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With research staff from more than 70 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

David Spielman

David Spielman is the director of IFPRI’s Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit and has been with the institute since 2004. His research agenda covers a range of topics including agriculture and rural development policy; agricultural science, technology, and innovation; plant genetic resources and seed systems; agricultural extension and advisory services; and community-driven rural development.

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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 480 employees working in over 70 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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Working Paper

Cooling technologies and long-term efficiency improvement of horticulture market agents: Panel data evidence from a solar-powered cold storage intervention in Nigeria

2026Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Bawa, Dauda; Balana, Bedru
Details

Cooling technologies and long-term efficiency improvement of horticulture market agents: Panel data evidence from a solar-powered cold storage intervention in Nigeria

Modern cooling technologies that use renewable energy sources have been increasingly recognized as a promising tool to address a multitude of challenges emerging in progressively complex food systems in developing countries. When provided as cold storage inside horticulture markets, cooling technologies can contribute to improved quality of products and strengthened vertical linkages. Knowledge gaps about the medium- to long-term impacts of these technologies in developing countries remain, especially in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA). This study partly fills this knowledge gap by revisiting the 2021 short-term impact evaluation study (Takeshima et al. 2023) to assess the medium- to longer term impacts of interventions in northeast Nigeria in which 7 small solar-powered cold storages were installed across 7 horticulture markets. Combinations of difference-in-difference and variants of propensity score-based methods suggest that using cold storage significantly increased horticulture sales volumes and revenues of market agents. Using cold storage also reduced the share of food loss and lengthened the products’ shelf-life while raising prices received by both market agents and farmers, which were associated with improved product quality, expanded value-adding activities by market agents, and increased use of advance payments. We find no evidence of negative spillover effects inside horticulture markets. Observed effects are driven by the technical improvements that raise the efficiency of the use of purchased raw commodities, enabled by cold storage, based on modified efficiency analyses. At the same time, the efficiency of cold storage use remains low despite some improvement over time, and scopes exist to enhance this efficiency.

Year published

2026

Authors

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Bawa, Dauda; Balana, Bedru

Citation

Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Bawa, Dauda; and Balana, Bedru B. 2026. Cooling technologies and long-term efficiency improvement of horticulture market agents: Panel data evidence from a solar-powered cold storage intervention in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2409. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Solar Energy; Cold Storage; Horticulture; Markets; Efficiency; Food Storage; Food Preservation; Food Losses; Food Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Agricultural trade in Africa: Current trends and challenges

2026Mamboundou, Pierre; Traoré, Fousseini
Details

Agricultural trade in Africa: Current trends and challenges

Agricultural trade can play a central role in meeting people’s food needs, both by increasing available supply and by boosting stakeholders’ incomes, given that 60% of the labor force works in this sector (Bonuedi et al., 2020; Wonyra and Gnedeka 2023). However, an analysis of African agricultural trade performance over the past twenty years highlights some key issues to watch. First, African agricultural trade is the lowest in the world, not helped by high costs of trading and non-tariff measures. Second, a trade deficit that has been steadily widening since 2006 as Africa has become heavily dependent on imports of basic agricultural products such as cereals. The continent currently meets more than 40% of its cereal demand on world markets. This deficit in African agricultural trade is fueled by low productivity, linked to declining yields and a lack of sufficient investment in production, storage, processing, and marketing infrastructure, and rapid population growth and urbanization in Africa which has increased demand for imported food. Third, over the past two decades, the structure of African agricultural exports has remained largely undiversified, with unprocessed cash crops continuing to be the dominant export commodity. To better understand the dynamics of agricultural trade in Africa, this brief analyzes its performance, over the 2003-2023 period, by highlighting the most dynamic countries and regional economic communities, the most exported and imported products, and the continent’s revealed comparative advantages.

Year published

2026

Authors

Mamboundou, Pierre; Traoré, Fousseini

Citation

Mamboundou, Pierre; and Traoré, Fousseini. 2026. Agricultural trade in Africa: Current trends and challenges. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/181883

Keywords

Africa; Trade; Agricultural Trade; Markets; Exports; Imports; Trade Policies; Non-tariff Barriers to Trade

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Brief

How inclusive is transformation in Odisha’s vegetable value chains?

2026Belton, Ben; Narayanan, Sudha
Details

How inclusive is transformation in Odisha’s vegetable value chains?

The research project “Tracking commercial small-scale producers for inclusive agricultural transformation” (INCATA) studied the relationships between commercial small-scale producers (farmers) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to understand whether and how these relationships could contribute to inclusive agricultural transformation.

Year published

2026

Authors

Belton, Ben; Narayanan, Sudha

Citation

Belton, Ben; and Narayanan, Sudha. 2026. How inclusive is transformation in Odisha’s vegetable value chains? INCATA Research Brief 2. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/181750

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Value Chains; Vegetables; Inclusion; Agricultural Transformation; Markets

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Blogs

Financial standards can help foster green investment in the agrifood transition
Issue Post
 | 
March 02, 2026

Financial standards can help foster green investment in the agrifood transition

By Reyes Tirado

Scaling up funding for smallholders.

Reimagining Indian agriculture for a low-carbon future
Event Post
 | 
December 23, 2025

Reimagining Indian agriculture for a low-carbon future

By Vartika Singh and Arabinda Padhee

Guiding an ongoing transformation.

Celebrating 50 years of IFPRI: Transforming agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean
Event Post
 | 
October 29, 2025

Celebrating 50 years of IFPRI: Transforming agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Juan Pablo Gianatiempo, Jorge Armando Rueda Gallardo, and Valeria Piñeiro

Regional insights from the 2025 Global Food Policy Report.

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Events

When Data Is Everywhere: Digital Research Methods Transforming Food Systems Science
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

May 14, 2026, 9:00 – 10:00 am

When Data Is Everywhere: Digital Research Methods Transforming Food Systems Science

In an era of data abundance, novel digital research methods are reshaping how we study and improve food systems. Building on earlier sessions focused on speech-based AI and farmer-generated data, this discussion broadens the lens, bringing together two researchers who are applying cutting-edge digital tools to address complex questions in the food domain.  First, Soonho Kim (Senior Data Manager, IFPRI) will introduce how Agentic AI […]

Conflict in the Middle East: Reverberations for Food Systems
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

April 14, 2026, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Conflict in the Middle East: Reverberations for Food Systems

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 the global food system has largely adjusted to the disruptions in agricultural commodities and fertilizers following the invasion of Ukraine, the new conflict in […]

Three Years of Conflict: What the Evidence Tells Us and What Recovery Requires
Series/Special Event

 | 

April 14 to 15, 2026

Three Years of Conflict: What the Evidence Tells Us and What Recovery Requires

April 2026 marks three years since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, which has severely disrupted economic activity, food systems, and social services. More than half of the country’s population is in need of assistance, and communities, markets, and institutions are under unprecedented pressure. Recent evidence from IFPRI and others highlights the scale and […]

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News

August 04, 2025 | Press Release

ASEAN and BIMSTEC experts convene in Jakarta for regional policy roundtable on agricultural transformation and market integration

The event formally launched a new regional initiative, Ensuring Inclusiveness, Sustainability, and Efficiency of Food System Transformation in the ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.

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 […]

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Our experts

David Spielman

David Spielman

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

Manuel Hernandez

Manuel Hernandez

Senior Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions, Latin America and the Caribbean

Yanyan Liu

Yanyan Liu

Senior Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions

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

Nicholas Minot

Nicholas Minot

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions