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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

Manuel Hernandez

Manuel Hernandez is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit of IFPRI. He has more than 20 years of experience in diverse projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia on development issues related to agricultural and labor markets, food security and nutrition, industrial organization and regulation, price analysis, and the informal economy. His current research focuses on impact evaluation linked to rural development and food security projects, migration, functioning of oligopoly markets and value chains, and price volatility.

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Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

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

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TOPIC

Food Systems

Food systems are the sum of actors and interactions along the food value chain—from input supply and production of crops, livestock, fish, and other agricultural commodities to transportation, processing, retailing, wholesaling, and preparation of foods to consumption and disposal. Food systems also include the enabling policy environments and cultural norms around food. Ideal food systems would be nutrition-, health-, and safety-driven, productive and efficient (and thus able to deliver affordable food), environmentally sustainable and climate-smart, and inclusive. To realize this vision, continued investments must be made in agricultural research and development and technological innovations, paving the way for programs and policies that are based on sound evidence.

IFPRI conducts research and offers policy support on a range of food system issues from farm-level productivity to development of inclusive food value chains to nutrition education—providing evidence for design of food systems that provide people with equitable access to nutritious, sustainable diets and contribute to more broadly to development and well-being.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 12, SDG 14, and SDG 15.

food_systems

topics

Publications

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Journal Article

Potential decarbonization for balancing local and non-local perishable food supply in megacities

2025Lin, Xintao; Qian, Jianping; Chen, Jian; Yu, Qiangyi; You, Liangzhi; Chen, Qian; Li, Jiali; Xiao, Pengnan; Jiang, Jingyi
Details

Potential decarbonization for balancing local and non-local perishable food supply in megacities

Ensuring urban food security while reducing carbon emissions from food systems is a key challenge. Food localization can reduce transport emissions; however, its role in agricultural production emissions reductions is unclear. Here, we explored the effects of localization of seven perishables, incorporating emissions from production and cold-chain logistics, in Beijing and Shanghai, China; determined decarbonization under different scenarios by increasing or decreasing the localization, with or without constrains, of each food category (balancing strategy). The results show that every 1% increase in the localization of vegetables, poultry, and aquatic products decreased 2020 emissions by 0.4–1.9 tCO2e, but for beef and lamb, it increased emissions by 0.2–2.9 tCO2e. Localization decreased cold-chain emission shares for all foods. The balancing strategy with constraints reduced emissions by 0.76 MtCO2e (5%) and 0.44 MtCO2e (2%) in 2020 in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively. Utilizing urban agriculture at all costs (i.e., without constraints) further reduced emissions by a factor of 3–4. Over 90% of Beijing’s emissions added by 2035 under the business-as-usual scenario were projected to be offset by the strategy. In Shanghai, the strategy could reduce emissions by an additional 0.44 MtCO2e. The results indicate that expanding imports of carbon-intensive ruminant meat to replace local production and reallocating urban resources to vegetables, poultry, and aquatic products could lead to more sustainable food supplies in megacities. Further development of cold-chain logistics is expected to reduce emissions in synergy with the balancing strategy. Our results could help inform better food system planning in megacities.

Year published

2025

Authors

Lin, Xintao; Qian, Jianping; Chen, Jian; Yu, Qiangyi; You, Liangzhi; Chen, Qian; Li, Jiali; Xiao, Pengnan; Jiang, Jingyi

Citation

Lin, Xintao; Qian, Jianping; Chen, Jian; Yu, Qiangyi; You, Liangzhi; Chen, Qian; et al. 2025. Potential decarbonization for balancing local and non-local perishable food supply in megacities. Resources, Environment and Sustainability 20(June 2025): 100206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2025.100206

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Asia; Eastern Asia; Food Security; Urban Areas; Agricultural Production; Emission; Carbon; Cold Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2025.100206 Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Adapting the Women’s Empowerment in Nutrition Index: Lessons from Kenya

2025Lentz, Erin; Jensen, Nathaniel D.; Lepariyo, Watson; Narayanan, Sudha; Bageant, Elizabeth
Details

Adapting the Women’s Empowerment in Nutrition Index: Lessons from Kenya

Women face a disproportionate burden of malnutrition and food insecurity. Research has shown that women’s empowerment can buffer women against nutritional problems. This paper contributes to ongoing efforts to measure women’s empowerment that are both context-sensitive and universal, focusing on the recently developed Women’s Empowerment in Nutrition Index (WENI). Earlier research has shown it is both a valid construct and positively related to dietary and nutritional outcomes of women in South Asia. We establish that WENI is generalizable to agropastoral and pastoral Kenya, an area with substantially different livelihoods, food system, norms, and institutions than South Asia. We find that a locally contextualized WENI is strongly associated with women’s body mass index and dietary diversity as well as household level food insecurity. We also present findings for two shorter variations of WENI: an abbreviated WENI (A-WENI) and a cross context WENI (CC-WENI). A-WENI contains a small subset of WENI indicators identified using machine learning with South Asian data and therefore is context-specific. CC-WENI does not contain indicators specific to the validation context. We find that they perform comparably well with caveats. Thus, as use of WENI expands we recommend adapting WENI for in-depth analyses of women’s nutritional empowerment; using CC-WENI for cross-context comparisons; and using A-WENI for rapid appraisals of community level progress in a given context.

Year published

2025

Authors

Lentz, Erin; Jensen, Nathaniel D.; Lepariyo, Watson; Narayanan, Sudha; Bageant, Elizabeth

Citation

Lentz, E., Jensen, N., Lepariyo, W., Narayanan, S. and Bageant, E. 2025. Adapting the Women’s Empowerment in Nutrition Index: Lessons from Kenya. World Development 188: 106887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106887

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Nutrition; Women; Malnutrition; Food Security; Food Systems; Indicators; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106887 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Report

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, February 2025

2025International Food Policy Research Institute; Banda, Chimwemwe
Details

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, February 2025

Highlights  Retail prices of maize increased by 32 percent in February as a result of a similar decrease in the value of Malawi Kwacha on the informal market.  Maize prices were lowest in the Northern region, where informal imports from Tanzania enter the country, and increased southward.  At the market exchange rate, retail prices of maize in Malawi were similar to those in Zambia and Mozambique, but lower than in Zimbabwe.

Year published

2025

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute; Banda, Chimwemwe

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute. 2025. IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, February 2025. MaSSP Monthly Maize Market Report February 2025. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173598

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Maize; Market Prices; Retail Prices; Food Prices; Imports

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Report

Blogs

Delivering for Nutrition in South Asia 2024 Conference: Connecting the dots across systems
IFPRI Blog
 | 
February 04, 2025

Delivering for Nutrition in South Asia 2024 Conference: Connecting the dots across systems

By Julie Ghostlaw, Esha Sarswat, Shreya Chakraborty, Neha Kumar, Swetha Manohar, and Samuel Scott

Exploring the interconnectedness of food systems.

How we used coordinated trials and meta-analysis to evaluate interventions to increase varietal turnover
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 19, 2024

How we used coordinated trials and meta-analysis to evaluate interventions to increase varietal turnover

By Berber Kramer, Carly Trachtman, and Witold Więcek

Assessing impacts of a multi-country project.

Africa Food Systems Forum Summit 2024: Advancing gender equality and nutrition for sustainable agriculture
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 19, 2024

Africa Food Systems Forum Summit 2024: Advancing gender equality and nutrition for sustainable agriculture

By Faith Gikunda

Building equity into food systems.

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Events

Ending Hunger and Malnutrition: Keeping Our Eyes on the Road
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

April 22, 2025, 9:30 – 11:30 am

Ending Hunger and Malnutrition: Keeping Our Eyes on the Road

Also streaming on Please type your questions into the chat box with name, affiliation, and country. The event video, presenter slides, and podcast will be available in the days following the event. While global agricultural commodity prices have come down from the high levels seen in recent years, the world remains far off track in […]

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

April 7 to 12, 2025

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week

When humanity has faced its greatest challenges, science and innovation have provided solutions. Today, major and connected global challenges threaten the sustainability of food, land, and water systems, with the most vulnerable people and communities at greatest risk. Recognizing the urgency of these challenges, CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) are […]

No Time to Waste: Moving from Commitments to Action on Food Loss and Waste
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

March 12, 2025, 9:30 – 11:00 am

No Time to Waste: Moving from Commitments to Action on Food Loss and Waste

Significant levels of food loss and waste continue to have negative impacts on food security and the environment, and Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims to halve food loss and waste worldwide by 2030, remains out of reach. Join us on “12.3 Day” 2025 to take stock of efforts and opportunities to make progress toward […]

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News

October 24, 2024 | In the News

At high level dialogue, Stakeholders Rally Support for Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture (National Update/Punch)

This article published by National Update (Nigeria) wrote about a recent high-level dialogue on the CGIAR HER+ initiative in Abuja held on October 9, 2024, that aimed to address barriers women face in Nigeria’s agrifood sector.

October 07, 2024 | Press Release

Steven Were Omamo joins IFPRI as the new Director of the Development Strategies and Governance Unit

IFPRI is pleased to announce that Steven Were Omamo joins IFPRI as the new Director of the DSG Unit.

July 02, 2024 | Press Release

Global crisis: 1.7 billion people in urban and peri-urban areas face food insecurity

New UN report highlights urgent need to strengthen urban and peri-urban food systems for global food security and nutrition.

View all News

Our experts

Deanna Olney

Deanna Olney

Director, Nutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH), Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

David Spielman

David Spielman

Director, Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS), Innovation
Policy and Scaling

James Thurlow

James Thurlow

Director, Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM), Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Neha Kumar

Neha Kumar

Senior Research Fellow, Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Wim Marivoet

Wim Marivoet

Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Razin Kabir

Razin Kabir

Senior Program Manager, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion

Jenny Smart

Jenny Smart

Senior Program Manager, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion

Charlotte Hebebrand

Charlotte Hebebrand

Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Communications
and Public Affairs (CPA)

Durjoy Dey

Durjoy Dey

Research Analyst, Development
Strategies and Governance

Shweta Gupta

Shweta Gupta

Senior Research Analyst, Natural
Resources and Resilience

Cynthia Kazembe

Cynthia Kazembe

Communications Manager, Development
Strategies and Governance