to enhance the adoption of improved maize seed varieties among smallholder farmers in eastern Uganda. The first intervention involves providing farmers with free seed sample packs to plant and directly experience the production related benefits, such as higher yield potential and drought resistance. The second intervention consists of organizing cooking demonstrations and blind tasting sessions to compare maize from improved variety with local varieties, focusing on consumption traits like palatability, texture, and ease of cooking.  We find that the seed sample packs significantly enhance farmers’ perceptions of the seed’s production traits, while the cooking demonstrations improve appreciation for its consumption traits. We also find that the cooking demonstration and tasting session increased the use of fresh Bazooka seed, with some indications that this also led to higher maize productivity. On the other hand, farmers who received the sample packs are more likely to reuse/recycle the grain harvested from the sample pack as seed in the subsequent season, essentially crowding out the demand for fresh/purchased seed. We argue that this may be a rational response in the context of positive transaction costs related to the use of improved seed varieties

Year published

2024

Authors

Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Kramer, Berber; Trachtman, Carly; Abate, Gashaw T.

Citation

Campenhout, Bjorn Van; Nabwire, Leocardia; Kramer, Berber; Trachtman, Carly; and Abate, Gashaw T. 2024. Integrating consumer traits is key to increasing uptake of improved crop varieties: Evidence and policy insights from seed sample packs and cooking events in Uganda. IFPRI Policy Brief December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168659

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Consumer Behaviour; Crops; Varieties; Seeds; Farmers; Cooking; Maize

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Market Intelligence

Record type

Brief

Brief

Small groceries in Viet Nam

2024de Brauw, Alan; The Anh, Dao; Tho, Pham Thi Hanh
Details

Small groceries in Viet Nam

The food environment represents the place in which demand for food meets supply—consumers purchase foods in the food environment, while retailers of the food consumers purchase represent the end of the value chain. In many countries, the food environment is undergoing rapid change as economies grow and populations urbanize; a consequence is that a larger share of food consumed is purchased by the end consumer (de Bruin and Holleman 2023). Viet Nam is no different. Viet Nam’s growing and urbanizing economy has, over time, led to a changing food environment. This note focuses on one type of retailer in Viet Nam’s food environment: the small grocery. We define small groceries as stores that are not supermarkets, are not part of a chain, and have a fixed storefront from which they do business on a daily or near daily basis. These stores play a small but important role in Viet Nam’s food environment, particularly in rural areas, and as we will demonstrate, almost all these groceries sell at least one component of a sustainable healthy diet. As a result, what they sell could help play a role in improving the diets of Viet Nam’s population. To focus on learning more about small groceries, this note makes use of two datasets. One is a listing exercise that enumerated all the businesses selling food in sampled wards of three districts: Dong Da, in urban Ha Noi; Dong Anh, which is in peri-urban Ha Noi; and Moc Chau, which is a rural district northwest of Ha Noi. The second survey used the first survey as a sample frame, and was specifically designed to learn about the constraints and opportunities that micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) face in considering selling more healthy foods (Ceballos et al. 2023). Small groceries are one type of business in the food environment, and all can be considered MSMEs.

Year published

2024

Authors

de Brauw, Alan; The Anh, Dao; Tho, Pham Thi Hanh

Citation

de Brauw, Alan; The Anh, Dao; and Tho, Pham Thi Hanh. 2024. Small groceries in Viet Nam. SHiFT Initiative Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168651

Country/Region

Vietnam

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Food Environment; Food Consumption; Sustainability; Nutrition; Health; Small and Medium Enterprises

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Enhancing women’s economic empowerment in rural Nigeria through advocacy trainings

2024Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Mo, Cecilia H.
Details

Enhancing women’s economic empowerment in rural Nigeria through advocacy trainings

This policy brief shares quantitative results from a project examining the effectiveness of advocacy and leadership training for women, along with allyship training for men (their husbands), in improving women’s economic outcomes. We share insights from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted across three states of southwestern Nigeria (Oyo, Ogun, and Osun) involving over 5,800 women participants from 450 communities. We causally test whether training women alone, as well as whether training them in tandem (though in separate sessions) with their husbands, can increase women’s access to and investments in livelihood opportunities. While the trainings were designed to train women in the skills needed for engaging in the local policy process in rural communities in Nigeria and to train their husbands on the benefits of women’s participation in community affairs as well as in how to practically support their wives’ participation, we posit that increased efficacy combined with advocacy skills and husbands’ support could additionally have profound economic spillovers. Indeed, we show causal improvements in these outcomes when women are trained and present some emerging policy lessons.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; Mo, Cecilia H.

Citation

Kosec, Katrina; Kyle, Jordan; and Mo, Cecilia H. 2024. Enhancing women’s economic empowerment in rural Nigeria through advocacy trainings. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168455

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Women’s Empowerment; Economic Activities; Gender; Women; Training; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Formative study on slaughterhouse hygiene in Western Kenya: Summary Report

2024Otoigo, Lilian; Alumasa, Lorren; Majiwa, Hamilton; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Kiarie, Alice; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.
Details

Formative study on slaughterhouse hygiene in Western Kenya: Summary Report

Slaughterhouses in Western Kenya face critical challenges, including inadequate hygiene practices, poor infrastructure, insufficient water supply, and weak enforcement of regulatory standards. These deficiencies contribute to meat contamination and the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as Rift Valley Fever, brucellosis, and anthrax, as well as foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella sp. and pathogenic E.coli. Globally, foodborne illnesses result in millions of illnesses and hundreds of thousands of deaths annually, particularly among children under five. The public health and economic consequences of these risks in low and middle-income countries are significant (Havelaar et al., 2015; Jaffee et al., 2018). A qualitative study, based on interviews of key informants in the slaughter industry in Western Kenya and associated regulatory authorities, was undertaken in 2022 to document the state of slaughterhouse infrastructure and practices, explore barriers to compliance with regulatory standards, and identify practical solutions for improving conditions and enabling safer meat handling practices. This report summarizes the findings of that study and presents recommendations for interventions to improve slaughter hygiene practices.

Year published

2024

Authors

Otoigo, Lilian; Alumasa, Lorren; Majiwa, Hamilton; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Kiarie, Alice; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.

Citation

Otoigo, Lilian; Alumasa, Lorren; Majiwa, Hamilton; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Kiarie, Alice; and Cook, Elizabeth A.J. 2024. Formative study on slaughterhouse hygiene in Western Kenya: Summary Report. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168525

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Abattoirs; Meat Industry; Hygiene; Food Safety; Contamination; Diseases; Regulations

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

One Health

Record type

Brief

Brief

Impact of a slaughterhouse hygiene intervention in western Kenya

2024Ambler, Kate; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.; Hoffmann, Vivian; Kiarie, Alice; Otoigo, Lilian; Wagner, Julia
Details

Impact of a slaughterhouse hygiene intervention in western Kenya

Adherence to strict hygiene standards in slaughterhouses is critical for ensuring food safety and protecting workers from zoonotic disease. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted a study to evaluate the impact of low-cost interventions on hygiene practices in slaughterhouses in western Kenya.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ambler, Kate; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.; Hoffmann, Vivian; Kiarie, Alice; Otoigo, Lilian; Wagner, Julia

Citation

Ambler, Kate; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.; Hoffmann, Vivian; Kiarie, Alice; Otoigo, Lilian; and Wagner, Julia. 2024. Impact of a slaughterhouse hygiene intervention in western Kenya. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168522

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Capacity Building; Abattoirs; Meat Hygiene; Food Safety; Contamination

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

One Health

Record type

Brief

Brief

Stakeholder feedback on a slaughterhouse hygiene intervention in western Kenya

2024Otoigo, Lilian; Jasada, Ijudai; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Kiarie, Alice; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.
Details

Stakeholder feedback on a slaughterhouse hygiene intervention in western Kenya

The intervention implemented evaluated through the Improving Hygiene Practices in Slaughterhouses in Western Kenya study (Ambler, et al., 2024) aimed to address poor hygiene practices in slaughterhouses, which contribute to foodborne illnesses and unsafe meat. Conducted in 140 slaughterhouses across 6 counties in Western Kenya, the intervention focused on training workers, provision of basic hygiene equipment, and the use of monetary incentives to improve compliance with recommended hygiene practices. After the intervention period, key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with stakeholders including six County Directors of Veterinary Services (CDVSs), nine sub-county veterinary Officers (SCVOs), one Public Health Officer (PHO), and ten meat inspectors (MIs). This report summarizes findings from the KIIs regarding perspectives on the intervention, sustainability, challenges with implementation, and provides a basis for recommendations on refining and scaling up or this approach.

Year published

2024

Authors

Otoigo, Lilian; Jasada, Ijudai; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Kiarie, Alice; Cook, Elizabeth A.J.

Citation

Otoigo, Lilian; Jasada, Ijudai; Hoffmann, Vivian; Ambler, Kate; Kiarie, Alice; and Cook, Elizabeth A.J. 2024. Stakeholder feedback on a slaughterhouse hygiene intervention in western Kenya. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: Internaitonal Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168518

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Capacity Building; Stakeholders; Abattoirs; Meat Hygiene; Food Hygiene

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

One Health

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Rice millers – September 2024 survey round

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Rice millers – September 2024 survey round

In September 2024, we surveyed 256 rice millers from 12 states and regions across Myanmar to assess the impacts of the monsoon floods and the political crisis and related disruptions. This report presents the key results and analysis from those interviews. Key findings  Flooding has significantly affected monsoon paddy production, with 74 percent of millers reporting flood-related impacts, particularly in the main rice-growing regions. Consequently, 63 percent of millers expect local production to decline compared to last year, with 73 percent of millers in flood-affected areas anticipating reduced output.  Labor shortages have emerged as a critical challenge for milling businesses, with 53 percent of millers identifying it as a significant issue and 7 percent considering it the most severe disruption.  Mills continue to face ongoing difficulties accessing electricity and fuel, alongside rising transportation costs. Moreover, reports about disruptions in banking and finance have doubled compared to last year, indicating increasingly widespread and persistent challenges.  Mill-level paddy and rice prices continued to rise in September 2024. Rice prices increased by 17–19 percent compared to one year earlier, while paddy prices rose by a more modest 8 percent on average. This discrepancy suggests that higher milling margins account for a significant share of the price increases. Looking forward  There will be lower paddy production from the 2024 monsoon season due to floods and pests, which is expected to further drive-up rice prices for consumers. Rice prices have already risen rapidly over the past three years, raising serious concerns about affordability and food security.  Labor availability is a rising concern and rising costs of labor and fuel together with volatile byproduct markets and other business disruptions have likely contributed to rising milling margins, with a smaller share of rice price increases passed through to producers. This trend underscores the impacts of business disruptions and the need for stability.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis. 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Rice millers – September 2024 survey round. Myanmar SSP Research Note 120. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168423

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Milling; Monsoons; Flooding; Rice; Labour Shortage; Prices; Fuels

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Integrating surface water games into community water management toolkits: A reflection from practitioners in Odisha, India

2024Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar; Guvvalavenkata, Anupama; Kumar, Dron; Sanil, Richu; Falk, Thomas; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
Details

Integrating surface water games into community water management toolkits: A reflection from practitioners in Odisha, India

Water is a vital resource for agricultural production, sustaining ecosystem services, and supporting livelihoods of communities. However, population growth and climate change coupled with unsustainable water use and management are increasingly pushing the limits of water resources. In many parts of India, water scarcity is already posing a threat to agricultural systems and livelihoods due to prolonged droughts and climate variability. Water scarcity is more pronounced in semi-arid and arid dryland regions of India, where the majority of these regions are characterized as high to extreme water stress areas. Effective management and governance of water resources is crucial to sustain productivity of dryland agricultural systems and livelihoods in these regions.

Year published

2024

Authors

Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar; Guvvalavenkata, Anupama; Kumar, Dron; Sanil, Richu; Falk, Thomas; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.

Citation

Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar; Guvvalavenkata, Anupama; Kumar, Dron; Sanil, Richu; Falk, Thomas; and Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S. 2024. Integrating surface water games into community water management toolkits: A reflection from practitioners in Odisha, India. Scaling Up Experiential Learning Tools Project Note 4. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168925

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Capacity Building; Water; Water Management; Surface Water

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Impact of conflict on employment, income, and household welfare in Sudan

2024Ahmed, Mosab; Kirui, Oliver K.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Siddig, Khalid
Details

Impact of conflict on employment, income, and household welfare in Sudan

Sudan has been embroiled in a high-intensity conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, leading to widespread displacement and an escalating humanitarian crisis. This conflict, centered on Khartoum, an economic hub contributing nearly one-third of Sudan’s GDP, has caused unprecedented economic and social upheaval. As of December 2024, over 12 million1 people have been displaced, and fatalities have exceeded 29,6002. Sudan’s GDP has contracted sharply, with estimates from the IMF, World Bank, and African Development Bank projecting declines of 18.3% to 37.5% in 2023 alone, compounded by further drops in 2024. Unemployment has surged from 32% in 2022 to 46% in 2023, with household incomes declining nearly 50% relative to pre-conflict levels. Urban households, especially in Khartoum, have been disproportionately affected due to the destruction of infrastructure and loss of industrial jobs, while rural households face severe disruptions in agriculture and access to essential inputs. The conflict has strained household welfare systems and exacerbated food insecurity, with many families increasingly reliant on remittances and humanitarian aid to meet basic needs. These dynamics underscore the urgent need for effective policy interventions to address both immediate humanitarian needs and long-term recovery challenges.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ahmed, Mosab; Kirui, Oliver K.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Siddig, Khalid

Citation

Ahmed, Mosab; Kirui, Oliver K.; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; and Siddig, Khalid. 2024. Impact of conflict on employment, income, and household welfare in Sudan. SSSP Policy Note 10. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168999

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Conflicts; Employment; Income; Welfare

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Mapping energy use portfolios and household outcomes in Nepal: Insights from farm and household surveys in the Terai and the Mid-hills

2024Alvi, Muzna; Sufian, Farha; Singh, Tushar
Details

Mapping energy use portfolios and household outcomes in Nepal: Insights from farm and household surveys in the Terai and the Mid-hills

Rural energy access remains a critical challenge in developing economies, with profound implications for agricultural productivity, household welfare, and gender dynamics. Nepal’s diverse geographical landscape—spanning the plains of Terai to the challenging Mid-hills and mountain regions—presents a unique context for understanding energy poverty and its multifaceted impacts. This study examines the intricate relationships between energy infrastructure, household economic status, and social outcomes in rural Nepalese communities. By investigating electricity access, cooking fuel technologies, and agricultural mechanization, we reveal how energy transitions are not merely technical interventions but complex social processes that reshape household labor, economic opportunities, and gender relations. Our research highlights the significant disparities in energy access between different geographical regions and wealth quintiles. Beyond infrastructure, we explore how energy technologies interact with dietary diversity, women’s empowerment, and agricultural productivity. The findings underscore the need for nuanced, context-specific energy policies that consider local socioeconomic and geographical variations.

Year published

2024

Authors

Alvi, Muzna; Sufian, Farha; Singh, Tushar

Citation

Alvi, Muzna; Sufian, Farha; and Singh, Tushar. 2024. Mapping energy use portfolios and household outcomes in Nepal: Insights from farm and household surveys in the Terai and the Mid-hills. NEXUS Gains Initiative Policy Note. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168399

Country/Region

Nepal

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Agricultural Productivity; Energy Consumption; Energy Sources; Household Surveys; Dietary Diversity; Women; Agricultural Mechanization

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

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

Brief

Targeting in development projects in Egypt: Approaches, challenges, and lessons learned

2024Shokry, Nada; Jovanovic, Nina; Kurdi, Sikandra; Hamdy, Adham; Elkaramany, Mohamed
Details

Targeting in development projects in Egypt: Approaches, challenges, and lessons learned

Effective targeting strategies are vital for almost all development programs. Universal approaches which provide aid to all individuals regardless of need are not always feasible given limited budgets and varying development priorities. Conversely, targeting directs resources to those in greatest need, ensures efficient allocation while upholding principles of social justice, equality, and the right to assistance. This policy note summarizes the outcomes of a workshop held in Cairo on October 20, 2023, which brought together researchers, development practitioners, and policymakers. The high-level dialogue was part of the “Bridging Evidence and Policy” (BEP) seminar series, a collaborative initiative by the Egyptian Food Bank (EFB), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD). The BEP series serves as a platform for knowledge exchange and collaborative learning among donors, local and international implementers, and government representatives, with a focus on improving targeting in development projects. This note highlights the key discussions, offering insights into best practices and recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of program targeting.

Year published

2024

Authors

Shokry, Nada; Jovanovic, Nina; Kurdi, Sikandra; Hamdy, Adham; Elkaramany, Mohamed

Citation

Shokry, Nada; Jovanovic, Nina; Kurdi, Sikandra; Hamdy, Adham; and Elkaramany, Mohamed. 2024. Targeting in development projects in Egypt: Approaches, challenges, and lessons learned. MENA Policy Note 26. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168420

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Targeting; Development Projects

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Social assistance and adaptation to flooding in Bangladesh

2024Ahmed, Akhter; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Mueller, Valerie; Quabili, Wahid; Rakshit, Deboleena; Roy, Shalini; Thiede, Brian
Details

Social assistance and adaptation to flooding in Bangladesh

As climate change exacerbates weather shocks, there is growing interest in understanding whether social assistance programs can support coping among poor rural households and whether program effects vary by gender. We assess whether a social assistance program – the Transfer Modality Research Initiative (TMRI) –influenced the effects of prior monsoon flooding on household consumption and adult diets in southern Bangladesh. TMRI provided cash or food transfers, with or without nutrition behavior change communication, from 2012-2014. Within the study sites and years, flooding was substantial but moderate. Our findings suggest that, without TMRI, a one-standard-deviation increase in lagged flooding led to households smoothing consumption by drawing down savings and reducing diet quality among both men and women. In contrast, among TMRI treatment households, lagged flooding did not reduce savings, and both men’s and women’s diet quality improved. Effects on diet quality appeared largely driven by legumes and by fruits and vegetables, and improvements appeared strongest among households receiving both transfers and behavior change communication. Results indicate that social assistance can help households cope with effects of moderate flooding in southern Bangladesh, protecting household savings and improving both men’s and women’s diets.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ahmed, Akhter; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Mueller, Valerie; Quabili, Wahid; Rakshit, Deboleena; Roy, Shalini; Thiede, Brian

Citation

Ahmed, Akhter; Bakhtiar, Mehrab; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Mueller, Valerie; Quabili, Wahid; Rakshit, Deboleena; Roy, Shalini; and Thiede, Brian. 2024. Social assistance and adaptation to flooding in Bangladesh. Gender Equality Initiative Brief. CGIAR System Organization. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168418

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Extreme Weather Events; Climate Change; Rural Areas; Flooding; Cash Transfers; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Brief

Brief

Building pathways out of poverty in Baidoa: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial at endline

2024Leight, Jessica; Karachiwalla, Naureen; Hirvonen, Kalle; Rakshit, Deboleena
Details

Building pathways out of poverty in Baidoa: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial at endline

Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world, and severe poverty, ongoing armed conflict, and recurring droughts and floods have created a humanitarian crisis characterized by a high level of inter nal displacement. Baidoa city—the site of this evaluation—hosts 517 sites for internally displaced per sons (IDP), with almost 600,000 households, and 64 percent of the individuals living in these sites are women and girls. According to the second Somali High Frequency Survey (Pape and Karamba 2019), IDP settlements (along with rural areas) face a particularly high level of poverty, exacerbated by high unemployment rates and the absence of income-generating opportunities. This brief reports on endline findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the project Building Pathways Out of Poverty for Ultra-poor IDPs and Vulnerable Host Communities in Baidoa, an ultra-poor graduation (UPG) intervention implemented by World Vision and funded by the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). The project seeks to enable ultra-poor internally displaced households to graduate from extreme poverty and begin the upward trajectory to self-reliance for displacement-affected communities by enabling gender-sensitive, context-appropriate, and sustainable livelihoods in an urban setting. IFPRI is collaborating with World Vision to conduct the trial.

Year published

2024

Authors

Leight, Jessica; Karachiwalla, Naureen; Hirvonen, Kalle; Rakshit, Deboleena

Citation

Leight, Jessica; Karachiwalla, Naureen; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Rakshit, Deboleena. 2024. Building pathways out of poverty in Baidoa: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial at endline. Learning Brief December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168400

Country/Region

Somalia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Poverty; Conflicts; Natural Disasters; Displacement; Women; Unemployment; Gender

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Nepal: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

2024Mukashov, Askar; Thurlow, James; Dorosh, Paul A.; Jones, Eleanor
Details

Nepal: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

This study explores Nepal’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. Our analysis is based on an empirically based estimation of the probability distribution of these shocks and a machine learning summary of several thousand simulations of their impacts using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model for Nepal. In this way, we are able to quantify the contribution of each shock to the uncertainty of economic outcomes (gross domestic product [GDP], private consumption, poverty, and undernourishment). Our findings indicate that, given the very high import intensity of the economy, world market price and foreign exchange (FX) flow volatility have the largest impacts on household welfare (consumption, poverty and undernourishment). However, domestic yield volatility, especially cereal yield volatility, is the most important risk to Nepal’s GDP. However, Overall, these findings suggest that risk mitigation strategies, such as increasing average crop yields, adopting technologies and practices that narrow yield uncertainties, or diversifying production away from risky crops and sectors, can have major benefits for Nepal’s households and the overall economy.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mukashov, Askar; Thurlow, James; Dorosh, Paul A.; Jones, Eleanor

Citation

Mukashov, Askar; Thurlow, James; Dorosh, Paul A.; and Jones, Eleanor. 2024. Nepal: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks. Economywide Risk Assessment Country Brief 5. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168723

Country/Region

Nepal

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Risk Assessment; Climate; Shock; Economic Shock; Market Prices; Computable General Equilibrium Models; Machine Learning; Agriculture; Crop Yield

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

Brief

Women’s empowerment and migration: A review of the current literature and promising areas for future work

2024Heckert, Jessica; Ceballos, Francisco
Details

Women’s empowerment and migration: A review of the current literature and promising areas for future work

When individuals migrate— whether domestically or internationally, short- or long-term—migrants and their families experience dramatic changes in household dynamics and are exposed to new contexts and ideas (Hugo 2002). This phenomenon has driven a body of research focused on the linkages between women’s empowerment and migration, which primarily focuses on changes to the empowerment of wives when their husbands migrate (Fernández-Sánchez et al. 2020). To a lesser extent there is also literature on whether empowerment status contributes to the decision to migrate and migration experiences, as well as whether individuals might become more, or less, empowered during migration and at their ultimate destinations. Herein we synthesize these literatures and identify priority areas for future work.

Year published

2024

Authors

Heckert, Jessica; Ceballos, Francisco

Citation

Heckert, Jessica; and Ceballos, Francisco. 2024. Women’s empowerment and migration: A review of the current literature and promising areas for future work. CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168186

Keywords

Households; Literature Reviews; Migration; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Is it a myth? Market power among intermediaries in agri-food value chains

2024de Brauw, Alan; Maruyama, Eduardo; Wagner, Julia
Details

Is it a myth? Market power among intermediaries in agri-food value chains

A common narrative about agri-food value chains (AVCs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is that smallholders are paid substantially less for their agricultural products relative to the prices consumers pay for them. Some of that difference can be attributed to market channels—even in competitive and efficient agricultural markets, there are costs involved as agricultural products move from producers to consumers, including expenses for transportation, collection and aggregation, grading, processing, distribution, packaging, and retailing.

Year published

2024

Authors

de Brauw, Alan; Maruyama, Eduardo; Wagner, Julia

Citation

de Brauw, Alan; Maruyama, Eduardo; and Wagner, Julia. 2024. Is it a myth? Market power among intermediaries in agri-food value chains. CGIAR Initiative on Rethinking Food Markets Background Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168165

Keywords

Markets; Agrifood Systems; Value Chains; Agricultural Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Migration and women’s voice and agency in Senegal: Introducing a new survey

2024Beber, Bernd; Ebert, Cara; Kyle, Jordan; Riaz, Zara
Details

Migration and women’s voice and agency in Senegal: Introducing a new survey

Millions of poor households around the world rely on migration to improve their economic circumstances and, increasingly, for resilience in the face of a changing climate. In vulnerable contexts, slow-onset climate impacts like water scarcity, rising temperatures, and more variable weather conditions are diminishing local economic opportunities and increasing food insecurity. Such climate impacts are projected to accelerate migration patterns, particularly out-migration from rural areas (Rigaud et al., 2018; SVR, 2023). While news reports on climate migration often emphasize communities leaving an area en masse due to a natural disaster, climate migration due to slow-onset climate shifts, which gradually lower crop yields and hinder agricultural livelihoods, more commonly implies a male household member migrating within a country, often seasonally, in order to send remittances back to his family.

Year published

2024

Authors

Beber, Bernd; Ebert, Cara; Kyle, Jordan; Riaz, Zara

Citation

Beber, Bernd; Ebert, Cara; Kyle, Jordan; and Riaz, Zara. 2024. Migration and women’s voice and agency in Senegal: Introducing a new survey. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168164

Country/Region

Senegal

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Gender; Migration; Women’s Empowerment; Surveys; Rural Communities

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Brief

Brief

Development of the rural household energy insecurity experiences scale with insights from Ethiopia

2024Arega, Tiruwork; Ringler, Claudia
Details

Development of the rural household energy insecurity experiences scale with insights from Ethiopia

There is little evidence on how energy poverty affects rural households in low- and middle-income countries. To address this, the CGIAR NEXUS Gains Initiative developed the Rural Household Energy Insecurity Experiences Scale (RHEIES) and piloted the tool in Ethiopia using in-depth interviews. We find heterogeneous energy insecurity experiences across locations and gender dimensions.

Year published

2024

Authors

Arega, Tiruwork; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Arega, Tiruwork; and Ringler, Claudia. 2024. Development of the rural household energy insecurity experiences scale with insights from Ethiopia. NEXUS Gains Initiative Policy Note. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168170

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Rural Population; Households; Energy Resources; Poverty; Economic Development

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Zambia: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

2024Mukashov, Askar; Diao, Xinshen; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James
Details

Zambia: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

This study explores Zambia’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. The Zambian Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was employed to simulate a range of potential economic outcomes under various sampled shock scenarios developed using historical data on domestic agricultural yield volatilities and world market prices for traded goods. Data mining and machine learning methods were applied to quantify the contribution of each shock to the uncertainty of these outcomes. We find that Zambia’s economy is predominantly exposed to external risks, with foreign capital flows and world market price volatility together accounting for approximately three-fourths of potential variations in GDP, private consumption, poverty, and undernourishment. Domestic agricultural yield volatilities contribute the remaining one-fourth. The current structure of the Zambian economy underpins these results. While agriculture is the most uncertain sector, its relatively small contribution to GDP limits its economywide and macroeconomic impacts. Instead, export earnings from copper and foreign exchange capital flows play a much more significant role in shaping Zambia’s economic risks and their social and economic impacts. Understanding how potential shocks might impact various segments of the Zambian economy and population is a critical first step in facilitating a discussion on risk mitigation strategies that include increasing sectoral productivity or diversifying production to reduce reliance on high-risk sectors.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mukashov, Askar; Diao, Xinshen; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James

Citation

Mukashov, Askar; Diao, Xinshen; Jones, Eleanor; and Thurlow, James. 2024. Zambia: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks. Economywide Risk Assessment Country Brief 4. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168167

Country/Region

Zambia

Keywords

Africa; Southern Africa; Shock; Economic Shock; Computable General Equilibrium Models; Agriculture; Market Prices; Exports; Climate; Machine Learning

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

Brief

Malawi: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

2024Mukashov, Askar; Duchoslav, Jan; Kankwamba, Henry; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James
Details

Malawi: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

This study explores Malawi’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. The Malawian Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was employed to simu late a range of potential economic outcomes under various sampled shock scenarios developed using historical data to capture domestic agricultural yield volatilities and world market prices uncertainty for traded goods. Data mining and machine learning methods were applied to quantify the contribution of each shock to the un certainty of economic outcomes (gross domestic product [GDP], private consumption, poverty, and undernour ishment). Key findings suggest that domestic cereals and oilseeds yield volatility risks are the most important for the uncertainty of total GDP and consumption across all household types except rural low-income households. Rural low-income households’ consumption and poverty are exposed to a wide range of risks, including produc tivity volatility of livestock, yield volatility of oilseeds, cereals, and vegetables and world market price of beverage crops. Finally, for undernourishment outcomes, volatility in the yields of staple cereals is the dominant risk factor for all household types. Understanding how possible shocks would impact various segments of the Malawian economy and population is a critical first step in facilitating discussions on relevant risk mitigation strategies, such as increasing average crop yields, adopting technologies and practices that narrow yield uncertainties, or diversifying production away from risky crops and sectors.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mukashov, Askar; Duchoslav, Jan; Kankwamba, Henry; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James

Citation

Mukashov, Askar; Duchoslav, Jan; Kankwamba, Henry; Jones, Eleanor; and Thurlow, James. 2024. Malawi: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks. Economywide Risk Assessment Country Brief 3. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168174

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Shock; Economic Shock; Computable General Equilibrium Models; Agriculture; Market Prices; Poverty; Nutrition; Crop Yield; Machine Learning; Climate

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

Brief

Rwanda: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

2024Mukashov, Askar; Warner, James; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James
Details

Rwanda: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

This study explores Rwanda’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. The Rwandan Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was employed to simulate a range of potential economic outcomes under various sampled shock scenarios developed using historical data to capture domestic agricultural yield volatilities and world market prices uncertainty for traded goods. Data mining and machine learning methods were applied to quantify the contribution of each shock to the uncertainty of economic outcomes (gross domestic product [GDP], private consumption, poverty, and undernourishment). Key findings suggest that domestic root and cereal yield volatility risks are the most important for GDP, poverty, and undernourishment outcomes, while external factors like world energy prices pose the most significant risks to high-income households’ consumption. Understanding how possible shocks would im pact various segments of the Rwandan economy and population is a critical first step in facilitating discussions on relevant risk mitigation strategies, such as increasing average crop yields, adopting technologies and practices that narrow yield uncertainties, or diversifying production away from risky crops and sectors.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mukashov, Askar; Warner, James; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James

Citation

Mukashov, Askar; Warner, James; Jones, Eleanor; and Thurlow, James. 2024. Rwanda: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks. Economywide Risk Assessment Country Brief 1. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168183

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Risk Assessment; Climate; Shock; Economic Shock; Market Prices; Computable General Equilibrium Models; Machine Learning; Agriculture; Crop Yield

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

Brief

Kenya: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

2024Mukashov, Askar; Mbuthia, Juneweenex; Omune, Lensa; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James
Details

Kenya: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks

This study explores Kenya’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. The Kenyan Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was employed to simulate a range of potential economic outcomes under various sampled shock scenarios developed using historical data to capture domestic agricultural yield volatilities and world market prices uncertainty for traded goods. Data mining and machine learning methods were applied to quantify the contribution of each shock to the uncertainty of economic outcomes (gross domestic product [GDP], private consumption, poverty, and undernourishment). Key findings suggest that domestic yield volatility is the key risk factor for GDP and urban consumption and poverty, while external risks, particularly world beverage crop prices, are more significant for rural consumption and poverty. As the majority of those below the poverty line are rural farmers, world beverage price volatility is the top risk for national poverty levels. Finally, for undernourishment outcomes, domestic cereal yield volatility is the dominant risk factor for all household types. Understanding how possible shocks would impact various segments of the Kenyan economy and population is a critical first step in facilitating discussions on relevant risk mitigation strategies, such as increasing average crop yields, adopting technologies and practices that narrow yield uncertainties, or diversifying production away from risky crops and sectors.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mukashov, Askar; Mbuthia, Juneweenex; Omune, Lensa; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James

Citation

Mukashov, Askar; Mbuthia, Juneweenex; Omune, Lensa; Jones, Eleanor; and Thurlow, James. 2024. Kenya: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks. Economywide Risk Assessment Country Brief 2. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168180

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Climate; Shock; Market Prices; Computable General Equilibrium Models; Agriculture; Crop Yield; Poverty; Nutrition; Machine Learning; Risk Assessment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

Brief

Advancing climate-smart financial solutions for smallholder farmers: Lessons from the CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative

2024
Timu, Anne G.; Laborte, Alice; Attoh, Emmanuel; Kikulwe, Enock; Kiundu, Paul; Guo, Zhe; Mayanja, Brian; Mbithi, Anthony; Sartas, Murat; Vyas, Shalika
…more You, Liangzhi
Details

Advancing climate-smart financial solutions for smallholder farmers: Lessons from the CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative

An oft-repeated maxim is that those who are least responsible for climate change suffer the most from its consequences. The 1992 United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change states that “[t]he Parties should protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (Article 3). The 2015 ‘Paris Climate Agreement’ repeats this, adding “in light of different national circumstances” (Article 2). If futures are to be sustainable, just and fair, then environmental sustainability research needs to address social equity even if this raises challenges for climate change adaptation. The Special Issue will invite scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to share new knowledge concerning issues of social equity in climate change research linked to transformation of food, land and water systems in the Global South. Contributions will be inter- or transdisciplinary, while reflecting critical insight from the social sciences. Key is how social equity is given meaning in contexts where transformative adaptation must be addressed. These contexts include those where the impacts of climate change are manifest in land, water and food systems, and where conflict stimulates questions of transformation within a peace – in/security nexus. Authors will deploy concepts broadly connected to social equity: gender equality, intersectionality, social inclusion, justice, etc., to provide insights informed by empirical knowledge and development practice. Social equity includes gender but treats it as part of a contextual framing that recognizes differential exposure to vulnerability and to how people’s lived experience reflects multiple identities. This facilitates understanding of how inequalities are reproduced or resolved in the context of efforts to address the impacts of climate risk.

Year published

2024

Authors

Timu, Anne G.; Laborte, Alice; Attoh, Emmanuel; Kikulwe, Enock; Kiundu, Paul; Guo, Zhe; Mayanja, Brian; Mbithi, Anthony; Sartas, Murat; Vyas, Shalika; You, Liangzhi

Citation

Timu, A, G., Laborte, A., Attoh, E., Kikulwe, E., Kiundu, P., Guo, Z., Mayanja, B., Mbithi, A., Sartas, M., Vyas, S., You, Liangzhi. 2024. Advancing climate-smart financial solutions for smallholder farmers: Lessons from the CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169396

Country/Region

Kenya; Philippines; Zambia; Ethiopia

Keywords

Climate Change Adaptation; Finance; Economics

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Brief

Brief

IFPRI Nexus SAMs: Annual Release Note 2024

2024Randriamamonjy, Josee; Jones, Eleanor; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James
Details

IFPRI Nexus SAMs: Annual Release Note 2024

The Nexus Project is pleased to provide an update on the Nexus Social Accounting Matrices (SAMs) developed and released by IFPRI in collaboration with national statistical agencies and research institutions in 2024. This Annual Release Note provides a brief overview of SAMs and the Nexus Project. It serves as a useful one-stop shop for obtaining links to the latest versions of all Nexus SAMs. For more information or questions, please email IFPRI-Nexus@cgiar.or

Year published

2024

Authors

Randriamamonjy, Josee; Jones, Eleanor; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James

Citation

Randriamamonjy, Josee; Jones, Eleanor; Pauw, Karl; and Thurlow, James. 2024. IFPRI Nexus SAMs: Annual Release Note 2024. IFPRI Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168090

Keywords

Data; Economic Sectors; Agrifood Systems; Databases; Computable General Equilibrium Models

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Brief

Brief

Understanding migration within countries: A global perspective

2024Maystadt, Jean-François; Peracchi, Silvia; Sargsyan, Ella; You, Liangzhi
Details

Understanding migration within countries: A global perspective

The majority of migrants remain within their own borders. While 281 million people have migrated in another country in 2020, the number of internal migrants is estimated to stand at around 763 million (UN DESA, 2016; IOM, 2021). At the global level, the existing literature has mainly focused on understanding the drivers of international migration (Karemera et al., 2000; Mayda, 2010; Kim and Cohen, 2010). Understanding the dynamics of internal migration is key for conjecturing future prospects in terms of poverty, food insecurity, urbanization, within-country inequalities and geopolitical instability.

Year published

2024

Authors

Maystadt, Jean-François; Peracchi, Silvia; Sargsyan, Ella; You, Liangzhi

Citation

Maystadt, Jean-François; Peracchi, Silvia; Sargsyan, Ella; and You, Liangzhi. 2024. Understanding migration within countries: A global perspective. CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168105

Keywords

Migration; Poverty; Food Security; Urbanization; Conflicts; Climate Change; Economic Shock

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Effects of experiential learning on women’s participation in agricultural decision making in India

2024Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; ElDidi, Hagar; Falk, Thomas; Sanil, Richu
Details

Effects of experiential learning on women’s participation in agricultural decision making in India

Women’s decision-making in agriculture has received considerable research and policy attention in recent years. Decision-making is a key aspect of empowerment. For example, women’s input in productive decisions is a key indicator in the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). Inclusion of women in decision-making can also help ensure that their knowledge and priorities are considered, which can lead to better agricultural outcomes and resource conditions. A cross-sectional study found that in Burkina Faso, India, Malawi, and Tanzania, households where women were more included in decision making on agricultural production produced more varied food-group crops with higher nutrient density. The question is how to strengthen women’s decision-making ability. A review of 12 agricultural development projects with explicit aims for women’s empowerment found that only 3 had a significant impact on women’s participation in agricultural and livelihood decision-making. An evidence scan on programmatic approaches to increasing women’s decision-making power found that the majority of such interventions focused on household- or community-level changes to social norms, technical training, or leadership, role models, and mentoring. The study notes the need for more contextualized studies of different programmatic approaches to increase women’s decision-making power and outcomes associated with the interventions.

Year published

2024

Authors

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; ElDidi, Hagar; Falk, Thomas; Sanil, Richu

Citation

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth; ElDidi, Hagar; Falk, Thomas; and Sanil, Richu. 2024. Effects of experiential learning on women’s participation in agricultural decision making in India. Scaling Up Experiential Learning Tools Project Note 3. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163731

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Experiential Learning; Women’s Participation; Agriculture; Women’s Empowerment; Social Norms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Supporting Sudan’s entrepreneurs in crisis: Policy insights from micro, small, and medium enterprises

2024Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Cavicchioli, Martina; Chamberlin, Jordan
Details

Supporting Sudan’s entrepreneurs in crisis: Policy insights from micro, small, and medium enterprises

The current conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has had a profound impact on the nation’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME). Such enterprises are a vital part of the country’s economy and important to the food security of many Sudanese households. All MSMEs, including those in the agrifood sector, have faced severe disruptions due to the instability, rising inflation, and supply chain breakdowns brought on by the conflict. These challenges have destabilized MSMEs, affecting their financial viability, operations, and capacity to support local food security and provide employment. Agrifood MSMEs, in particular, serve as critical intermediaries between large firms and smallholders, supporting local economies and national food systems.2 The conflict has disrupted every aspect of agrifood value chains in Sudan, from input supplies and production to market accessibility. Agrifood entrepreneurs—especially women—have borne some of the heaviest impacts. Female entrepreneurs already face significant gender-based barriers in operating successful businesses, such as more limited access to finance, restrictive social norms, and mobility constraints. In this period of conflict, they now confront even greater challenges.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Cavicchioli, Martina; Chamberlin, Jordan

Citation

Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Cavicchioli, Martina; and Chamberlin, Jordan. 2024. Supporting Sudan’s entrepreneurs in crisis: Policy insights from micro, small, and medium enterprises. Sudan Strategy Support Program Policy Note 9. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163749

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Enterprises; Conflicts; Food Security; Food Supply Chains; Economics; Gender

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

From space to soil: Advancing crop mapping and ecosystem insights for smallholder agriculture

2024Guo, Zhe
Details

From space to soil: Advancing crop mapping and ecosystem insights for smallholder agriculture

This project centers on in-season crop type mapping in Nandi County, Kenya, utilizing time-series Sentinel-2 imagery and supervised machine learning techniques. The objective is to produce accurate crop-type maps to support agricultural management activities such as yield estimation, acreage statistics, disaster damage assessment, and ecosystem evaluation. The approach leverages cloud-based computing, offering a customized and flexible solution that requires no prior knowledge of cloud infrastructure.

Year published

2024

Authors

Guo, Zhe

Citation

Guo, Zhe. 2024. From space to soil: Advancing crop mapping and ecosystem insights for smallholder agriculture. Low-Emission Food Systems Initiative Brief. CGIAR System Organization. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168470

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Crops; Cartography; Smallholders; Agriculture; Satellite Imagery; Data; Ecosystem Management

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Low-Emission Food Systems

Record type

Brief

Brief

Wholesalers, wholesale markets, and symbiosis with the emerging logistics sector

2024Reardon, Thomas
Details

Wholesalers, wholesale markets, and symbiosis with the emerging logistics sector

This paper is a summary review of empirical knowledge about wholesalers and wholesale markets in symbiosis with 3PLS (third party logistics) in developing regions and the implications for policy. The primary geographic focus is on developing and emerging market economies (Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America), but also provides a comparison with the evidence regarding the evolution and roles 3PLS and wholesale markets in agrifood value chain development in the United States and Western Europe. Our review on this subject is timely given that the midstream segments of output value chains have been identified as an important theme about which there is inadequate research and policy debate (Barrett et al. 2022) despite their importance to consumers and farmers. A crucial segment of the midstream is the wholesale sector. Estimates are that much, if not most, produce is handled by wholesalers and wholesale markets in developing regions. Moreover, there has been growth and then transformation of the wholesale sector with urbanization and emerging modernization of retail as well as impacts of important public investments and regulatory policies. Finally, there remain important policy challenges and research gaps related to this topic that are an urgent agenda over the next decade – and beyond.

Year published

2024

Authors

Reardon, Thomas

Citation

Reardon, Thomas. 2024. Wholesalers, wholesale markets, and symbiosis with the emerging logistics sector. Rethinking Food Markets Initiative Note. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168158

Keywords

Wholesale Marketing; Developing Countries; Policies; Agrifood Systems; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Can social assistance reduce violent conflict and civil unrest? Evidence from a large-scale public works program in Ethiopia

2024Hirvonen, Kalle; Machado, Elia; Simons, Andrew M.
Details

Can social assistance reduce violent conflict and civil unrest? Evidence from a large-scale public works program in Ethiopia

Violent conflict and political instability are escalating worldwide, with Africa experiencing some of the most severe challenges. The region, home to 60% of the world’s poor (World Bank 2023), saw statebased armed conflict events nearly triple between 2007 and 2023 (Rustad 2024), while protests more than quadrupled from 2007 to 2019 (OECD 2021). Over this period, poverty reduction in Africa has been particularly sluggish in fragile and conflict-affected areas (Beegle et al. 2018a), likely due to the substantial economic losses associated with violent conflict and civil unrest.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hirvonen, Kalle; Machado, Elia; Simons, Andrew M.

Citation

Hirvonen, Kalle; Machado, Elia; and Simons, Andrew M. 2024. Can social assistance reduce violent conflict and civil unrest? Evidence from a large-scale public works program in Ethiopia. CGIAR Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163420

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Conflicts; Public Works; Risk Assessment; Violence

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

How do policy environments influence technology adoption? Insights from Nigeria’s pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea experience

2024Mockshell, Jonathan; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Asante-Addo, Collins; Ritter, Thea; Zambrano, Patricia; Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.
Details

How do policy environments influence technology adoption? Insights from Nigeria’s pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea experience

Policymakers are increasingly considering the promise of modern biotechnology, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to help solve development problems in health, agriculture, and other fields (Zambrano et al., 2022). However, debates persist around health and environmental implications (National Academies of Sciences, 2016; Raman, 2017; Smyth et al., 2021). The regulation of GMOs varies globally, with some countries implementing outright bans or imposing stringent controls (Sarkar et al., 2021; Yali, 2022). A recent study examines the Nigerian policy environment for Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) cowpea, which has been genetically engineered to resist the legume pod borer (Maruca vitrata) [Mockshell et al., (unpublished)]. Legume pod borers significantly reduce cowpea yield and quality, with losses of up to 80% reported (Andam et al., 2024; Mockshell et al., 2024). This policy note summarizes the findings of the paper, providing insights to guide policy development around the adoption of biotech food crops in Nigeria and other countries in Africa South of the Sahara (SSA). The primary research question is: Is there an enabling policy environment for PBR cowpea and what factors contribute to it?

Year published

2024

Authors

Mockshell, Jonathan; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Asante-Addo, Collins; Ritter, Thea; Zambrano, Patricia; Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.

Citation

Mockshell, Jonathan; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Asante-Addo, Collins; Ritter, Thea; Zambrano, Patricia; Amare, Mulubrhan; and Andam, Kwaw S. 2024. How do policy environments influence technology adoption? Insights from Nigeria’s pod borer resistant (PBR) cowpea experience. NSSP Policy Note 57. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163386

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Policies; Biotechnology; Health; Agriculture; Genetically Modified Organisms; Cowpeas; Boring Organisms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

The true costs of food production in Kenya

2024Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin E.; Oulu, Martin; Termote, Céline; Fadda, Carlo
Details

The true costs of food production in Kenya

Key takeaways • True cost accounting allows for the measurement of hidden impacts of food production on the environment, human health, and society. • Our findings show that at the national level for all crop sectors: o Social costs account for 90% and environmental for 10% of external cost structure. o Major social cost sources are underpayment, child labor, and occupational health risks. o Major environmental cost sources are land-use expansion and climate change. • Findings at farm level in NATURE+ Initiative sites in Kajiado, Kisumu, and Vihiga, for the crop sector show that: o Direct costs (70% of true costs) are predominantly hired labor and seed costs o External costs represent about 30% of the true costs o Social externalities costs (84%) are greater than environmental costs (16%) o Forced labor is the most important impact, followed by child labor, underpayment, and gender wage gaps o Environmental externalities include land occupation (land use) and soil degradation

Year published

2024

Authors

Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin E.; Oulu, Martin; Termote, Céline; Fadda, Carlo

Citation

Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin; Oulu, Martin; Termote, Céline; and Fadda, Carlo. 2024. The true costs of food production in Kenya. Nature-Positive Solutions Initiative Policy Brief. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163383

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; True Cost Accounting; Food Production; Crops; Climate Change; Labour

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Nature-Positive Solutions

Record type

Brief

Brief

The true costs of food production in Viet Nam

2024Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin E.; Dao, The Anh; Vu, Dang Toan; Naziri, Diego
Details

The true costs of food production in Viet Nam

Key takeaways True cost accounting allows for the measurement of hidden impacts of food production on the environment, human health, and society. • Our findings show that at the national level for all crop sectors: o Environmental externalities account for 73% and social for 27% of external cost structure. o Major environmental impact sources are land occupation, air pollution, and climate change. o Major social impact sources are underpayment of farm workers and the incidence of child labor. • In NATURE+ sites in Sa Pa and Mai Son districts for the crop sector: o External costs represent about 24% of all household crop production costs. o Environmental externalities (61%) are greater than social (39%). o Land occupation is the most important external impact source, followed by soil degradation and climate change. o Under earning (underpayment of workers and/or low famer profits) are significant social costs, followed by the gender wage gap and the incidence of child labor.

Year published

2024

Authors

Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin E.; Dao, The Anh; Vu, Dang Toan; Naziri, Diego

Citation

Benfica, Rui; Davis, Kristin; Dao, The Anh; Vu, Dang Toan; and Naziri, Diego. 2024. The true costs of food production in Viet Nam. Nature-Positive Solutions Initiative Policy Brief. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163385

Country/Region

Vietnam

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; True Cost Accounting; Food Production; Sustainability; Crops

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Nature-Positive Solutions

Record type

Brief

Brief

Constraints to agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: The case of solar irrigation pumps

2024Ringler, Claudia; Arega, Tiruwork; Hailu, Tesfaye; Tesfahunegn, Hannibal B.
Details

Constraints to agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: The case of solar irrigation pumps

Agriculture and food production in Ethiopia are dominated by smallholder farmers and characterized by a low input-low output system. Mechanization of agriculture—in particular, the widespread adoption of tractors for land preparation and motorized pumps for irrigation—is considered by many to be the key to breaking this low-productivity system. Agricultural mechanization can improve the livelihoods of smallholders by reducing drudgery and postharvest losses and by increasing the efficiency of farm operations. However, mechanization rates have increased only slowly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ringler, Claudia; Arega, Tiruwork; Hailu, Tesfaye; Tesfahunegn, Hannibal B.

Citation

Ringler, Claudia; Arega, Tiruwork; Hailu, Tesfaye; and Tesfahunegn, Hannibal B. 2024. Constraints to agricultural mechanization in Ethiopia: The case of solar irrigation pumps. IFPRI Policy Note November 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163234

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Africa; Agricultural Mechanization; Food Production; Smallholders; Tractors; Irrigation; Agricultural Productivity; Solar Powered Irrigation Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Gender and age employment gaps within agrifood value chains in Bangladesh and Uganda

2024Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Wagner, Julia
Details

Gender and age employment gaps within agrifood value chains in Bangladesh and Uganda

Using data collected with a novel sampling approach for agrifood value chains in Bangladesh (rice and potato) and Uganda (arabica coffee and soybean), this study documented meaningful gender and age employment gaps within intermediary sections of the value chains, which include trading , processing, and wholesaling activities. While agrifood value chains have potential to generate new jobs and close gaps for both women’s and youth employment in low- and middle-income countries, the study identifies large gender gaps in both operators of intermediary firms and those employed by these firms, as well as an age gap, with few youth operating intermediary firms. The brief offers recommendations for addressing systemic barriers that contribute to gender and age gaps in this “hidden middle” of agrifood value chains.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Wagner, Julia

Citation

Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; and Wagner, Julia. 2024. Gender and age employment gaps within agrifood value chains in Bangladesh and Uganda. IFPRI Issue Brief December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162977

Country/Region

Bangladesh; Uganda

Keywords

Asia; Africa; Southern Asia; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Gender; Employment; Agrifood Systems; Agricultural Value Chains; Youth Employment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Evolution of food insecurity in Sudan during the ongoing conflict

2024Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Abushama, Hala; Ahmed, Mosab; Raouf, Mariam; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
Details

Evolution of food insecurity in Sudan during the ongoing conflict

Sudan’s food security landscape has been dramatically impacted by the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023. The conflict has exacerbated an already precarious situation for the country, characterized by macroeconomic instability, climate shocks, and persistent discord and tension. This policy note analyzes the evolution of food insecurity in Sudan during the conflict, drawing from analysis of four nationwide surveys conducted before and during the conflict, namely the 2022 Sudan Labor Market Panel Survey (SLMPS),1 the 2023/24 Sudan Rural Household Survey,2 the 2024 Sudan Urban Survey,3 and the recently completed 2024 Rural Household Survey. The findings highlight significant deterioration in food security across rural and urban areas of Sudan. Based on insights from these surveys, policy recommendations are offered to address food insecurity in the context of the conflict in Sudan. Before the outbreak of the conflict in 2023, Sudan was already facing significant food insecurity challenges. The 2022 SLMPS, a nationwide survey conducted in person, revealed that approximately 49 percent of Sudanese households were food secure. Factors such as high inflation, climate-related shocks, and underinvestment in agriculture have led to many households facing problems accessing sufficient healthy food, adversely affecting their food consumption. The reliance of Sudan on imports for a significant share of food consumption, coupled with a devaluating Sudanese Pound and rising inflation, strained household purchasing power, further limiting access to essential foodstuffs. Food insecurity was uneven across the country. Rural areas, where consumption of own agricultural production is essential for household food security, had higher food insecurity than urban areas. Some regions were particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions and Blue Nile states. Localized conflicts in these areas disrupted agricultural activities and displaced communities even before broader-scale fighting between SAF and RSF began.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Abushama, Hala; Ahmed, Mosab; Raouf, Mariam; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

Citation

Kirui, Oliver K.; Siddig, Khalid; Fisher, Monica; Abushama, Hala; Ahmed, Mosab; Raouf, Mariam; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2024. Evolution of food insecurity in Sudan during the ongoing conflict. Sudan Strategy Support Policy Note 8. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163106

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Capacity Development; Conflicts; Food Insecurity; Macroeconomics; Policy Innovation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Scaling up experiential learning for water management

2024Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas; Sanil, Richu; ElDidi, Hagar; Zhang, Wei; Kosec, Katrina; Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar
Details

Scaling up experiential learning for water management

Unsustainable water management is associated with reduced agricultural production and poverty, reduced ecosystem services and resilience, and insufficient and unreliable domestic water access. As a common pool resource with high subtractability and low excludability, water is easily depleted if no effective coordination exists among users to ensure provision and regulate withdrawals. This creates one of the greatest challenges for people living in semi-arid and arid environments. The majority of India’s population is estimated to face physical water scarcity for at least part of the year, with 600 million people living in areas of high to extreme water stress. As water management is highly complex, with many users sharing the same resource but often unknown to each other, stopping overuse is difficult, especially when it is more profitable to irrigate water-consumptive crops than water-conserving crops. Farmers, policymakers, donors, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in India have all articulated the need for more effective tools to improve water management and governance. Coordination and effective management of water resources are crucial to sustain agricultural productivity, but so far progress has been disappointing. Technical tools such as crop water budgeting can play an important role in enabling communities to manage their water resources, but unless communities have the knowledge and motivation to use these tools, their application and impacts are limited. To date, attention to the question of how knowledge about collectively available water is translated into effective management through collective action, norms and rules has been insufficient. Blueprint rules introduced in a top-down manner have not changed water users’ behavior. However, there is strong evidence that effective community rules and their enforcement can motivate such behavior. The better these rules fit the social-ecological context and internalized norms, the more effective they will be. Participatory development approaches have addressed these challenges. The key question is how to promote such coordination, rules, and behavior in a participatory way without external imposition and in a low-cost manner that allows largescale implementation.

Year published

2024

Authors

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas; Sanil, Richu; ElDidi, Hagar; Zhang, Wei; Kosec, Katrina; Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar

Citation

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas; Sanil, Richu; ElDidi, Hagar; Zhang, Wei; Kosec, Katrina; et al. 2024. Scaling up experiential learning for water management. Scaling Up Experiential Learning Tools Project Note 2. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162988

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agricultural Production; Sustainability; Water Governance; Water Management

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Overlapping school and farming calendars in Madagascar: Simulating gains of alternative school calendars

2024Allen IV, James
Details

Overlapping school and farming calendars in Madagascar: Simulating gains of alternative school calendars

This report summarizes ongoing analysis of overlap between school and farming calendars in Madagascar in collaboration with the World Bank office in Madagascar. Following IFPRI Discussion Paper 2235 (Allen 2024), I develop a community-based measure of overlap as the number of days that the school calendar overlaps with crop calendars that weights the relevance of each crop by the community crop share and then aggregates across crops. A policy simulation of alternative school calendars identifies early January as the best time to start Madagascar’s national school calendar (assuming the same structure as the actual school calendar) to avoid overlap with peak farming periods. Further, it finds additional gains can be made to reducing overlap by decentralizing school calendars to the local level and adopting each community’s overlap-minimizing calendar. Next steps in 2025 include an empirical analysis that estimates the correlation between overlap and key education outcomes that simulates the potential gains of a locally decentralized overlap-minimizing school calendar.

Year published

2024

Authors

Allen IV, James

Citation

Allen IV, James. 2024. Overlapping school and farming calendars in Madagascar: Simulating gains of alternative school calendars. Project Note December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/163428

Country/Region

Madagascar

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Southern Africa; Crop Calendar; Farming Systems; Policies; Schools

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural equipment supply chain – November 2024

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural equipment supply chain – November 2024

Agricultural Equipment Supply Chain – November 2024 This research note presents the impacts of recent economic disruptions on Myanmar’s agricultural equipment supply chain, based on a phone survey of agricultural equipment vendors (AEVs) and repair service providers (RSPs) conducted in November 2024. Key Findings • Businesses face multiple disruptions, including transport restrictions, high costs, fluctuating exchange rates, and limited electricity and fuel. Safety concerns during transport were reported by 64 percent of RSPs and 26 percent of AEVs. • Availability of agricultural machinery has declined significantly from last year, with reductions in two-wheel tractors (84 percent), four-wheel tractors (78 percent), and threshers (75 percent) reported by AEVs. This decline is likely driven by reduced demand, mobility restrictions, and high transportation costs. • Availability and sales of spare parts and attachments are relatively stable, reflecting a shift towards maintaining and upgrading existing machinery. Combine harvesters and threshers show some resilience, potentially linked to agricultural labor shortages. • Despite significant disruptions, most businesses report financial stability. While revenues have declined, businesses show resilience to recent shocks. RSPs appear to be benefiting from the growing demand for repair and maintenance services. Recommended Actions • Implement training programs that improve the availability and skills of mechanics to support RSPs as farmers focus on maintaining and upgrading their machinery. • Train operators in proper use and maintenance practices, helping to extend the lifespan of machinery and reduce repair needs. • Facilitate the expansion of domestic manufacturers of spare parts and attachments to improve the quantity, quality and variety of parts and attachments available. • Ensure consumers have access to credit with favorable terms, enabling them to purchase machinery and spread repayment over time in line with economic conditions. • Extend and expand the expedited approval of import licenses, and reduce other import barriers, for agricultural equipment and raw material needed by domestic producers to ensure stable supply and support of local manufacturing capabilities.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis. 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural equipment supply chain – November 2024. Myanmar SSP Research Note 119. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168086

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Farm Equipment; Maintenance; Supply Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural input retailers – August 2024 survey round

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural input retailers – August 2024 survey round

Agricultural input retailers are crucial to Myanmar’s agri-food system, providing farmers with essential fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, and other inputs needed for production. Since input use at the farm level significantly impacts yields across major food crops, economic disruptions to the input retail sector can have profound effects on rural household welfare and food security. Given this importance, regular monitoring surveys of input retailers are essential to track sector health, anticipate potential disruptions, and ensure timely support for sustaining agricultural productivity.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis. 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural input retailers – August 2024 survey round. Myanmar SSP Research Note 117. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162758

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Farm Inputs; Shock; Telephone Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Enhancing experiential learning through community debriefs: A reflection from facilitators of experiential games

2024Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar; Sanil, Richu; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas
Details

Enhancing experiential learning through community debriefs: A reflection from facilitators of experiential games

Community debriefing is a structured process that facilitates the sharing of experience and insights about implemented interventions among community members. It enables participants to connect lessons learned in an activity, experience, or program to the outside world and to discuss the relevance of an activity to the challenges faced by the community. Thus, social learning is reinforced when debriefing sessions are conducted at the community level. Here, we are interested in debriefings conducted after playing experiential learning games as a learning space beyond the game itself.

Year published

2024

Authors

Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar; Sanil, Richu; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas

Citation

Melesse, Mequanint B.; Duche, Vishwambhar; Sanil, Richu; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; and Falk, Thomas. 2024. Enhancing experiential learning through community debriefs: A reflection from facilitators of experiential games. Scaling Up Experiential Learning Tools Project Note 1. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162772

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Social Learning; Experiential Learning; Water Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Groundwater games in Barahathawa: Lessons and implications

2024Bruns, Bryan; Khadka, Manohara; KC, Sumitra; Rauniyar, Amrita
Details

Groundwater games in Barahathawa: Lessons and implications

Groundwater is a crucial source of water for domestic use and increasingly used for irrigation in the southern Terai region of Nepal. However, increasing groundwater extraction and other changes are depleting groundwater levels. Well drillers interviewed in Barahathawa said that water used to be available at 35 feet below the surface but now in some places they have to go to 60 feet or more for reliable water. This is an example of problems and the need for better institutions to govern a shared, invisible, and often poorly understood resource. Groundwater crop-choice games are part of a toolbox of activities that can help people learn and work together to improve groundwater governance. This brief presents lessons and implications from an initial exercise with groundwater games in Barahathawa Municipality in Madhesh Province in Nepal.

Year published

2024

Authors

Bruns, Bryan; Khadka, Manohara; KC, Sumitra; Rauniyar, Amrita

Citation

Bruns, Bryan; Khadka, Manohara; KC, Sumitra; and Rauniyar, Amrita. 2024. Groundwater games in Barahathawa: Lessons and implications. CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162554

Country/Region

Nepal

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Capacity Development; Governance; Groundwater; Irrigation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets – September 2024 survey round

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets – September 2024 survey round

We assess changes in food prices and diet costs based on large-scale surveys of food vendors (fielded from June 2020 until September 2024) and households (fielded in six periods between 2022 to 2024) across rural and urban areas and in all states/regions of Myanmar. Key Findings  Between July 2023 and September 2024, the cost of a healthy and commonly consumed diet increased by 34 and 35 percent, respectively.  The price of rice – the major staple – was more than twice as high in September 2024 compared to two years prior. Prices rose by 29 percent between July 2023 and September 2024, and by only 7 percent between March and September 2024.  In September 2024, cooking oil prices were 88 percent higher than the previous year, but 15 percent lower than two years prior.  In September 2024, the median prices of most protein-rich foods, except for fish, were at least 50 percent higher compared to two years prior. Over the same two-year period, banana prices doubled.  The highest costs for both common and healthy diets are seen in the conflict-affected states of Rakhine and Kachin, where in September 2024, the costs of the healthy diet was about 65 percent higher than the national average and the costs of the common diet costs was about 40 percent higher.  Compared to average casual wages, the healthy and common diets are least affordable in Kachin, Rakhine and Magway and most affordable in Kayin and Mon.  Between the fourth quarter of 2023 and September 2024, the prices of petrol rose by 90 percent, bar soap and paracetamol by nearly 50 percent, and toothpaste by 160 percent. Recommended Actions  Ensuring food is available at affordable prices is crucial to prevent food security and nutrition issues in the country. Therefore, prioritizing a well-functioning agri-food system should be a key focus for all stakeholders.  The food price situation in Rakhine State is most concerning among all states and regions, and the state should be prioritized – to the extent that this possible – for assistance.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis. 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets – September 2024 survey round. Myanmar Strategy Support Program Research Note 116. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/159938

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Diet; Food Prices; Households; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Nutrition and diet profile: Benin

2024Diatta, Ampa Dogui; Olney, Deanna K.; Honeycutt, Sydney; Mitchodigni, Irene Medeme; Bliznashka, Lilia
Details

Nutrition and diet profile: Benin

Key Findings: -In Benin, undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing. -Diets in Benin have declined in quality over time, particularly among children. For example, low dietary diversity and inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption are prevalent. -Food-based dietary guidelines exist; however, awareness of the guidelines is unknown. -Most nutrition policies in Benin lack guidance on promoting fruit and vegetable intake. -Stronger evidence related to how to improve diet quality and combat malnutrition in Benin is needed to develop relevant interventions and policies.

Year published

2024

Authors

Diatta, Ampa Dogui; Olney, Deanna K.; Honeycutt, Sydney; Mitchodigni, Irene Medeme; Bliznashka, Lilia

Citation

Diatta, Ampa Dogui; Olney, Deanna K.; Honeycutt, Sydney; Mitchodigni, Irene Medeme; and Bliznashka, Lilia. 2024. Nutrition and diet profile: Benin. FRESH Country Brief November 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/159608

Country/Region

Benin

Keywords

Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Nutrition; Diet; Trace Elements; Dietary Guidelines

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of Forsa employers

2024Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra
Details

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of Forsa employers

Increasing formal employment for youth and women is a key goal of the Forsa pilot graduation intervention and Egyptian government policy in general. As detailed in Forsa evaluation reports, matching Takaful beneficiaries with jobs in the private sector is a major challenge on the household and on the beneficiary level. In this policy note, however, we examine the challenges from the perspective of potential employers. We review literature of the market failures that may contribute to difficulties with job matching in rural Egypt and present results from a small telephone survey of Forsa employers.

Year published

2024

Authors

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra

Citation

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2024. Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of Forsa employers. MENA Regional Program Policy Note 25. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/159533

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Northern Africa; Employment; Rural Areas; Women; Youth

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural crop traders – June 2024 survey

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural crop traders – June 2024 survey

To document changes in the mid-stream of Myanmar’s food value chains, a phone survey of commodity traders was conducted in June 2024 with a sample of 187 active traders in 12 states and regions. Key Findings: -Cellphone network challenges rival transportation challenges in both their prevalence and impact, affecting more than half the traders and doubling since 2023. -More than 30 percent of traders reported being affected by exchange rate volatility and inflation, export/import challenges, and local and regional conflict. Notably, most encountered these shocks in April, May, and June 2024. -Reported credit challenges are at their highest points in the past three years. The proportion of traders offering credit to farmers has decreased, and for some, the credit terms have shifted to higher interest rates and extended loan durations. -Prices for the six most common commodities in our data have increased markedly in the past two years. Trader sales prices of rice were three times higher in June 2024 than in April 2022. -Margins in June 2024 were 0.8 points higher than in April 2023. Rising trading margins could reflect increasing transport or transactions costs in trading, and are generally a negative sign for agrifood system efficiency. Looking Ahead: -Communication challenges in cellphone networks together with widespread transport disruptions could lead to inefficiencies in spatial arbitrage and widening gaps between consumer and producer prices. -Credit challenges are increasing and rising prices will place greater financial stress on the farmers and traders alike. -More than 40 percent of traders consider the general inflation and exchange rate volatility as a negative shock that reduces their business revenues. This survey was conducted before a large currency devaluation in informal markets and widespread flooding in Myanmar impacting agricultural production and livelihoods. These shocks add additional stress to the food system.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis. 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Agricultural crop traders – June 2024 survey. Myanmar SSP Research Note 114. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/159535

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Value Chains; Agrifood Systems; Agricultural Trade; Shock; Agricultural Credit; Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Improving resource targeting in Niger: Joint financial analysis and food system mapping

2024Ulimwengu, John M.; Gbossa, Nadine
Details

Improving resource targeting in Niger: Joint financial analysis and food system mapping

This policy brief combines the results of a food system mapping exercise with an analysis of financial flows into Niger’s food system from 2019 to 2022 to inform policymaking for food system transformation. The food system mapping reveals several critical points of failure, from low agricultural productivity and inefficient supply chains to poor nutritional outcomes and environmental degradation. Analysis of domestic and international financial flows to the food system reveals that climate adaptation and nutrition are underfunded areas. Understanding these weaknesses can help policymakers and development partners take a more coordinated and strategic approach to addressing the challenges facing Niger’s food system and can inform more effective resource allocation, ensuring that resources support long-term food security and sustainability.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ulimwengu, John M.; Gbossa, Nadine

Citation

Ulimwengu, John M.; and Gbossa, Nadine. 2024. Improving resource targeting in Niger: Joint financial analysis and food system mapping. IFPRI Policy Brief November 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/159745

Country/Region

Niger

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Targeting; Food Systems; Cartography; Agricultural Production; Nutrition; Economic Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Food environment research in Sri Lanka: A desk review

2024Clarke, Rebecca Namara; Sehgal, Mrignyani; Marshall, Quinn; Kumar, Neha
Details

Food environment research in Sri Lanka: A desk review

Key Findings • Research has documented the availability of modern food retail (e.g. fast-food) in both urban and rural contexts, and its influence especially on adolescents. • Barriers to accessing healthy diets include the high cost of nutritious foods, especially vegetables and animal source foods, the time needed to cook fresh meals, and food safety • Most research to date has utilized cross-sectional designs, with relatively few studies examining associations with diet or health outcomes, or evaluating interventions.

Year published

2024

Authors

Clarke, Rebecca Namara; Sehgal, Mrignyani; Marshall, Quinn; Kumar, Neha

Citation

Clarke, Rebecca Namara; Sehgal, Mrignyani; Marshall, Quinn; and Kumar, Neha. 2024. Food environment research in Sri Lanka: A desk review. FRESH Brief November 2024. CGIAR Initiative on FRESH. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/159865

Country/Region

Sri Lanka

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Adolescents; Capacity Development; Diet Quality; Food Environment; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Increasing retail sales of healthy foods in Ethiopia: Lessons from MSME surveys in two urban areas

2024de Brauw, Alan; Hirvonen, Kalle; Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew
Details

Increasing retail sales of healthy foods in Ethiopia: Lessons from MSME surveys in two urban areas

The food environment represents the place in which demand for food meets supply—consumers purchase foods in the food environment, while retailers of the food consumers purchase represent the end of the value chain. In many countries, the food environment is characterized by a large number of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) who sell the majority of healthy foods. Ethiopia fits this description; among healthy food groups purchased by at least one-third of customers within a given week, at least 88 percent of consumers making purchases by them from MSMEs (de Brauw and Hirvonen 2024). This note summarizes lessons from a set of surveys conducted among 1686 MSMEs likely to sell healthy foods in woreda 8 of Kolfe Keranyo in Addis Ababa and in Butajira town in central Ethiopia in late 2023. The first survey concentrated on listing all businesses selling food in selected areas of the two sample locations; the second survey then asked detailed questions about the business environment and practices of selected MSMEs. The majority of surveyed MSMEs can be characterized as either kiosks or small shops; the next most common were restaurants, followed by street vendors and juice shops (de Brauw et al. 2024).

Year published

2024

Authors

de Brauw, Alan; Hirvonen, Kalle; Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew

Citation

de Brauw, Alan; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew. 2024. Increasing retail sales of healthy foods in Ethiopia: Lessons from MSME surveys in two urban areas. SHiFT Initiative Project Note November 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168663

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Health; Nutrition; Food Environment; Food Consumption; Small and Medium Enterprises

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: October 2024

2024International Food Policy Research Institute; Jemal, Mekamu; Hayoge, Glen
Details

Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: October 2024

This report provides an analysis of food price trends for the third quarter of 2024, covering the period from July to September. During this quarter, two rounds of data were collected per month from Kokopo, Banz, and Port Moresby in July and August. However, in September, only one round of data was collected from all markets except Port Moresby (no data collected). Only one round of data was collected in Goroka for each month in the 3rd quarter. In Lae, food price data was collected only once in August for the entire third quarter. These data gaps affect the comparability of the reported price trend and caution should be used to draw conclusions on price fluctuations. The graphs in this bulletin show price changes within the third quarter and compare the third quarter prices with the second quarter of 2024, between April and June. To access the complete food price dataset and interactive food price graphing tool, please visit our website.

Year published

2024

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute; Jemal, Mekamu; Hayoge, Glen

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024. Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: October 2024. Papua New Guinea Food Price Bulletin October 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/158182

Country/Region

Papua New Guinea

Keywords

Melanesia; Oceania; Legumes; Markets; Food Prices; Staple Foods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges

2024Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie
Details

Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges

This study describes the employment patterns of rural households in Rwanda and explores their challenges and opportunities for rural income diversification. Detailed analysis using a 2022 rural household smallholder survey on agricultural production and employment in Rwanda, reveals that: • Agricultural wage labor is the dominant source of off-farm income and is the primary means of supplementing rural household income. This is different than other LMICs where households are more likely to develop nonfarm enterprises that bring in extra income and diversify the rural economy towards more value-added output while also increasing demand for rural inputs. • This research suggests that factors like access to education and financial services are key factors to employment decisions and improved rural urban linkages.

Year published

2024

Authors

Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; Rosenbach, Gracie

Citation

Schmidt, Emily; Mugabo, Serge; and Rosenbach, Gracie. 2024. Synopsis: Enhancing rural income diversification in Rwanda: Opportunities and challenges. Rwanda Strategy Support Program Policy Note 16. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155441

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Employment; Rural Population; Households; Income; Diversification; Agricultural Production; Access to Finance; Education

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Impact of COVID-19 on food security and cropping patterns in Tajikistan: Evidence from a telephone survey in Khatlon Province

2024Rajiv, Sharanya; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Aliev, Jovidon
Details

Impact of COVID-19 on food security and cropping patterns in Tajikistan: Evidence from a telephone survey in Khatlon Province

Poor households are the most vulnerable to external shocks. When Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation restricted wheat exports in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, prices for wheat flour and derived products (staple food) increased sharply in Central Asian countries that are dependent on wheat import (the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan). These export restrictions also increased fears of adverse food security outcomes in importing countries. In Tajikistan, these global dynamics translated into significant challenges given its reliance on imports to meet around half of its cereal requirements. The FAO forecasted Tajikistan’s cereal import requirement for 2020/21 at 1,225,000 tons or about 50 percent of its total consumption. Most of this import requirement was made up of wheat, which is a key staple in the Tajik diet, comprising about 54% of total wheat consumption. The country’s key wheat supplier, Kazakhstan, imposed export limitations in April and May 2020. Consequently, despite a good domestic harvest and price stabilization initiatives by the Government of Tajikistan, the domestic price of wheat remained well above the 2019 levels. To unpack the impact of COVID-19 on rural livelihoods and farm decision making, panel data from 1,200 households in Khatlon province in Tajikistan was analyzed. Data was collected through a phone survey in September-October 2020 in 12 districts of Khatlon province, with a set of households previously surveyed in September 2018. The analysis examines respondents’ perceptions of the pandemic’s effects on their households’ livelihoods and agricultural production, disaggregate by 2018 household wealth quartiles. The analysis is descriptive and summarizes respondents’ perceptions. The methodology doesn’t allow us to determine causal pathways or generalize the results beyond Khatlon province.

Year published

2024

Authors

Rajiv, Sharanya; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; Aliev, Jovidon

Citation

Rajiv, Sharanya; Akramov, Kamiljon T.; and Aliev, Jovidon. 2024. Impact of COVID-19 on food security and cropping patterns in Tajikistan. Project Note September 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155378

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Covid-19; Cropping Patterns; Food Security; Households; Shock

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Digital literacy training to promote diffusion of digital agricultural tools to smallholder farmers

2024Abdelaziz, Fatma; Abay, Kibrom A.
Details

Digital literacy training to promote diffusion of digital agricultural tools to smallholder farmers

Digital innovations hold significant potential to address multiple forms of market failures. However, their adoption remains low and heterogenous across Africa. Smallholder farmers face significant barriers in accessing essential information, limiting their ability to seize market opportunities and enhance profitability. While numerous digital tools have been developed for farmers in the region, most are still in pilot phases. The landscape of digital agricultural innovations in Egypt, the focus of this study, presents a similar outlook, whereby the Egyptian market has an array of innovative digital study, presents a similar outlook, whereby the Egyptian market has an array of innovative digital agricultural tools that offer different services to farmers (including digital advisory agricultural and market services). Several demand and supply-side factors contribute to the low adoption of these digital innovations and their disparities among smallholder farmers in Africa and Egypt. On the supply side, the most important challenges include inadequate public and private investment in complementary infra-structure, unsustainable business models, and a misalignment in the pace of innovation. The most important demand-side challenges include lack of digital literacy, insufficient context-specific needs assessments, digital divide, and accessibility, usability, and user trust. User confidence and trust in digital tools is another important but understudied topic.. However, we lack empirically grounded evidence on alternative supply and demand-side interventions to enhance the adoption and scaling of digital innovations in various contexts, including Egypt.

Year published

2024

Authors

Abdelaziz, Fatma; Abay, Kibrom A.

Citation

Abdelaziz, Fatma; and Abay, Kibrom A. 2024. Digital literacy training to promote diffusion of digital agricultural tools to smallholder farmers. Project Note September 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152495

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Northern Africa; Agricultural Technology; Digital Agriculture; Digital Innovation; Smallholders

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa

Record type

Brief

Brief

PSNP and sustainable land management in Ethiopia: A formative qualitative investigation

2024Tefera, Mulugeta; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene
Details

PSNP and sustainable land management in Ethiopia: A formative qualitative investigation

The Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) is Ethiopia’s national safety net program, launched in 2005 and currently in its fifth phase. The objective of the PSNP is to protect households’ food consumption and assets, reduce their vulnerability to shocks, and address underlying causes of extreme poverty (MoA FSCD 2020). Households who have an adult available to work are required to take part in public works that focus on building infrastructure and improving the natural resource base (MoA FSCD 2020). As such, these projects are partially designed to contribute to disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation and mitigation. However, there is limited evidence about how sustainable land management (SLM) activities are conducted under the PSNP on both publicly and privately operated lands, and how the uptake of these activities and their benefits differ by gender.

Year published

2024

Authors

Tefera, Mulugeta; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene

Citation

Tefera, Mulugeta; Gilligan, Daniel; Leight, Jessica; and Tambet, Heleene. 2024. PSNP and sustainable land management in Ethiopia: A formative qualitative investigation. SPIR Learning Brief 8. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152385

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Households; Food Consumption; Poverty; Shock; Vulnerability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Brief

Brief

Rwandan maize market price dynamics: Structure, trends and policy implications

2024Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Niyonsingiza, Josue; Mukangabo, Emerence; Ingabire, Chantal
Details

Rwandan maize market price dynamics: Structure, trends and policy implications

The importance of maize for Rwanda cannot be overstated. Most smallholder farmers, along the spectrum of both land size and level of commercialization, engage in both production, own consumption, and sale of maize. Unlike most other crops, maize is commonly produced by all levels of commercialized and subsistence smallholder farmers. For example, recent research revealed that even though almost half of all maize produced is sold (44%), only an average of 23 percent is marketed at the household level (Warner et al. 2024). This indicates that while maize is widely sold by most smallholders, it is disproportionally sold by those with relatively larger farms. Therefore, maize is important for both own consumption as well as commercial sales and price movements are critical for understanding potential welfare impacts on both buyers and sellers. Research presented here outlines some important maize price relationships, including multi-year trends, interrelationships between Rwandan markets and seasonality. Overall, we find strong correlation between all markets suggesting a good degree of integration but persistent individual market prices above and below national averages as well as seasonality that generally conforms to maize’s main harvest period (Season A). This policy brief provides an overview of maize prices in Rwanda in order to enhance evidence-based policymaking for targeting recommendations aimed at more integrated and stable maize market prices throughout the country. For example, seasonal price changes suggest an annual average price fluctuation of approximately 30 percent and if targeted policies could reduce this seasonal price variation, smallholder welfare would likely be improved.

Year published

2024

Authors

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Niyonsingiza, Josue; Mukangabo, Emerence; Ingabire, Chantal

Citation

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe Uwera; Mugabo, Serge; Niyonsingiza, Josue; Mukangabo, Emerence; and Ingabire, Chantal. 2024. Rwandan maize market price dynamics: Structure, trends and policy implications. IFPRI Rwanda SSP Policy Note 15. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152398

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Consumption; Maize; Smallholders; Welfare

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Mechanization Service Providers – July 2024 survey round

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Mechanization Service Providers – July 2024 survey round

Agricultural mechanization service providers (MSPs) are crucial for enabling smallholder farmers to undertake a range of power-intensive farm and post-harvest operations in a timely manner. These operations are essential for food production and farm income. MSPs are capital-intensive operations. The economic viability of these businesses is highly sensitive to (1) capacity utilization, which generates the cash flow needed to repay equipment loans; (2) prices of imported capital goods, including machines, equipment, and fuels; and (3) availability of machine operators, among others. Hence, the operations of MSPs are sensitive to restrictions on mobility and trade. This Research Note focuses on the impacts of the ongoing political crisis on MSPs from the latest phone survey conducted in July 2024. This note primarily covers the activities of tractor service providers (TSPs) in the 2024 monsoon planting season and combine harvester service providers (CHSPs) that completed harvesting from the dry season. The results of previous rounds were published in Myanmar Strategy Support Program Research Notes 07, 12, 17, 39, 43, 59, 62, 76, 82 94, and 98. As MSP operations continue to be affected by market disruptions, understanding the situation on the ground is critical to support measures to ensure farmers’ access to MSP services.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis (MAPSA). 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: Mechanization Service Providers – July 2024 survey round. IFPRI Myanmar SSP Research Note 112. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152351

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agricultural Mechanization; Harvesters; Smallholders; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: December 2021–June 2024

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: December 2021–June 2024

We assess changes in food prices and purchasing power of casual wage laborers based on large-scale surveys of households and food vendors (fielded from December 2021 until June 2024) in rural and urban areas and in all states/regions of Myanmar. Key Findings:  Between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024, diet costs rose steadily by 40 and 41 percent for healthy and common diet costs, respectively.  The median price of rice—the major staple—increased by 54 percent between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024 and was the main driver of the 41 percent increase in the cost of the common diet.  The most conflict-affected states suffered more from food price inflation. Between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024, common diet costs increased by 81 percent in Rakhine, 61 percent in Chin, and 48 percent in Kachin. In the second quarter of 2024, both healthy and common diet costs were highest in Rakhine followed by Chin.  Over the full period of surveys (December 2021–June 2024), the cost of the healthy diet rose by 121 percent and the common diet by 131 percent; rice and onion prices more than tripled; pulse, chicken, leafy green, and banana prices at least doubled; and all other food prices increased by at least 50 percent.  Between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024, purchasing power of daily urban construction wages relative to healthy and common diet costs declined by about 14 percent. The purchasing power of rural agricultural wages to healthy and common diet costs fell by about 4 percent. Adjusted for the cost of one kilogram of rice, urban construction wages fell by 25 percent and rural agricultural wages fell by 14 percent.  Food costs outpaced wages, particularly in urban areas, making food increasingly unaffordable for wage earners who are among the most vulnerable household groups in Myanmar. However, nominal wages rose at a faster pace between the second quarters of 2023 and 2024 compared to 2022 and 2023, slowing the pace of declining real wages.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis (MAPSA). 2024. Monitoring the agri-food system in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets and declining purchasing power of casual wage laborers: December 2021–June 2024. IFPRI Myanmar SSP Research Note 111. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152268

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Food Prices; Households; Diet; Rice; Conflicts; Surveys; Remuneration

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Take-up of cash loans vs. agricultural input loans: A pilot study

2024Ambler, Kate; Balana, Bedru; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Maruyama, Eduardo; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi
Details

Take-up of cash loans vs. agricultural input loans: A pilot study

Smallholder farmers must invest in agricultural inputs (i.e., seeds, chemicals, equipment, land, and labor) during the planting season before earning income from the sale of agricultural produce after harvest. Credit can help relax liquidity constraints. In rural Nigeria, access to credit is limited, especially formal credit from financial institutions. Less than a third of households in rural Nigeria report using credit and only two percent of rural households borrowed credit from formal financial institutions (EFInA 2020). The rest is borrowed informally from friends, family, or local money lenders. Credit can take many different forms. For example, credit can take the form of a cash loan, where funds are provided to a borrower to make an investment of any kind. Another common form of credit is when specific goods, for instance agricultural inputs, are provided in advance to a payment. In both cases, the borrower must pay back both the loan amount, and any interest incurred from the loan. We partnered with Crop2Cash, a digital financial technology startup company operating in Nigeria, to test take-up for these two forms of credit.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ambler, Kate; Balana, Bedru; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Maruyama, Eduardo; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi

Citation

Ambler, Kate; Balana, Bedru; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Maruyama, Eduardo; and Olanrewaju, Opeyemi. 2024. Take-up of cash loans vs. agricultural input loans: A pilot study. Rethinking Food Markets Initiative Project Note September 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152224

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Southern Africa; Western Africa; Smallholders; Farm Inputs; Income; Agriculture; Credit; Loans

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Cluster-based development: Lessons from country experiences for Odisha, India

2024Belton, Ben; Breisinger, Clemens; Kassim, Yumna; Pal, Barun Deb; Narayanan, Sudha; Zhang, Xiaobo
Details

Cluster-based development: Lessons from country experiences for Odisha, India

Clusters are spatial aggregations of small businesses producing the same or related goods or services. Together, these businesses have the potential to contribute to economic development of rural areas by compounding the existing strengths of local producing communities. Cluster-based development has been successful where governments facilitate infrastructure and provide services to support existing clusters, often leading to spillover and expansion of these clusters to wider areas over time (Abdelaziz et al. 2021). Agrifood cluster development can occur via two broad mechanisms: (1) immanent development, where clusters of commercial farms as well as firms in the value chain that provide goods and services re quired by farms (for example, specialized production inputs, machinery, and transport), emerge spontaneously in co-located groups; and (2) organized development, where actors such as government, companies, or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) organize producers into groups to deliver extension services, inputs, or credit or to upgrade production practices, facilitate collective action to improve terms of market access, or enable compliance with standards or forms of branding such as geographic indications

Year published

2024

Authors

Belton, Ben; Breisinger, Clemens; Kassim, Yumna; Pal, Barun Deb; Narayanan, Sudha; Zhang, Xiaobo

Citation

Belton, Ben; Breisinger, Clemens; Kassim, Yumna; Pal, Barun Deb; Narayanan, Sudha; and Zhang, Xiaobo. 2024. Cluster-based development: Lessons from country experiences for Odisha, India. South Asia Policy Perspectives 1. New Delhi, India: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152082

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Small and Medium Enterprises; Economic Development; Rural Areas; Value Chains; Infrastructure

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Repurposing agricultural support: Modeling outcomes of different approaches

2024Laborde Debucquet, David; Piñeiro, Valeria
Details

Repurposing agricultural support: Modeling outcomes of different approaches

In this brief, we examine the potential impact of repurposing agricultural support. By modeling the impact of various approaches to repurposing agricultural subsidies, we can outline and compare modest reforms and bolder approaches in the current context and, assuming larger contributions by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), see where there are benefits and identify tradeoffs that must be addressed when implementing these reforms.

Year published

2024

Authors

Laborde Debucquet, David; Piñeiro, Valeria

Citation

Laborde Debucquet, David; and Piñeiro, Valeria. 2024. Repurposing agricultural support: Modeling outcomes of different approaches. IFPRI Policy Brief September 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152005

Keywords

Modelling; Developing Countries; Funding; Reforms; Agriculture; Food Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Gender and age gaps in voice & agency in community governance: The value of female local political representation in India and Africa South of the Sahara under intensifying conflicts and climate uncertainty

2024Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kyle, Jordan; Kosec, Katrina; Raghunathan, Kalyani
Details

Gender and age gaps in voice & agency in community governance: The value of female local political representation in India and Africa South of the Sahara under intensifying conflicts and climate uncertainty

Expanding women’s voice and agency (VA) within governance and decision-making has increasingly been recognized as necessary for promoting women’s welfare, community development, and inclusive food systems. VA are critical components of gender equality, in addition to access to resources and economic opportunities. While agency relates to an individual’s ability to make meaningful choices (our specific focus is on choices made beyond the household), voice within community governance and decision-making relates to an individual’s ability to play a public role in decision-making processes that affect one’s life. Exercising VA within community governance and decision-making involves having a meaningful say in the public sphere. Women’s VA within communities may strengthen resilience, increase women’s access to essential resources, improve women’s decision-making power in various domains including the household, and facilitate broader social networks for women. Sustainable Development Goal five on gender equality specifically targets the full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership for women at all levels of political life. However, gender gaps in VA are persistent. These gaps can be further aggravated by adverse external shocks, such as climate uncertainty and conflicts, which can impact resources, capital, and economic opportunities and which are often disproportionately harmful to women.

Year published

2024

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kyle, Jordan; Kosec, Katrina; Raghunathan, Kalyani

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Kyle, Jordan; Kosec, Katrina; and Raghunathan, Kalyani. 2024. Gender and age gaps in voice & agency in community governance: The value of female local political representation in India and Africa South of the Sahara under intensifying conflicts and climate uncertainty. Policy Note August 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151738

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Decision Making; Gender; Governance; Politics; Women; Gender Gap; Climate Change

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, July 2024

2024International Food Policy Research Institute
Details

IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, July 2024

The Monthly Maize Market Report was developed by researchers at IFPRI Malawi to provide clear and accurate information on the variation of maize prices in selected markets throughout Malawi. All prices are reported in Malawi Kwacha (K).

Year published

2024

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024. IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, July 2024. MaSSP Monthly Maize Market Report July 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151683

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Maize; Market Prices; Retail Prices; Food Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Nutrition and diet profile: Sri Lanka

2024Koyratty, Nadia; Silva, Renuka; Ranathunga, Thilanka; Olney, Deanna K.
Details

Nutrition and diet profile: Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka faces a double burden of malnutrition with the co-existence and persistence of multiple forms of malnutrition, e.g., stunting, wasting, underweight, overweight/ obesity, anemia, and micronutrient deficiences. • Inadequate intake of many micronutrients is common across several population groups in Sri Lanka, indicating low intake of nutrient-dense foods such as F&Vs and animal-source foods. • A diverse diet with adequate intake of nutrient-dense foods should be encouraged to address nutrient gaps among Sri Lankans and reduce the risk of NCDs. • Many government-issued diet- and nutrition-related policies, strategies, and programs have been adopted in Sri Lanka. However, these often do not place enough emphasis on F&Vs. • While national food based dietary guidelines exist, as well as other guidelines and policies, there is uncertainty about the level of public awareness and the population’s adherence to the recommendations. • Evaluations of diet- and nutrition-related interventions are also scarce, indicating a need for rigorous evidence on what works to help guide programs and policies that aim to improve diet and nutrition outcomes among Sri Lankans.

Year published

2024

Authors

Koyratty, Nadia; Silva, Renuka; Ranathunga, Thilanka; Olney, Deanna K.

Citation

Koyratty, Nadia; Silva, Renuka; Ranathunga, Thilanka; and Olney, Deanna K. 2024. Nutrition & diet profile: Sri Lanka. FRESH Country Profile April 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/151536

Country/Region

Sri Lanka

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Diet; Micronutrients; Nutrition; Stunting

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Papua New Guinea rural household survey (2023): Synopsis of selected results

2024Schmidt, Emily; Yadav, Shweta
Details

Papua New Guinea rural household survey (2023): Synopsis of selected results

From May to December 2023, IFPRI implemented the 2023 PNG Rural Household Survey which was designed to understand rural livelihoods and welfare across different areas of PNG (Schmidt et al., 2024). Given the rural nature of the survey sample, almost all surveyed households depend on their own-farm production (predominantly starchy roots and tubers) to meet daily caloric needs. On average, households reported utilizing about 1.6 hectares of land for agriculture cultivation at the time of the survey. The survey collected a detailed account of the quantity of food types consumed by the household in order to estimate the average caloric intake per adult equivalent. Comparing the estimated caloric intake reported by surveyed households, with a recommended calorie intake suggests that only 45 per cent of individuals in surveyed households meet the recommended daily caloric intake for a lightly active individual. The survey also collected anthropometry data for children under five years of age and found that 36 percent of surveyed children were stunted in their growth. The 2023 Rural Household Survey represents an important effort in collecting a wide breadth of information about rural livelihoods. However, greater investments of in-depth data collection and analysis should be undertaken to examine specific components of PNG household livelihood strategies.

Year published

2024

Authors

Schmidt, Emily; Yadav, Shweta

Citation

Schmidt, Emily; and Yadav, Shweta. 2024. Papua New Guinea rural household survey (2023): Synopsis of selected results. Papua New Guinea Project Note 15. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149341

Country/Region

Papua New Guinea

Keywords

Melanesia; Oceania; Rural Population; Livelihoods; Welfare; Agricultural Production; Food; Anthropometry; Stunting

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: July 2024

2024International Food Policy Research Institute; Hayoge, Glen; Kedir Jemal, Mekamu; Schmidt, Emily
Details

Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: July 2024

This bulletin provides an overview of select food prices during the second quarter of 2024, from April to June. During this quarter, two rounds of data were collected per month across all markets, except for Goroka in April and Lae in May, where only one round of data was collected. The prices presented here are the monthly averages. The graphs in this bulletin show price changes within the second quarter and compare second quarter prices with the first quarter of 2024, between January and March. To access the complete food price dataset, please download it from our website.

Year published

2024

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute; Hayoge, Glen; Kedir Jemal, Mekamu; Schmidt, Emily

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024. Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: July 2024. Papua New Guinea Food Price Bulletin July 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149268

Country/Region

Papua New Guinea

Keywords

Melanesia; Legumes; Markets; Food Prices; Sweet Potatoes; Staple Foods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

The effectiveness of cash and cash plus interventions on livelihoods outcomes: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis

2024Leight, Jessica; Hirvonen, Kalle; Zafar, Sarim
Details

The effectiveness of cash and cash plus interventions on livelihoods outcomes: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis

Cash transfer programs have become increasingly popular tools for fighting chronic poverty and food insecurity in lowand middle-income countries (Fiszbein and Schady, 2009; USAID, 2022; WFP, 2023). Cash transfers offer recipients flexibility by permitting them to finance immediate consumption needs or to increase future income streams through investments and savings. Moreover, these programs are generally feasible to implement and scale across diverse contexts. While studies consistently show cash transfers effectively reduce poverty in the short term, the evidence on their long-term impact is less clear.

