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Who we are

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

Liangzhi You

Liangzhi You is a Senior Research Fellow and theme leader in the Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit, based in Washington, DC. His research focuses on climate resilience, spatial data and analytics, agroecosystems, and agricultural science policy. Gridded crop production data of the world (SPAM) and the agricultural technology evaluation model (DREAM) are among his research contributions. 

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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TOPIC

Markets and Value Chains

Well-functioning markets for agricultural inputs and agrifood products are essential for economic growth and development, as well as food and nutrition security. The development, marketing, distribution, and use of agricultural inputs play an important role in determining production and yields. Agricultural growth and development require efficient and inclusive value chains for agricultural outputs, dynamic markets, efficient contract farming arrangements, horizontal coordination mechanisms, access to information and risk-coping tools for producers and traders, and opportunities for increasing gender equity. But ineffective policies, weak institutions, and inadequate infrastructure often prevent developing countries from moving toward a more market-oriented agricultural economy.

IFPRI researchers study food and agricultural value chains to better understand how to address these challenges. Using tools and experimental approaches developed by IFPRI, researchers test and validate innovative marketing arrangements and public interventions meant to help develop value chains that are efficient, inclusive, and resilient to external shocks. Our work builds understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to risk management, collective action, market failures and missing markets, and public investments to reduce gaps in physical infrastructure.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 9, SDG 10, and SDG 16, and the CGIAR Impact Areas on Nutrition, Health, and Food Security and Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs.

markets

topics

Publications

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Report

Market diversification to increase the demand for and value of Bangladeshi shrimp

2024van der Pijl, Willem
Details

Market diversification to increase the demand for and value of Bangladeshi shrimp

In a rapidly growing global shrimp industry, Bangladesh’s shrimp sector faces fierce competition from much larger producers such as Ecuador, India, and Vietnam. One of Bangladesh’s challenges is that it is overdependent on Europe’s fragmented hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) segment and ethnic retail markets, where it exports 88 percent of its output. This market is highly price-driven and limited in size. However, Bangladesh’s exporters have no or only limited access to retail markets in the European Union (EU), the United States (US), or other markets that source black tiger shrimp due to a lack of high-quality products, a lack of Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification, negative market perception of the country’s shrimp, and a lack of promotional activities. As a result of the increased competition and restricted market access, Bangladesh’s exporters and farmers are experiencing spiraling prices, and their future activities are at risk. Diversifying its markets should help the industry increase demand and get better prices for the products it exports. This brief explores the current market position of Bangladeshi shrimp and what the country can do to diversify its markets. Promotion is key, but not to consumers. Business-to-business (B2B) shrimp buyers worldwide must view Bangladesh as a reliable source of competitive, high-quality, sustainable shrimp.

Year published

2024

Authors

van der Pijl, Willem

Citation

van der Pijl, Willem. 2024. Market diversification to increase the demand for and value of Bangladeshi shrimp. CGIAR Initiative on Rethinking Food Markets Brief December 2024. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Diversification; Exports; Farmers; Market Demand; Shrimp Culture

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Report

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Working Paper

How have foreign exchange market distortions and conflict affected agricultural production incentives in Myanmar?

2024Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis
Details

How have foreign exchange market distortions and conflict affected agricultural production incentives in Myanmar?

Fluctuations in agricultural prices pose significant challenges for fragile and conflict-affected economies due to their critical role in ensuring food security. This study examines changes in agricultural prices at the export, wholesale, and farm level in the case of Myanmar, which experienced a surge in conflicts from 2021 onward, following a military coup. The major findings are as follows: • Regarding macroeconomic impacts, the military government implemented a dual exchange rate system, maintaining a fixed exchange rate significantly below the market rate and effectively imposing an across-the-board export tax on all export commodities of approximately 24 percent between August 2022 and August 2024. This policy particularly affects rice, Myanmar’s main staple and a key export crop. • The scarcity of foreign exchange due to this dual exchange rate system increased the costs of imported inputs. It is estimated that prices of inorganic fertilizers – farmers’ most important commercial input – saw an increase of 10 percent compared to the price in Thailand since the start of the dual exchange rate system. • Regarding domestic trade effects, regions with the highest insecurity exhibited similar agricultural output prices but higher input costs, resulting in reduced farm profitability compared to more secure regions. However, the magnitude of these effects is relatively small, with estimated increases in input prices due to insecurity ranging from one to six percent. Insecure areas also show more often a lack of input availability. • Farmers who reside in insecure areas reported between one and six percentage points higher lack of access to agricultural inputs – fertilizer, agrochemicals, mechanization, and seed – in their communities. The relatively small effects of insecurity on input and output markets suggest a degree of resilience in the private sector’s ability to maintain trade under conflict conditions. • The biggest effect on input markets is seen in the case of agricultural labor. Depending on the measure used, farmers in the most insecure areas had a 7 to 15 percentage points higher likelihood of reporting lack of access to agricultural laborers compared to the most secure areas. • The exchange rate policies are found to have been much more harmful for farmers’ incentives than the domestic trade effects, even for the most conflict-affected areas, indicating the importance of considering macroeconomic effects for agricultural incentives in Myanmar. • Despite the significant disincentives brought about by conflict, the agricultural sector has shown surprising resilience over the recent conflict period, seemingly linked to advantageous international price developments for farmers: international rice prices increased by 27 percent while urea prices decreased by 52 percent between August 2022 and May 2024. • While these international evolutions have partly mitigated the impact of the conflict on farmers’ profitability, the impacts of these price developments on consumers in Myanmar have, however, been severe. An analysis of rice retail prices in Myanmar over the last two and half years show that they have more than tripled and that the overall costs of the common diet more than doubled. A failure of nominal income to keep pace with this food price inflation led to an increase in poverty by 10 percent from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023.

Year published

2024

Authors

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis

Citation

Myanmar Agrifood Program for Strategy and Analysis (MAPSA). 2024. How have foreign exchange market distortions and conflict affected agricultural production incentives in Myanmar? Myanmar SSP Working Paper 60. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Myanmar

Keywords

South-eastern Asia; Agricultural Prices; Economic Systems; Food Security; Markets; Exports; Taxes; Imports; Farmers; Inputs

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Dataset

Assessment of the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Agriculture and Food Security in Tajikistan

2024International Food Policy Research Institute
Details

Assessment of the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Agriculture and Food Security in Tajikistan

This dataset comprises household farm survey data gathered through a phone-based survey in 2020 to generate insights on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural farm households in Tajikistan. Data collection occurred between September and October 2020 across 12 districts in southwest Khatlon, part of USAID’s Zone of Influence. The sample includes 1,200 households—1,047 of which were part of the baseline survey from IFPRI’s 2018 Assessment of Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chains in the Feed the Future Zone of Influence, with an additional 153 new households added due to attrition. Households were randomly selected from the baseline survey’s respondent roster, but the sample is not intended to be representative of the Zone of Influence. The survey’s questionnaire covers a range of topics at the household level, including household composition, income, expenditures, migration, mobility, dietary diversity, and intrahousehold relationships, with a strong emphasis on agriculture. The agriculture module focuses on changes in household participation in agricultural activities, land use, access to and costs of inputs, male and female labor, machinery, market access, and information.

Year published

2024

Authors

International Food Policy Research Institute

Citation

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 2024. Assessment of the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Agriculture and Food Security in Tajikistan. Washington, DC: IFPRI [dataset]. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CKOL8D. Harvard Dataverse. Version 1.

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Covid-19; Agriculture; Food Security; Households; Income; Migration; Labour; Markets; Information

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.7910/dvn/ckol8d Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Dataset

Blogs

India lifts export restrictions on rice
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 08, 2024

India lifts export restrictions on rice

By Joseph Glauber and Abdullah Mamun

Assessing impacts on global markets and African consumers.

The likely U.S. longshoreman strike and its implications for agricultural trade
IFPRI Blog
 | 
September 30, 2024

The likely U.S. longshoreman strike and its implications for agricultural trade

By Joseph Glauber

Disruptions ahead for some developing countries exporting to the U.S.

Does conflict-driven internal displacement influence demand for agricultural inputs? Evidence from Nigeria
IFPRI Blog
 | 
September 26, 2024

Does conflict-driven internal displacement influence demand for agricultural inputs? Evidence from Nigeria

By Mulubrhan Amare, Kate Ambler, Temilolu Bamiwuye, Jeffrey Bloem, Rewa Misra, and Julia Wagner

Examining the effectiveness of vouchers and marketing information.

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Events

Trade disruptions and their impacts on agricultural markets: Looking back and ahead
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

January 13, 2025, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Trade disruptions and their impacts on agricultural markets: Looking back and ahead

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. Global agricultural markets have been in a constant state of uproar over the past 5 years. Trade wars between major trading nations such as […]

ICTforAg 2024: Localizing impact
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

May 28, 2024, 9:00 – 5:00 pm

ICTforAg 2024: Localizing impact

Event: May 28, 2024 – 9:00am to 5:00pm EDT. This event explores the localization of ICT, responsible AI in agriculture, the potential for AI to increase farm profitability, empowering citizen science, and harnessing digital solutions for sustainable and regenerative farming practices.

Dairy and Nutrition in the Global South: Potential, Progress, and Obstacles Ahead
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

April 24, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Dairy and Nutrition in the Global South: Potential, Progress, and Obstacles Ahead

Virtual Event: April 24, 2024 at 9:30am-11:00am EDT. This policy seminar examines the potential of dairy development to improve nutrition outcomes, focusing on dairy’s sizable potential for reducing child stunting and other forms of malnutrition, and how dairy systems are being developed to help meet this potential. 

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News

September 03, 2024 | Press Release

Ruth Hill joins IFPRI as the new Director of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit

Ruth Hill joins IFPRI as the new Director of its Markets, Trade, and Institutions (MTI) Unit, starting September 3, 2024. 

September 06, 2023 | In the News

Unpacking the 2023 Africa agriculture assessment report (CNBC Africa) 

CNBC Africa interviewed John Ulimwengu, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow and the technical editor and lead researcher of the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2023, launched on September 6 at the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF). .  The Report titled “Empowering Africa’s Food Systems for the Future” highlights the ways in which Africa is uniquely positioned to redefine its future and […]

January 25, 2024 | In the News

The timing of the Red Sea attacks could not be worse for Democrats (Politico)

Senior research fellow Joseph Glauber is quoted in a Politico story about how the growing military conflict in a key trade corridor is threatening to unleash economic havoc on the global economy ahead of November. “If energy prices go up and remain high, you’d see food inflation persisting,” said Joe Glauber. He added that potential […]

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Our experts

Shahidur Rashid

Shahidur Rashid

Director, South Asia Office, South
Asia, Development Strategies and Governance

David Spielman

David Spielman

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

Thomas Assefa

Thomas Assefa

Associate Research Fellow, Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Jan Duchoslav

Jan Duchoslav

Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Karl Pauw

Karl Pauw

Senior Research Fellow, Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Amit Burman

Amit Burman

Project Coordinator, Development
Strategies and Governance

Razin Kabir

Razin Kabir

Senior Program Manager, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion

Sakile Kudita

Sakile Kudita

Associate Research Fellow , Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Abdullah Mamun

Abdullah Mamun

Senior Research Analyst, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions

Brendan Rice

Brendan Rice

Research Specialist, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions