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What we do

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Research by country and region

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TOPIC

Food Safety

Food safety is closely linked to food security, the safety and availability of water, and human health. In developing countries, food and waterborne diseases are a major cause of illness and death, and unsafe food and water threaten the livelihoods and long-term prospects of the poor.

We cannot reduce poverty and improve health and nutrition without ensuring access to safe food for all people. However, food safety standards that are too difficult or costly for small farmers to meet can prevent poor populations from accessing markets, and thus limit incomes.

IFPRI researchers and partners provide evidence to policymakers on the importance of food and water safety, as well as on the issues that arise in providing food and water safety. Evaluation of policies and technologies for food safety can help farmers and other value chain actors can meet higher safety standards and reduce food loss and waste, and improve consumer access to safe food.

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Our researchers explore a wide range of questions relevant to food safety: can institutional mechanisms like cooperatives, food safety certifications, and contract farming help poor producers access markets? Are there cost-effective strategies to minimize risks to food and water safety? Can labeling increase consumer demand for safer products? The answers to these and other questions will help policymakers craft effective solutions to provide safe food and water for all. IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, and SDG 6, and the CGIAR Impact Areas on Nutrition, Health, and Food Security and Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs.

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Publications

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Report

The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework

2024Benfica, Rui
Details

The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework

Sustainable food systems provide enough quality, healthy, and affordable food to all without imposing a burden on planetary and social boundaries. By this standard, it is quite clear that food systems in many countries are not sustainable as they generate substantial environmental, social, and health costs while failing to provide affordable food to all (FAO et al., 2020). This implies the need to have a good understanding of the extent to which those externalities are present in country specific food systems. The key challenge is that such externalities are not reflected in market prices (Baker et al., 2020), being therefore hidden factors to drivers of choices by market players, as the link between market activity and those social and environmental harms is not directly visible or reflected in the incentives that drive economic systems (UNFSS, 2021). Internalizing the externalities of the food systems will require the full estimation of costs, including the measurement of externalities through “True Cost Accounting” (TCA) approaches. This document provides the analytical framework for the application of approaches in a research study to measure the true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam. It focuses on: o Key research questions, their relevance, and policy implications o How the TCA analytical framework fits in The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework o Country selection and geographic focus – national, sub-national o Data requirements for estimating the true costs, including household surveys, workers’ surveys, externally compiled Global Impact Database (GID), and monetization factors. o A step-by-step process for estimating the true costs in the study area and country level GID analysis.

Year published

2024

Authors

Benfica, Rui

Citation

Benfica, Rui. 2024. The true costs of food in Kenya and Vietnam: A conceptual framework. CGIAR Nature-Positive Solutions Technical Report. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute

Country/Region

Kenya; Vietnam

Keywords

Asia; Africa; Food; Food Systems; Sustainability; Markets; Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Nature-Positive Solutions

Record type

Report

Resource thumbnail

Report

Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania

2024Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Tzintzun, Ivan; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva
Details

Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania

Sustainable intensification (SI) of the smallholder sector in Africa south of the Sahara is among the approaches pursued to build resilient food systems that can supply nutritionally adequate food in the face of rapid population growth and climatic changes. This study assesses the impact of an SI program in Tanzania implemented in the poorest and most food insecure areas of the country since 2012. The program first validated and then scaled up a wide range of SI interventions focused on improved agronomic management and crop cultivars; improved livestock feed, housing conditions, and species; crop-livestock integration; integrated natural resource management; vegetable production and nutritional education; and small-scale mechanization. Impact is estimated on several SI indicators and domains using two rounds of quasi-experimental panel data (conducted in 2014 and 2022), propensity score matching, and difference-in-differences techniques. The study design allows us to estimate the impact of Africa RISING by comparing outcomes among program beneficiaries with two different counterfactual groups—one located inside program villages (within-village comparison) and another in non-program (control) villages (out-of-village comparison)—on several indicators across five SI domains environment, productivity, economic, human, and social. We also conduct a placebo test comparing non-beneficiaries in the two counterfactual groups. Results from panel data analyses show improvements in several indicators in the environmental and productivity domains. We also find positive impact of participation in Africa RISING on several indicators under all the considered domains: beneficiaries were less likely to experience soil erosion, used more inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds) per hectare, obtained higher legume yields, were more likely to produce meat and dairy, reported higher net livestock income, and experienced fewer months of food insecurity. Estimates based on within-village, out-of-village, overall, and placebo comparisons suggest important insights about the challenges in assessing the impact of agricultural programs in general and, specifically, participatory multi-intervention programs in the presence of sample (self-)selection and spillovers. Our study highlights useful empirical lessons learned for informing future program design and impact assessments.

Year published

2024

Authors

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Tzintzun, Ivan; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Vitellozzi, Sveva

Citation

Haile, Beliyou; Azzarri, Carlo; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Tzintzun, Ivan; and Vitellozzi, Sveva. 2024. Impacts of Africa RISING in Tanzania. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148751

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Impact Assessment; Sustainable Intensification; Smallholders; Resilience; Food Systems; Climatic Change

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Report

Resource thumbnail

Report

Food security and social assistance in Sudan during armed conflict: Evidence from the first round of the Sudan Rural Household Survey (November 2023–January 2024)

2024
Kirui, Oliver K.; Ahmed, Mosab; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Dorosh, Paul A.; Krishnaswamy, Siddharth; Monetta, Cinzia; Clough, Alice; Gualtieri, Alberto
…more Leaduma, Amos
Details