Year published

2024

Authors

Leight, Jessica; Hirvonen, Kalle; Zafar, Sarim

Citation

Leight, Jessica; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Zafar, Sarim. 2024. The effectiveness of cash and cash plus interventions on livelihoods outcomes: Evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149161

Keywords

Cash Transfers; Data; Consumption; Livelihoods

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Brief

Brief

Synopsis: Assessing agricultural extension agent digital readiness in Rwanda

2024Davis, Kristin E.; Rosenbach, Gracie; Spielman, David J.; Makhija, Simrin; Mwangi, Lucy
Details

Synopsis: Assessing agricultural extension agent digital readiness in Rwanda

The fourth Strategic Plan for Agriculture Transformation (PSTA IV) of the Government of Rwanda emphasizes extension and advisory services (EAS) as a priority area (MINAGRI 2018). In support of PSTA IV, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) began enhancing extension and advisory services by introducing a Customized Agriculture Extension System (CAES) (MINAGRI 2020). The CAES calls for ICT-supported extension services, stating that “ICT can revolutionize agriculture in Rwanda” (MINAGRI 2020: 34). Despite an enabling policy environment and Rwanda’s embracing of the ICT revolution, extension services have not taken advantage of the potential of ICTs (MINAGRI 2020). This paper looks at capacities of agricultural extension staff and the readiness of Rwandan public and private extension staff to use ICTs in their work—to be digitally equipped. A phone survey of 500 agricultural extension agents (EAs) was conducted in February and March 2021 across all districts of Rwanda among EAs in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in Rwanda. We examine their demographics, education, and work backgrounds. To assess the ‘digital readiness’ of EAs, we assess the impacts of various factors on an EA’s digital experience and their attitudes toward digital modernization.

Year published

2024

Authors

Davis, Kristin E.; Rosenbach, Gracie; Spielman, David J.; Makhija, Simrin; Mwangi, Lucy

Citation

Davis, Kristin; Rosenbach, Gracie; Spielman, David J.; Makhija, Simrin; and Mwangi, Lucy. 2024. Synopsis: Assessing agricultural extension agent digital readiness in Rwanda. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 13. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149000

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agricultural Extension; Capacity Development; Policy Innovation; Gender

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Synopsis: Enhancing smallholder farmers’ profitability through increased crop commercialization in Rwanda

2024Mugabo, Serge; Warner, James
Details

Synopsis: Enhancing smallholder farmers’ profitability through increased crop commercialization in Rwanda

This study analyzes the costs, returns, and profitability of smallholder agriculture in Rwanda using a gross margin approach (definitions are provided below) and reveals that over 80 percent of farmers generate positive gross economic margins. However, only around 40 percent achieve positive gross marketing margins from crop sales. This difference is directly attributable to the fact that two-thirds of production is directly consumed by households. The analysis further identifies that farm households allocate about 80 percent of their total crop input expenditures to fertilizer, seed, and hired labor, while the remaining expenses associated with fixed production costs that are almost exclusively related to land rental costs. Furthermore, per hectare analysis reveals decreasing returns to scale for land size, disputing the notion that larger areas lead to efficiency gains. Instead, for example, smaller commercial farmers of less than 0.1 hectare, comprising 5.5 percent of our sample, sell over 50 percent of their crop value. Despite existing trends, this indicates that commercialization can take place on any size land holdings for relative income gains. Additionally, the study highlights the impact of factors like labor decisions and crop choice can significantly influence economic outcomes. The findings suggest that smallholder farming remains economically viable in Rwanda, though market participation is somewhat limited. With appropriate support and risk mitigation, farmers of all land sizes can commercialize production, boost incomes, and enhance household welfare by reorienting towards higher-value market crops.

Year published

2024

Authors

Mugabo, Serge; Warner, James

Citation

Mugabo, Serge; and Warner, James. 2024. Synopsis: Enhancing smallholder farmers’ profitability through increased crop commercialization in Rwanda. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 14. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148879

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Commercialization; Crops; Smallholders; Profitability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

From promises to action: Strengthening global commitments to fight hunger and food insecurity

2024
Menon, Purnima; Resnick, Danielle; Zorbas, Christina; Martin, Will; Vos, Rob; Jones, Eleanor; Suri, Shoba; Iruhiriye, Elyse; Headey, Derek D.; Arndt, Channing
…more Fritschel, Heidi
Details

From promises to action: Strengthening global commitments to fight hunger and food insecurity

Since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, heads of state and ministers at global convenings have repeatedly expressed commitments in support of achieving SDG2 — Zero Hunger — by 2030. Yet progress toward SDG2 has stalled, owing to economic slowdowns, unforeseen crises, geopolitical conflict, and lackluster investment in agricultural productivity and open trade. Where have commitments to SDG2 fallen short? While SDG2 calls for ending global hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition by 2030, this brief predominantly focuses on progress and commitments related to hunger and food insecurity. Drawing on the results of two recent studies, the policy brief (1) discusses trends and setbacks toward reducing hunger and food insecurity, (2) analyzes progress on the “means of implementation,” or mix of finances, technology, and policy choices, to address SDG2, (3) assesses 107 commitment statements in support of SDG2 made at 68 global meetings since 2015, and (4) explores how to improve accountability in the commitment-making process to accelerate progress toward Zero Hunger.

Year published

2024

Authors

Menon, Purnima; Resnick, Danielle; Zorbas, Christina; Martin, Will; Vos, Rob; Jones, Eleanor; Suri, Shoba; Iruhiriye, Elyse; Headey, Derek D.; Arndt, Channing; Fritschel, Heidi

Citation

Menon, Purnima; Resnick, Danielle; Zorbas, Christina; Martin, Will; Vos, Rob; Jones, Eleanor; Suri, Shoba; Iruhiriye, Elyse; Headey, Derek; Arndt, Channing; and Fritschel, Heidi. 2024. From promises to action: Strengthening global commitments to fight hunger and food insecurity. IFPRI Policy Brief July 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/149046

Keywords

Food Security; Food Policies; Hunger; Governance; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Integrated coffee sales standard: IPSR Innovation Profile

2024Calero, A.; Minot, Nicholas; Wiegel, Jenny; Reyes, Byron; Ceballos, Federico; Colindres, Mirian
Details

Integrated coffee sales standard: IPSR Innovation Profile

Interlinking extension and coffee markets through a novel and transparent standard for coffee sales to improve vertical coordination, positively impacting farm productivity, coffee quality, and price transmission. An app is used to communicate the quality test results to farmers. Integrating technical assistance with coffee sales by quality and weight is new to Honduras’s competitive and fragmented coffee supply chains. The innovation bundle would be demanded, monitored by exporters, and implemented by intermediaries. The traceability scheme will also facilitate compliance with the (EU) regulations on zero deforestation and child-labor-free agricultural supply chains.

Year published

2024

Authors

Calero, A.; Minot, Nicholas; Wiegel, Jenny; Reyes, Byron; Ceballos, Federico; Colindres, Mirian

Citation

Calero, J., Minot, N., Wiegel, J., Reyes, B., Ceballos, F. and Colindres, M. 2024. Integrated coffee sales standard: IPSR Innovation Profile. First edition, June 2024. Montpellier: CGIAR System Organization. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155329

Keywords

Coffee; Markets; Extension

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Building policy coherence into Nigeria’s agri-food system: options for more effective coordination and integration

2024Osei-Amponsah, Charity; Appiah, Sarah; Nicol, Alan; Balana, Bedru
Details

Building policy coherence into Nigeria’s agri-food system: options for more effective coordination and integration

Nigeria faces a plethora of challenges ranging from malnutrition and food insecurity, violent land tenurial conflicts and water insecurity in a changing climate. This situation threatens economic growth and development, particularly, the achievement of key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals related to SDG 1 (eliminate all forms of poverty), SDG 2 (zero hunger), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation), SDG 13 (climate action), SDG 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development) and 15 (life on land). Another pertinent challenge impeding the achievement of the goals is the lack of synergies and inadequate coordination between and within policies and development programming. The CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS), aims to contribute to agri-foods system transformation, by identifying ways of building stronger food, land and water policies with greater coherence and investment capacity, to support Nigeria in addressing current crises and future development needs. This guidance brief is based on insights from a study on the policy (in)coherence in food, land and water systems in Nigeria. Using the CGIAR NPS, Policies and Institutions Landscape Framework, four policies: the National Water Resources Policy 2016; Agriculture Promotion Policy 2016; The National Policy on Food Safety and its Implementation Strategy (2014) and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2020, were analysed. The study indicates that most of the FLW policies significantly complement one another (horizontal coherence), by promoting food sufficiency and improved livelihoods for especially rural dwellers. However, the National Water Resources Policy 2016, Agriculture Promotion Policy (2016) and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2016-2020) have contradicting objectives. There is seemingly harmonious coordination (vertical coherence) of the formulated policies across different tiers of government in the country, but not evident through the implementation of the policies, due to less coordination and accountability. All the four selected policies analyzed in the study were found to be financially incoherent. The average annual national financial commitment fails to meet up with the annual investment requirements of the FLW systems, leading to policy ineffectiveness in addressing critical socio-economic and agri-food challenges. The Initiative can support policy makers in addressing the incoherences and positively transform FLW systems by co-creating and facilitating policy frameworks and pathways.

Year published

2024

Authors

Osei-Amponsah, Charity; Appiah, Sarah; Nicol, Alan; Balana, Bedru

Citation

Osei-Amponsah, Charity; Appiah, Sarah; Nicol, Alan; Balana, B. 2024. Building policy coherence into Nigeria’s agri-food system: options for more effective coordination and integration. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies. 6p. (Policy Guidance Brief No. 6)

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Agrifood Systems; Policies; Coordination; Integration; Stakeholders; Conflicts; Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Africa RISING in Ghana: Impact brief

2024Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
Details

Africa RISING in Ghana: Impact brief

The Africa RISING project in Ghana was implemented in 25 communities across the Upper East, Upper West, and Northern regions. The project supported the promotion of early maturing maize varieties and maize-cowpea intercropping, optimal crop spacing for increased groundnut yield, and maize-leaf stripping for livestock feed. It also aimed to foster the adoption of improved feeding for livestock to boost manure production, reduce animal mortality, and increase animal reproduction rates. Alongside these interventions, Africa RISING promoted effective natural resource management (leaf stripping, manure production, and use of nitrogen fertilizer). Mechanization for postharvest handling was also supported, especially the use of fuel-powered maize-shelling machines.

Year published

2024

Authors

Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva

Citation

Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; and Vitellozzi, Sveva. 2024. Africa RISING in Ghana: Impact brief. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148740

Country/Region

Ghana

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Impact Assessment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Africa RISING in Tanzania: Impact brief

2024Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
Details

Africa RISING in Tanzania: Impact brief

Africa RISING project in Tanzania was implemented in Babati, Kongwa, and Kiteto districts. The project aimed at improving cropping systems through the promotion of stress resilient and high-yielding crop varieties (groundnut, sorghum, maize, and pigeon pea), support of cereal-legume intercropping, and fostering of good agricultural practices in vegetable production through reduction in pesticide use. The project also supported the adoption of a series of natural resource management practices such as rainwater harvesting, planting of fodder crops, use of mineral fertilizers, and balanced application of farmyard manure. In addition, the livestock system arm of the project introduced improved animal feeding to boost egg and milk production and reduce feed costs. Other program interventions included mechanization for postharvest handling and introduction of an integrated nutrition package for nutrition and health gains, especially for children.

Year published

2024

Authors

Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva

Citation

Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; and Vitellozzi, Sveva. 2024. Africa RISING in Tanzania: Impact brief. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148749

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Supporting agrifood systems transformation in Indonesia with governance innovation

2024Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Details

Supporting agrifood systems transformation in Indonesia with governance innovation

This policy brief summarizes the background, evidence and insights from the innovative governance modelling and analysis work developed in Indonesia under the “Governance Innovation for Sustainable Development of Food Systems” subprogramme. In addition, the brief offers guiding points and recommendations to support Indonesia’s agrifood systems transformation efforts. The FVC subprogramme was carried out between 2020 and 2023 with funds from FAO’s Flexible Voluntary Contribution (FVC). Together with Indonesia’s national agency for planning and the Ministry of Agriculture as co-convener, the subprogramme supported the Directorate for Food and Agriculture in the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) leading the consolidation and implementation of the agrifood systems transformation agenda, including the UNFSS follow-up. The modelling and analytical work was conducted by a pool of researchers from the Christian Albrechts University of Kiel (CAU), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The researchers elaborated their analysis on the concrete priorities of the country and provided insights about the agrifood systems’ performance, mapping synergies and potential trade-offs across identified interventions. The information package included an examination of the interests, roles, and contributions of stakeholders, allowing for the identification of alliances and coordination needed to ensure the coordination needed to ensure the political feasibility of their agrifood systems transformation plans.

Year published

2024

Authors

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Citation

FAO. 2024. Supporting agrifood systems transformation in Indonesia with governance innovation. Policy brief. Second edition. Rome: FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd1032en

Country/Region

Indonesia

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Governance; Modelling

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-SA-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.4060/cd1032en Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Myanmar Agricultural Performance Survey (MAPS) Monsoon Season 2024: Agricultural input markets, credit and extension services

2024Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity
Details

Myanmar Agricultural Performance Survey (MAPS) Monsoon Season 2024: Agricultural input markets, credit and extension services

This note provides an overview of agricultural input access and utilization for the monsoon season 2023 based on a nationally and regionally representative sample of 4,663 crop farmers undertaken in January 22 to March 7, 2024. Key Findings  Fertilizer use rates and profitability for rice production reached their highest levels since before the coup during the 2023 monsoon season, driven primarily by higher paddy prices. Application rates for monsoon season paddy increased to 66 kg/acre from 54 kg/acre in the previous monsoon. Urea application increased from 33 kg/acre to 38 kg/acre, and non-urea fertilizers (mainly compound 15-15-15) increased from 21 kg/acre to 28 kg/acre.  The benefit-cost ratio of urea application to paddy crops averaged 2.3 at the urea sales price reported by agri-input dealers and 2.0 at farmer reported urea prices. These ratios imply a return on investment in urea fertilizer for the farmer of 130 percent at input dealer prices and 100 percent at average famer-reported prices. The difference in reported prices likely reflects interest charges and local transport costs from the dealer to the farm.  Access to mechanization services, tractors and combine harvesters was similar in monsoon 2023 compared to a year earlier, but costs increased dramatically. Plowing with a four-wheel tractor, for example, increased by 42 percent to 60,000 MMK/acre. The cost of combine harvesting averaged 110,000 MMK/acre. Timeliness of access was likely reduced as fuel shortages increased, especially in conflict areas.  The share of farmers using saved paddy seed increased from 56 percent to 61 percent nationally for use in the 2023 monsoon season compared to a year before. There were important differences across states and regions. The share of farmers purchasing seed in conflict areas fell more than the national average; by 11 percentage points in Mandalay, 7 percentage points in Rakhine, 6 percentage points in Tanintharyi, and 5 percentage points in Mon State.  Eighty-four percent of farms hired labor in the 2023 monsoon season, slightly higher than the previous monsoon season. Male wages rose to 8,800 MMK/day in the 2023 monsoon season from almost 7,400 MMK/day in the previous monsoon, an increase of 19 percent.  Despite large nominal increases, real wages for men and women nevertheless fell as the cost of a typical daily diet which rose 37 percent over the period February 2023 to March 2024.  Access to internet or mobile phone services increased by 3 percentage points from 15 percent to 18 percent, and access to private sector services increased by almost 3 percentage points from 18.0 percent to 20.6 percent. Increases in private extension access favored producers of cash crops, notably betel leaves, cotton, rice and maize. Internet or mobile phone services were sought out by producers of cotton, rice, betel leaves and pulses, again primarily cash crops. Recommendations  Improvements in the geographical coverage and content of mobile phone extension services could play an important role in offsetting reductions in in-person extension access. This is an opportunity for development partners to have a positive impact without increasing risk to beneficiaries or implementing partner staff.  The prevalence of local farmers as a seed source indicates that mobile extension services targeting informal seed producers could be important, along with facilitating access to certified seed for multiplication. As nearly all chemical input distributors and machinery service providers depend on imports, access to foreign exchange is critically important. Further sharp depreciation of the Myanmar Kyat will lead to increases in prices for the coming post-monsoon season.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity

Citation

Myanmar Agricultural Policy Support Activity. 2024. Myanmar Agricultural Performance Survey (MAPS) Monsoon Season 2024: Agricultural input markets, credit and extension services. Myanmar Strategy Support Program Research Note 10. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148696

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

South-eastern Asia; Asia; Agriculture; Markets; Credit; Extension; Fertilizers; Prices; Farmers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among mothers in Yangon and Ayeyarwady, October–November 2023

2024Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity
Details

Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among mothers in Yangon and Ayeyarwady, October–November 2023

In this research note, we report results on the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among mothers of young children using data collected in Yangon and Ayeyarwady as part of the Rural-Urban Food Security Survey (RUFSS). This in-person study, conducted between October–November 2023, surveyed mothers who were registered from antenatal clinics in peri-urban Yangon in early 2020. In this latest survey round, we revisited this sample of mother-child pairs to gather anthropometric data (along with other nutrition-relevant indicators). We successfully collected anthropometric data for 646 mothers.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity

Citation

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity. 2024. Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity among mothers in Yangon and Ayeyarwady, October–November 2023. Myanmar SSP Research Note 108. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145249

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Thinness; Obesity; Data; Mothers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Stunting and wasting rates among pre-school age children in Yangon and Ayeyarwady, October–November 2023

2024Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity
Details

Stunting and wasting rates among pre-school age children in Yangon and Ayeyarwady, October–November 2023

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and the military takeover of the democratically elected government in early 2021 has largely prevented the implementation of in-person surveys necessary for the collection of anthropometric data. To redress this knowledge gap, we implemented an in-person survey of mothers (caregivers) and young children in urban and peri-urban Yangon and rural Ayeyarwady in October and November 2023. This in-person 11th round of the Rural-Urban Food Security Survey (RUFSS) involved data collection on a wide range of socioeconomic indicators, but also child anthropometric outcomes such as length and weight. In this study, we report results for height-for-age z scores (HAZ) and weight-for-height z scores (WHZ) relative to international reference standards, as well as stunting (HAZ < -2) and wasting (WHZ < -2). Because of high and rising rates of overweight/obesity among adults in the RUFSS survey, we also examined the number of children were overweight (WHZ > +2) and mildly overweight (+1

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity

Citation

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity. 2024. Stunting and wasting rates among pre-school age children in Yangon and Ayeyarwady, October–November 2023. Myanmar SSP Research Note 109. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145256

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Stunting; Wasting Disease (nutritional Disorder); Preschool Children; Data

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Household resilience and coping strategies to food insecurity: An empirical analysis from Tajikistan

2024Rajiv, Sharanya; Aliev, Jovidon
Details

Household resilience and coping strategies to food insecurity: An empirical analysis from Tajikistan

Resilience Index Measurement Analysis (RIMA) is applied to panel household survey data from 2007, 2009, and 2011 in Tajikistan to investigate the causal impact of household resilience on food security in the presence of coping strategies. Key findings • Three significant factors define household resilience capacity: access to basic services, including affordable energy supply; assets; and social safety nets. The latter two factors underscore the importance of formal and informal transfers as effective responses when shocks intensify. • Coping strategies allow households to quickly adjust their behavior to adapt to shocks in the short-term, potentially enhancing their overall resilience in the long-term. • Resilience capacity at a given point in time enhances households’ future food security. Households with higher resilience capacity are likely to have a higher household food expenditure share (HFES) and less likely to face loss of food expenditure share, particularly due to the protective effect of resilience when shocks intensify. • While households with an older head have higher food expenditure share, households with a male head and/or located in rural areas are less likely to face a worsening household food expenditure share. • As household size increases, the household food expenditure share initially decreases but eventually increases at a gradual pace. Conversely, as size increases, households are initially less likely to experience loss of HFES, but this likelihood eventually increases.

Year published

2024

Authors

Rajiv, Sharanya; Aliev, Jovidon

Citation

Rajiv, Sharanya; and Aliev, Jovidon. 2024. Household resilience and coping strategies to food insecurity: An empirical analysis from Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 13. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145254

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Resilience; Food Security; Energy Consumption; Social Safety Nets; Assets; Households; Financial Institutions

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Brief

Brief

Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan

2024Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Mahrt, Kristi
Details

Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan

Quantitative data collected in August and September 2018 in 12 districts of Khatlon Province, called “The Assessment of Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains in the FtF ZOI in Tajikistan” were employed to analyze gender differences in participation in crop production and marketing activities, and to understand the association between women’s employment and their decision-making power at home. The dataset contains general information on the households’ farm activities, and detailed information of production practices for households’ main horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits, melons and cucurbitae).

Year published

2024

Authors

Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel B.; Mahrt, Kristi

Citation

Mardonova, Mohru; Lambrecht, Isabel; and Mahrt, Kristi. 2024. Gendered farm work and decision-making: Quantitative evidence from Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 11. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145188

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Nutrition; Value Chains; Gender; Crop Production; Marketing; Women’s Empowerment; Employment; Decision Making

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender

Record type

Brief

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

Brief

Knowledge Platform for Inclusive and Sustainable Food Markets and Value Chains: IPSR Innovation Profile

2024Vos, Rob; Kim, Soonho; Rangan, V.; Dimaranan, Betina
Details

Knowledge Platform for Inclusive and Sustainable Food Markets and Value Chains: IPSR Innovation Profile

Knowledge Platform to facilitate evidence-based decision-making of governments, businesses, farmers, and practitioners toward more Inclusive and Sustainable Food Markets and Value Chains (KISM). The platform consolidates evidence of existing experiences with product and process innovations within food value chains regarding their inclusiveness (employment and income generation, valueadded sharing, poverty reduction, food security) and sustainability (emissions, supply chain resilience).

Year published

2024

Authors

Vos, Rob; Kim, Soonho; Rangan, V.; Dimaranan, Betina

Citation

Vos, R., Kim, S., Rangan, V. and Dimaranan, B. 2024. Knowledge Platform for Inclusive and Sustainable Food Markets and Value Chains: IPSR Innovation Profile. First edition, May 2024. Montpellier: CGIAR System Organization. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155327

Keywords

Sustainable Agriculture; Food Security; Markets; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

Brief

Real-time market price monitoring: Current dynamics in southern Rwanda

2024Warner, James; Manners, Rhys
Details

Real-time market price monitoring: Current dynamics in southern Rwanda

Recent collaborative CGIAR research has developed a prototype for tracking district-level costs of a healthy diet using monthly eSoko data.1 High frequency monitoring of diets allows for near real-time generation of insights on price impacts on diet costs. The temporal richness of this data allows for immediate analytics of current food system events. This research provides an analysis of district-level price movements of healthy diet compositions, as well as food prices that compose the diet. We use this prototype to demonstrate how eSoko data could be used for monitoring an economic shock and how to evaluate the effects in near real time. The general goal is to demonstrate a potential early warning system that could improve the menu of policy choices for enhanced resilience.

Year published

2024

Authors

Warner, James; Manners, Rhys

Citation

Warner, James; and Manners, Rhys. 2024. Real-time market price monitoring: Current dynamics in southern Rwanda. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 12. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144172

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Market Prices; Healthy Diets; Data; Trade

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: April 2024

2024Hayoge, Glen; Kedir Jemal, Mekamu; International Food Policy Research Institute
Details

Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: April 2024

Price trends of Q1 of 2024 (January-March) The price of sweet potato in lowland markets of Port Moresby, Lae and Kokopo is more than double the cost in highland markets of Goroka and Banz. The price of imported rice remained stable across all markets, except in Banz where a 1 kg bag of rice decreased by 18 percent between January and March, 2024. Prices of vegetables in Goroka market decreased on average by 13 percent (except aibika and pakchoi) between January and March. Prices of all vegetables in Port Moresby increased on average by 56 percent between January and March, 2024. Fruits such as pawpaw and pineapple had mixed price trends across market. Pineapple increased on average by 28 percent in all markets. On average, the price of pineapple per kilo increased 29 percent price in Goroka, Kokopo and Banz between January and March, 2024.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hayoge, Glen; Kedir Jemal, Mekamu; International Food Policy Research Institute

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2024. Papua New Guinea food price bulletin: April 2024. Papua New Guinea Food Price Bulletin April 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141858

Country/Region

Papua New Guinea

Keywords

Melanesia; Oceania; Sweet Potatoes; Markets; Rice; Vegetables; Fruits; Food Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Synopsis: Crop commercialization in Rwanda: Current market participation and drivers

2024Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe; Mugabo, Serge; Ingabire, Chantal
Details

Synopsis: Crop commercialization in Rwanda: Current market participation and drivers

As Rwanda emerges from the effects of COVID-19 and global price shocks caused by the Russia/Ukrainian conflict, there is an opportunity to focus on agricultural fundamentals to drive its economic transformation. One aspect of the transformation is how farm households are engaging in crop commercialization. This policy note outlines basic findings and suggested recommendations derived from a 2022 Rwandan commercialization household survey. Our basic unit of analysis is total crop sold divided by total value produced, averaged at either the household or individual crop level. Key findings include:  Approximately 20% of our sampled smallholder households do not sell any crops. However, contrary to a subsistence/commercial farm dichotomy, most households sell on a broad continuum ranging from 1 – 100% with an average of 33% of their total crop production marketed.  Crop value per hectare increases with greater marketed sales, indicating that farmers switch from lower value food crops (e.g. beans, cassava, maize) to cash crops such as fruits and vegetables where they market higher percentages.  Crop value per hectare is not correlated with land size, revealing that crop choices drive value and not increasing land-related economies of scale. This finding underscores the pivotal role of crop selection in determining agricultural productivity and economic returns, rather than mere expansion of land holdings.  Irrigation, land size, hiring labor and input purchases increase market participation as well as percentage of sales. Conversely, a larger family size has a negative effect on both.

Year published

2024

Authors

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe; Mugabo, Serge; Ingabire, Chantal

Citation

Warner, James; Benimana, Gilberthe; Mugabo, Serge; and Ingabire, Chantal. 2024. Synopsis: Crop commercialization in Rwanda: Current market participation and drivers. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 11. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141779

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Agriculture; Commercialization; Food Crops; Markets; Cash Crops; Food Security; Income; Surpluses

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Synopsis: Identifying farm typologies in Rwandan agriculture: A framework for improving targeted interventions

2024Benimana, Gilberthe; Warner, James; Mugabo, Serge
Details

Synopsis: Identifying farm typologies in Rwandan agriculture: A framework for improving targeted interventions

Research from a recent IFPRI agricultural survey indicates that there is a broad spectrum of commercial engagement by Rwandan farmers. While this continuum is important for understanding commercialization, grouping farmers by relevant commonalities further improves our knowledge of how different groups engage in markets. Moving beyond simple subsistence and commercialized farmer dichotomies, this study provides a more nuanced understanding by grouping smallholder farmers into types, or typologies, based on 35 common characteristics that are both consistent within these groups and relatively diverse between them. Specifically, this analysis identifies five types of Rwandan farmers, in two broad groups, that disaggregates rural households into meaningful categories for varied potential responses to economic opportunities as well as potential strategic interventions.

Year published

2024

Authors

Benimana, Gilberthe; Warner, James; Mugabo, Serge

Citation

Benimana, Gilberthe; Warner, James; and Mugabo, Serge. 2024 Synopsis: Identifying farm typologies in Rwandan agriculture: A framework for improving targeted interventions. Rwanda Strategy Support Program Policy Note 10. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141776

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Agriculture; Commercialization; Farmers; Markets; Rural Population

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Brief

Brief

Climate change effects on food security in Tajikistan

2024Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Thomas, Timothy S.; Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Pechtl, Sarah; Dunston, Shahnila
Details

Climate change effects on food security in Tajikistan

English: Climate change is one of the main challenges for food security in Tajikistan in the medium and long term. Tajikistan’s Agri-Food System and Sustainable Development Program (ASDP) for the period up to 2030 defined food and nutrition security as one of six priorities. Additionally, climate change is one of the key obstacles to the achievement of the country’s strategic objective defined in the National Development Strategy (NDS) 2016–2030, which is to improve the living standards of the population, and one of the four strategic priorities, which is to ensure food security and access to quality nutrition by 2030. The effects of climate change on food security in Tajikistan were examined using IFPRI’s International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) by simulating climate change and no climate change (baseline) scenarios between 2015 and 2050. Tajik: Тағйирёбии иқлим яке аз монеаҳои асосӣ барои амнияти озуқавории Тоҷикистон дар давраи миёнамӯҳлат ва дарозмӯҳлат мебошад. Дар Барномаи рушди низоми агроозуқаворӣ ва кишоварзии устувор барои давраи то соли 2030 таъмини амнияти озуқаворӣ ва ғизо ҳамчун яке аз шаш афзалиятҳои Барнома муайян шудааст. Илова бар ин, тағйирёбии иқлим яке аз монеаҳои асосӣ барои расидан ба ҳадафи стратегии кишвар – беҳтар кардани некуаҳволии аҳолӣ ва яке аз чор афзалиятҳои стратегӣ – таъмини амнияти озуқаворӣ ва дастрасӣ ба ғизои босифат то соли 2030, ки дар Стратегияи миллии рушд (СМР) барои солҳои 2016-2030 муайян шудаанд, мебошад. Таъсири тағйирёбии иқлим ба амнияти озуқаворӣ дар Тоҷикистон бо истифода аз Модели байналмиллалии таҳлили сиёсати маҳсулоти кишоварзӣ ва савдо (International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade, IMPACT) таҳлил карда шуд. Дар таҳлил сенарияҳои тағйирёбии иқлим ва базавӣ, яъне бе назардошти тағйирёбии иқлим дар байни солҳои 2015 ва 2050 ба назар гирифта шудааст.

Year published

2024

Authors

Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Thomas, Timothy S.; Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Pechtl, Sarah; Dunston, Shahnila

Citation

Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Thomas, Timothy S.; Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Pechtl, Sarah; and Dunston, Shahnila. 2024. Climate change effects on food security in Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 9. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141633

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Asia; Climate Change; Food Security; Sustainable Development; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Climate change effects on agriculture in Tajikistan

2024Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Thomas, Timothy S.; Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Pechtl, Sarah; Dunston, Shahnila
Details

Climate change effects on agriculture in Tajikistan

Climate change is one of the main challenges for Tajikistan’s agricultural development in the medium and longer term. Tajikistan’s Agri-Food System and Sustainable Development Program (ASDP) for the period up to 2030 defined climate change as one of four key challenges to the development of agriculture and food systems. Accordingly, the Program accentuates the importance climate-optimized agriculture to ensure sustainable development of the sector. The effects of climate change on agriculture in Tajikistan was examined using IFPRI’s International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT) by simulating climate change and no climate change (baseline) scenarios between 2015 and 2050.

Year published

2024

Authors

Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Thomas, Timothy S.; Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Pechtl, Sarah; Dunston, Shahnila

Citation

Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Thomas, Timothy S.; Ilyasov, Jarilkasin; Pechtl, Sarah; and Dunston, Shahnila. 2024. Climate change effects on agriculture in Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 7. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141637

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Central Asia; Climate Change; Agricultural Development; Agrifood Systems; Sustainable Development; Crops; Irrigation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Brief

Monitoring the Agri-food System in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets – March 2024 survey round

2024Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity
Details

Monitoring the Agri-food System in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets – March 2024 survey round

This research note presents the results of 26 rounds of interviews with food vendors in rural and urban areas throughout Myanmar conducted between June 2020 and March 2024. The purpose of the surveys is to provide data and insights on Myanmar’s food markets to interested stakeholders to foster better understanding of the effects of shocks related to COVID-19 and the ongoing political crisis. The focus of this research note is on changes in food prices and the cost of common and healthy diets.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity

Citation

Myanmar Agriculture Policy Support Activity. 2024. Monitoring the Agri-food System in Myanmar: The rising costs of diets – March 2024 survey round. Myanmar SSP Research Note 107. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141639

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Covid-19; Food Prices; Healthy Diets; Shock

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

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