IFPRI Conference Papers
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Item Report on state-level training programme for FPOs in Odisha(Conference Proceedings, 2025-03-06) International Food Policy Research Institute; Government of OdishaThis report summarizes the outcomes of two-day State-Level Training Program for Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) for 3 batches held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from December 12-23, 2024. Organized by the Department of Agriculture & Farmer Empowerment (DAFE), Government of Odisha, in collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the CGIAR, the program aimed to enhance the knowledge and skills of FPO functionaries across the state. The training program, conducted across three batches, engaged approximately 131 participants, with a significant representation of women. The participants comprised CEOs and Board of Directors (BoD) members of FPOs from diverse districts of Odisha. The training curriculum was designed to address key areas of concern for FPOs, including FPO management, shareholder engagement, post-harvest management, certification, and market access. Experienced trainers, including Shri K.K. Jha and Shri Sujay Kar, along with researchers from IFPRI, delivered interactive sessions on these topics. The training program was well-received by the participants, with a strong emphasis on practical learning and interactive discussions. Key areas of interest for the participants included FPO management strategies, optimal shareholder numbers, post-harvest management practices, product certification, and exploring diverse marketing channels for their produce. This training program serves as a crucial step towards strengthening FPOs in Odisha by equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary for sustainable growth and success. The insights and learnings gained from this program will be valuable in further enhancing the capacity of FPOs to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector in the state. The training program highlighted the critical role of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in improving farmer livelihoods and strengthening the agricultural sector in Odisha. It provided a valuable platform for FPO functionaries to enhance their knowledge and skills in key areas of FPO management, such as financial management, marketing, and governance. The program fostered peer learning and networking among FPO representatives from different parts of the state. Furthermore, it identified key areas of concern and priorities for FPOs in Odisha related to the size, composition and structure, and tried to put forward some workable strategies to further strengthen the FPO ecosystem in the state. This executive summary provides a concise overview of the FPO training program, its objectives, methodology, and key outcomes.Item Lessons learned on food security in the Yemen crisis(Conference Proceedings, 2024) Kurdi, SikandraFrom the wealthy kingdom the Queen of Sheba to the “Arabia Felix” on Roman maps, Yemen was historically known as a rich, fertile, and fortunate land. In the late twentieth century, however, Yemen’s economic growth was stalled by a weak central government and complex tribal patronage system. Unlike other neighboring Gulf states, Yemen has very limited oil reserves, and remittance income from migrants became a major source of income, displacing investment in agricultural production. Coupled with high population growth, Yemen increasingly became dependent on imported food supplies. Poverty and malnutrition rates were also high. In 2013, 46.5% of children under 5 in Yemen were stunted and 16.3% suffered from acute malnutrition (Yemen DHS 2013). These development challenges in Yemen exploded into a humanitarian emergency with the beginning of the ongoing war in 2015. Currently, it is estimated that more than half of children in Yemen are malnourished and all areas of the country are classified as in crisis or worse by IPC. With a population of approximately 20 million, this makes Yemen by some accounts the largest humanitarian crisis in the world at present. Assessments of the situation also emphasize that the situation would be worse without ongoing humanitarian support. In the period from 2015-2022, an estimated 16 billion dollars was donated and spent through the interagency standing committee coordinated appeal. The World Food Program alone supports nearly 13 million of the most vulnerable people with emergency food assistance (WFP 2023). The humanitarian response in Yemen is one of the largest in the world and many of the challenges and lessons in the response to the food security crisis in Yemen are generalizable more broadly to fragile and conflict-affected settings and import-dependent settings. Most broadly, the challenge in Yemen has been to balance the short-term perspective of needing to respond to an emergency situation with the realization that after over eight years of conflict, longer-term needs and interests also have to be considered. In particular, lessons from Yemen include the degree to which import dependence increases vulnerability, the potential for expanded use of cash transfers, the importance of supporting the private business in the agro-food sector even during a humanitarian crisis, the role of local organizations, and the challenges of coordination on targeting.Item The challenge of responding to multiple and compounding food shocks: The case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo(Conference Proceedings, 2024) Ulimwengu, John M.The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been the centre stage of various crises, ranging from political instability, violence and insecurity to the biggest outbreak of Ebola in the world’s history. As a result, the country’s development status remains low, characterised by pronounced malnutrition, high poverty rates and fragile livelihoods (INS, 2019; Marivoet, De Herdt, & Ulimwengu, 2019). At the same time, the DRC is endowed with countless natural resources. The country has the potential to become one of the richest economies on the continent and a driver of African growth. Given that around 65% of total population live in rural areas, the agriculture sector has by far the biggest potential to be an engine of inclusive development. Despite its significant agricultural and mineral resources, the DRC has the largest number of food insecure people in the world, resulting from a combination of factors including conflict, increased food prices and transportation costs, as well as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other epidemics. The country’s protracted food crisis is compounded by one of the world’s longest-running armed conflicts with armed forces associated with foreign forces that continue to fight intensely in the eastern territories. According to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFS) (FSIN, 2023), the Democratic Republic of the Congo has the highest numbers of people in IPC Phase 3 or above, at about 26.43 million, accounting for over 55 percent of the region’s total number of people in these phases, mostly due to compounding shocks the country experiences. The armed conflict in Eastern DRC has led to the displacement of people, often forcing them to abandon their farms and livestock. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that as of 2021, there were over 5 million internally displaced people in DRC (OCHA, 2021). The displacement severely undermines food production, leading to food shortages in the region. The ongoing conflict has led to the destruction of infrastructure crucial for agriculture, such as irrigation systems, storage facilities, and roads needed for the transportation of food and farming inputs. This has also reduced the ability of farmers to engage in productive agriculture, leading to food insecurity (FAO, 2020). Even when food is available, conflict can make it difficult for people to access markets due to safety concerns. Roads are often blocked by armed groups, preventing the transportation of food to markets (WFP, 2021). Timely response to these shocks becomes critical as households and communities that have lost their livelihoods because of a shock can rapidly deplete assets and engage in coping strategies with long-term effects on well-being. Given resources constraints, proposed responses must be based on evidence. However, in addition to the lack of adequate data, empirical misspecifications may lead to erroneous evidence; therefore, increasing the challenge to design, implement, and monitor required interventions in the face of multiple shocks. In this paper, using the case of Eastern DRC, I highlight the need for researchers and policymakers to consider the complexities and nuances of different shocks and their interactions in order to design more effective food security interventions.Item Evolution of income and fiscal disparity in rural China(Conference Paper, 2006) Yao, Y.; Fan, ShenggenItem Generating global crop distribution maps: From census to grid(Conference Paper, 2006) You, Liangzhi; Wood, Stanley; Wood-Sichra, UlrikeItem Community Natural Resource Management and its linkage to poverty in Uganda(Conference Paper, 2006) Nkonya, Ephraim M.; Pender, John L.; Kato, Edward; Mugarura, Samuel; Muwonge, J.Item The value of agricultural biodiversity in Hungarian home gardens: agri-environmental policies in a transitional economy(Conference Paper, 2006) Birol, Ekin; Smale, Melinda; Gyovai, AgnesAgricultural biodiversity is an environmental resource. Much of the agricultural biodiversity remaining in situ today is found on the semi-subsistence farms of poorer countries and the small-scale farms or home gardens of more industrialized nations. The traditional small farms of Hungary are labelled “home gardens” as a reflection of their institutional identity during the collectivisation period. Homesteads managed with family labor, they continue to serve essential food security and diet quality functions during economic transition. Home gardens contribute to the preservation of rural settlements and cultural heritage, and they contain relatively high levels of several components of agricultural biodiversity. The role of home gardens in the agri-environmental program that is now being formulated by Hungary and the European Union has not been elucidated, though the stated goal of these policies is to support multifunctional agriculture. This study estimates the private value that Hungarian farmers assign to home gardens and their biodiversity attributes, and indicates how such information might be used in designing least-cost mechanisms to support their maintenance as part of the national agri-environmental program.Item Are poor, remote rural households left behind in agricultural development: the case of Tanzania(Conference Paper, 2006) Minot, NicholasItem Is trade pessimism justified? opening the “black box” of trade modeling.(Conference Paper, 2006) Bouët, Antoine; Berisha-Krasniqi, ValdeteItem Profitability of contract farming in China: case of fruits and vegetables in Shandong Province [In Japanese](Conference Paper, 2006) Minoru, Tada; Hu, Dinghuan; Miyata, SachikoItem Profitability of contract farming in China: case of fruits and vegetables in Shandong Province [In Japanese]: Paper presented at the Agricultural Economics Society of Japan Meeting 2006. 31 March, Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan.(Conference Paper, 2006) Minoru, Tada; Hu, Dinghuan; Miyata, SachikoItem Productivity in Malagasy rice systems: Wealth differentiated constraints and priorities(Conference Proceedings, 2007) Minten, Bart; Randrianarisoa, Jean-Claude; Barrett, Christopher B.Item Food regulation and trade under the WTO: Ten years in perspective(Conference Proceedings, 2007) Orden, David; Roberts, DonnaItem Motores de crecimiento rural y priorización de inversiones públicas en América Central(Conference Proceedings, 2007) Jansen, Hans G. P.; Alwang, Jeffrey; Pichón, F.; Siegel, Paul B.Item Trends in public investment, poverty and growth in Ethiopia(Conference Proceedings, 2007) Ayele, Gezahegn; Paulos, Zelekawork; Mogues, TewodajItem Agricultural innovation in Ethiopia: A systems overview of opportunities and constraints(Conference Proceedings, 2007) Spielman, David J.; Negash, Martha; Davis, Kristin E.; Ayele, GezahegnItem The changing economics and politics of rice: Implications for food security, globalization, and environmental sustainability(Conference Proceedings, 2005) von Braun, Joachim; Bos, Maria SoledadItem GSSP inception workshop proceedings(Conference Proceedings, 2005) International Food Policy Research InstituteItem Market adaptations to increased water prices in China: the impact on water demand and food production(Conference Proceedings, 2005) Rosegrant, Mark W.; Cai, Ximing; Ringler, Claudia; Cline, Sarah A.Item The water brokerage mechanism -- efficient solution for the irrigation sector(Conference Proceedings, 2005) Rosegrant, Mark W.; Ringler, Claudia; Rodgers, Charles