Food security and social assistance in Sudan during armed conflict: Evidence from the first round of the Sudan Rural Household Survey (November 2023–January 2024)

The conflict in Sudan has severely impacted the food security landscape in rural areas, with profound implications for household diets, coping strategies, and overall food insecurity levels. Data from a national rural household phone survey conducted between October 2023 and January 2024 highlights the dire food consumption patterns, the prevalence of food insecurity, and the reliance on reduced coping strategies among the rural population of Sudan. As of the end of 2023, nearly 40 percent of rural households were consuming inadequate diets, with West Kordofan, South Kordofan, North Darfur, East Darfur, and Sennar states experiencing the highest prevalence of poor food consumption (34, 33, 29 and 24 percent, respectively). The primary components of diets were cereals and oils, with nutrient-rich foods, such as meats and fruits, consumed less frequently, highlighting a critical gap in nutritional adequacy. The situation has resulted in households across Sudan resorting to a range of coping strategies to try to meet their food needs, such as buying less preferred or less expensive food (on average 4 days out of 7), limiting portion sizes, or reducing the number of daily meals. The five coping mechanisms that were examined in the analysis were found to be implemented with approximately similar frequencies across rural Sudan. However, the situation was particularly dire in West Darfur, South Kordofan, and Khartoum, the states recording the highest prevalence of consumption of inadequate diets and the highest reduced Coping Strategy Index (rCSI) scores.

Year published

2024

Authors

Kirui, Oliver K.; Ahmed, Mosab; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Dorosh, Paul A.; Krishnaswamy, Siddharth; Monetta, Cinzia; Clough, Alice; Gualtieri, Alberto; Leaduma, Amos

Citation

Kirui, Oliver K.; Ahmed, Mosab; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala; Dorosh, Paul A.; et al. 2024. Food security and social assistance in Sudan during armed conflict: Evidence from the first round of the Sudan Rural Household Survey (November 2023–January 2024). A joint report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the World Food Programme (WFP). June 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/145388

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Capacity Development; Food Security; Rural Areas; Households; Diet

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Report

Blogs

World Food Safety Day 2024: Empowering consumers and small businesses with information
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 06, 2024

World Food Safety Day 2024: Empowering consumers and small businesses with information

By Vivian Hoffmann

Targeting interventions to benefit public health.

Flattening the curve on foodborne illness and its costs in Africa
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 04, 2020

Flattening the curve on foodborne illness and its costs in Africa

By Steven Jaffee and Delia Grace

A “business as usual” approach to food safety will do little to check the health threats in many countries.

The challenges of influencing consumer behavior to improve food safety
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 31, 2020

The challenges of influencing consumer behavior to improve food safety

By Vivian Hoffmann and Emily Wu

Two studies in Kenya examine risk perceptions of aflatoxin in maize.

Events

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies
IFPRI at External Event

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February 28, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies

Webinar: February 28, 2024 – 09:30 AM to 11:00 AM EST. IFPRI is participating in the “Drivers of Agrifood System Transformation: Lessons from Feed-the-Future Country Studies” webinar.

Agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: New scenarios and opportunities post COVID-19
IFPRI at External Event

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November 4 to 6, 2020

Agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: New scenarios and opportunities post COVID-19

IFPRI is participating with FAO’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in the celebration of World Food Day and FAO’s 75th anniversary. Given the complexity of managing the COVID-19 pandemic and its significant adverse effects on the region’s economies, FAO is convening stakeholders who impact agri-food systems to provide an institutional response by facilitating and promoting […]

COVID-19 et quotidien des femmes : Etat des lieux au Sénégal
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

September 3, 2020, 3:00 – 4:15 pm

COVID-19 et quotidien des femmes : Etat des lieux au Sénégal

L’Institut international de recherche sur les politiques alimentaires (IFPRI) et le Laboratoire de recherche sur les transformations économiques et sociales (LARTES) vous invitent à prendre part au webinaire qu’ils organisent le jeudi 3 septembre 2020 sur le thème : COVID-19 et quotidien des femmes : Etat des lieux au Sénégal. Le premier patient positif à la COVID-19 […]

News

November 10, 2020 | In the News

Flattening the curve on foodborne illness and its costs in Africa (AG Health)

AG Health republished a blog post from Steven Jaffee and Delia Grace. The authors stated that recent research has shown that the health and economic consequences of foodborne diseases in Africa are significant and growing, as urbanization and income growth prompt dietary changes that increasingly expose consumers to food safety hazards. A ‘business as usual’ approach to food […]

May 01, 2020 | In the News

How to avoid the global food safety crisis? (Caixin) 

Caixin (China) published a news report on COVID19’s impact on food safety. The article quoted Senior Research Fellow, David Laborde, who said policies, such as export restrictions, are based on panic purchases and will cause shortages. He said that the current situation is controllable if policymakers in various countries “take action based on evidence rather than fear.” Laborde recommends that policymakers in various […]

January 24, 2020 | Press Release

Securing the Harvest: A Forum on Improved Grain Storage for Smallholder Agriculture

According to the FAO, each year about 1.3 billion tons of food produced for human consumption is lost after harvest and before reaching consumers. Postharvest losses not only reduce quantity but also the quality of stored grain and are amplified by changing weather patterns. Improved grain drying and storage can be key mitigators of postharvest loss, resulting […]

Our experts

Nina Jovanovic

Nina Jovanovic

Associate Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Jef Leroy

Jef Leroy

Senior Research Fellow, Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Ester Jimmy

Ester Jimmy

Research Associate, Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Mike Murphy

Mike Murphy

Senior Research Analyst, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions