IFPRI Preprints

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/168844

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Governing informality: Drivers of service provision in Nigeria's food wholesale markets
(Preprint, 2025-04-29) Resnick, Danielle; Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda O.; Chugh, Aditi
How does governance affect service provision in Nigeria's wholesale food markets? Sufficient services, such as water, waste collection, and toilet access, are essential for enhancing the safety of healthy and nutritious foods, such as vegetables and fish, and improving the welfare of those who depend on informal trade for their livelihoods. However, these are often substandard in many informal markets, exposing traders and consumers who rely on such markets to higher levels of foodborne hazards and undermining the efficacy of other food safety interventions. Using data from 299 wholesale markets across seven states and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, this paper examines how four governance mechanisms-incentives, information, authority, and capacity-are associated with five services: waste collection, market toilet access, water provision, electricity, and security. We find that having an elected, rather than appointed, market chairperson positively influences waste collection and provision of security. By contrast, larger utility investments, such as water and electricity, are less influenced by governance structures within the markets. Markets located in local government areas (LGAs) under appointed rather than elected governments are associated with worse performance across all services, demonstrating that efforts to address market service delivery need to be embedded in a holistic understanding of multi-level governance dynamics. The findings emphasize that improving food safety and traders' welfare via better service delivery requires empowering stakeholders in informal market governance who not only hold the authority to deliver a diverse set of services but also possess the political incentives to do so.
Effect of adding milk to a micronutrient fortified high-energy biscuit school feeding programme in Yemen: A cluster-randomised controlled trial
(Preprint, 2025) Bliznashka, Lilia; Michail, Monica George; Elsabbagh, Dalia; Gelli, Aulo; School Milk Initiative
Background: Two billion children globally are estimated to live in conflict-affected areas. School feeding programmes (SFPs) are a widely implemented safety net that supports children during and after conflict. We evaluated the effectiveness of providing milk alongside a high energy biscuits (HEBs) SFP in Yemen on children’s and caregivers’ outcomes. Methods: We implemented a two-arm longitudinal cluster-randomised controlled trial from December 2023 to May 2024. 42 schools in Al Mukha district were randomly assigned (1:1) to: control, where children received HEBs (2 packets (100 grams) daily), or milk, where children received HEBs plus a 120 ml carton of ultra-high temperature milk. Children aged 6-18 years were randomly selected for enrolment. The primary outcomes were children’s dietary diversity and milk consumption. Secondary outcomes were children’s cognition, learning, attendance, nutritional status, and health. Tertiary outcomes were child and caregiver mental health, and household food security. We conducted intent-to-treat analysis using linear mixed effects models adjusting for clustering. The trial was registered with ISRCTN (ISRCTN12225603). Findings: 1,299 children were enrolled. After five months, the intervention increased milk consumption, but had no effect on dietary diversity. Children’s cognition [mean difference (MD) 1.00 (95% CI 0.40, 1.61)], literacy [1.14 (0.36, 1.92)], and numeracy [1.06 (0.46, 1.67)] scores improved. Cough symptoms declined: -0.12 (-0.2, -0.03). There was no effect on school attendance or nutritional status. The intervention reduced conduct problems in children [-0.52 (-0.97, -0.08)], severe anxiety in caregivers [-0.03 (-0.06, -0.001)], and household severe food insecurity [-0.09 (-0.17, -0.001)]. Interpretation: Adding a daily milk drink to an HEB SFP in Yemen resulted in numerous benefits for children and their families. Hybrid models to incrementally improve meal quality are feasible, acceptable, and lead to meaningful impacts. More research is needed on medium- and long-term benefits.
Can rights-based conditional cash transfers improve children’s nutrition at scale? Evidence from India’s maternity benefit program
(Preprint, 2025-01-13) Ray, Soumyajit; Chakrabarti, Suman; Pal, Sumantra; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Scott, Samuel P.; Menon, Purnima
This study evaluates the impact of India’s Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), a large-scale conditional cash transfer (CCT) program targeting women during their first birth, on child nutrition. Using National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data from 2005 to 2021, we assess changes in growth for 296,782 children under five years old before and after PMMVY implementation. To address potential biases, we employ a quasi-experimental approach with a Triple Difference analysis, comparing first- to second-born children of CCT and non-CCT mothers. We find that potential exposure to PMMVY is associated with improvements in weight-for-age and height-for-age z-scores. These effects likely operate through increased pregnancy registration, antenatal care, and immunizations. PMMVY is cost-effective, with a short-run benefit-cost ratio of 1.35. This study underscores the importance of CCT programs targeting mothers in enhancing child nutrition in low- and middle-income countries.
Can district level support enhance coverage and equity? Evidence from India’s nutrition program
(Preprint, 2025-02-07) Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Dwivedi, Laxmikant; Kapur, Avani; Shukla, Ritwik; Pedgaonkar, Sarang; Singh, Shri Kant; Menon, Purnima; Chakrabarti, Suman
Importance: India’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program is among the world’s largest nutrition and health programs that offers services to pregnant, lactating mothers, and young children. To support national investments towards universalization of ICDS interventions, between 2016 and 2020, the Indian government in collaboration with multiple partners, introduced system strengthening mechanisms at the district (subnational administrative unit) level in 64% of India’s districts. Objectives: To examine national-level trends in coverage and equity of ICDS interventions and the role of district-level support mechanisms in improving equitable coverage. Design, Setting, and Participants: This quasi-experimental assessment used data (N=393,097 mother-child pairs) from three rounds of nationally representative surveys in 2006, 2016, and 2020. We used inequity indices and regression models to assess changes in equity by wealth, caste, and residence. We applied difference-in-differences (DID) models to investigate changes in coverage due to district support mechanisms between 2016 and 2020. Intervention: The district support mechanisms were introduced between 2016 and 2020 and included a combination of input features such as capacity building of frontline workers, additional human resources, financial, infrastructural, and technological support, among others. Main Outcomes and Measures: Our primary outcomes were the receipt of thirteen ICDS services during pregnancy, lactation, and early childhood. District support mechanisms were grouped into three treatment arms for DID analyses using an intention-to-treat approach with heterogeneous treatments. Results: ICDS utilization continued to increase from 2016 to 2020, with the most improvement observed in health and nutrition education (20-21pp). Unlike 2006-2016, there were large improvements in coverage equity between 2016-2020. DID models show, on average, that districts receiving any programmatic support had significant and faster improvements in coverage (2.2-14.7pp). Pooled effects sizes were larger, on average, for districts that received financial support in addition to human resources (8.9pp, 95% CI 7.3-10.74) compared to districts that only received human resource support (4.5pp, 95% CI 3.4-5.7). Conclusions: India’s programmatic efforts to further strengthen the ICDS were successful in increasing coverage of ICDS program at the national-level and reducing coverage inequities that persisted earlier. Focused district support mechanisms enabled faster progress in coverage and equity.
Impact of farm size on the function of landscape-level payments for ecosystem services: An agent-based model study
(Preprint, 2024-12-18) Wu, Vince; Bell, Andrew Reid; Zhang, Wei
Reducing pesticide use and restoring biodiversity are among the most pressing environmental challenges. Enhancing natural pest control ecosystem services through the integration of non-crop habitats (NCH) offers promising potential, creating a positive feedback loop by harnessing insect biodiversity to reduce pesticide reliance. Policy support is needed at the landscape level to encourage adoption of this currently underutilized approach, which depends on spatial coordination and collective behavioral change. Farm size, which critically influences farmers' agrochemical inputs, agroecological practices, and interactions with neighboring farms, varies across agricultural landscapes. It is unclear what role farm size plays in landscape-scale agri-environmental incentive programs, which have recently seen growing attention in scientific research and policy implementation. We employ framed field games and agent-based modeling as complementary research tools, exploring how farm size impacts the function of landscape-scale NCH subsidies aimed at encouraging coordinated provision and sharing of natural pest control services to reduce pesticide use. Our model simulation shows that, in landscapes of larger average farm size or lower farm size heterogeneity, NCH subsidies are significantly more effective at reducing pesticide use and increasing NCH efficiency in providing joint production benefits. Our results imply that landscape-scale payments for natural pest control ecosystem services face fewer obstacles as incentive-based mechanisms in landscapes of larger, more homogeneous farms, supporting the implementation of landscape-scale initiatives in such areas to effectively enhance ecosystem services. Our findings contribute to the growing discussion around landscape-level financial incentive programs that depend on spatial coordination, highlighting the importance of farmers’ land holding size.
Learning effects of an experiential groundwater resource game in north-eastern Ghana
(Preprint, 2024-04-16) Blackmore, Ivy; ElDidi, Hagar; Obuobie, Emmanuel; Akuriba, Margaret; Zhang, Wei; Ringler, Claudia; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.
The growth of dry season farming in Ghana is putting increased pressure on groundwater resources. Using mixed methods this paper examines the learning effect of an experiential groundwater resource game in Ghana’s Upper East Region that simulates real-life resource use and common-pool resource management dilemmas. Results indicate short and medium-term learnings associated with participation in the game. During the game, group interaction and communication improved cooperation and led to more sustainable game behaviors. The positive learning effects from the game persisted 12 months after the intervention. Game participants mentioned sustained lessons learned about the depletable and shared nature of groundwater resources and the importance of communication and collective governance. There were also examples of conscious selection of water conserving crops and the creation community watering schedules to manage water use. Findings highlight the important role experiential learning games can play in fostering real-life behavior change and sustainable natural resource use.
Research priorities for drivers of food choice for food system transformation in South Asia: Proceedings of a collaborative workshop
(Preprint, 2024-12-20) Blake, Christine; Kim, Sunny S.; Frongillo, Edward; Avula, Rasmi; Menon, Purnima
Agrifood systems in South Asia are highly productive, but substantial challenges including poverty, climate change, and environmental degradation complicate progress toward achieving sustainable healthy diets for all. The dynamics of food systems and the consequence of their rapid transformation for food choice behaviors that contribute to healthy and unhealthy diets are not well understood. Food choice is defined as a decision-making process through which individuals consider, acquire, prepare, distribute, and consume foods and beverages. Understanding drivers of food choice (DFC) is important for achieving sustainable healthy diets, but evidence is lacking. This paper outlines collectively derived priorities for future research on DFC in South Asia. A collaborative workshop was convened in March 2023 in Dhaka, Bangladesh with experts from the region. The workshop emphasized the application of a science of food choice framework to guide identification of priorities for research on DFC in South Asia. Priorities were derived through an interdisciplinary collaborative process to clarify what is known and not known about DFC in the context of food systems transformation in the region with emphasis on behaviors along the food production-consumption continuum. Workshop participants identified three main priorities for future research on DFC that address knowledge gaps in 1) intrahousehold dynamics and behaviors, 2) adolescent food choice, and 3) market and food acquisition linkages. Specific research needs to emphasize the importance of multi-generational data, food allocation, perceptions on food safety, adolescent food choice behaviors, and the need for longitudinal data on linkages between market availability and food choice behaviors. Building a body of evidence on DFC and tools for monitoring and assessing food choice behaviors is essential for designing effective policies and programs that allow all individuals to have healthy and sustainable diets in South Asia.
Effect of combining lower- and higher-value monthly cash transfers with nutrition-sensitive agriculture, male engagement, and psychosocial intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Malawi: A secondary analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial
(Preprint, 2024) Bliznashka, Lilia; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Ahun, Marilyn; Roschnik, Natalie; Phiri, Brenda; Gondwe-Matekesa, Esnatt; Kachinjika, Monice; Mvula, Peter; Munthali, Alister; Maggio, Daniel; Katundu, Mangani; Maleta, Kenneth; Gladstone, Melissa; Gelli, Aulo; MAZIKO trial team
Maternal depression affects one in five women in Malawi. Integrated interventions simultaneously addressing multiple risks are a promising strategy to improve mental health. This study evaluated the impact of a nutrition-sensitive social behaviour change (SBC) interventions (agriculture and livelihoods, male engagement, and Caring for the Caregiver) with or without cash transfers on maternal perinatal depression during the lean season in rural Malawi. A midline survey for a cluster-randomised controlled trial was conducted, where 156 clusters were randomly assigned to four arms (39 clusters/arm): (1) Standard of care (SoC), (2) SBC, (3) SBC+low cash (USD17 per month), and (4) SBC+high cash (USD43 per month). Pregnant women and mothers of children <2 years of age (n=2,682) were enrolled at baseline (May-June 2022). A subsample of 1,303 women were followed-up at midline (November-December 2023). Maternal perinatal depression was assessed using the Self-reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) with a score of ≥8 indicating symptoms consistent with depression. Intervention effects were estimated using linear mixed effects models. At midline, SBC+high cash reduced depression scores relative to SoC (mean difference (MD) -1.13 (95% CI -1.96, -0.31)) but had no impact on the proportion of women with depressive symptoms. SBC+low cash and SBC alone had no impact on depression scores or the proportion of women with depressive symptoms. Relative to SBC alone, adding cash to SBC reduced depressions scores and the proportion of women with depressive symptoms regardless of the size of the cash transfer. Cash transfers integrated with SBC can benefit maternal perinatal depression health in rural Malawi during the lean season.
What adults in rural South Asia eat and when they eat it: Evidence from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal
(Preprint, 2025-01-06) Scott, Samuel P.; Patwardhan, Sharvari; Ruel, Marie T.; Chakrabarti, Suman; Neupane, Sumanta; Manohar, Swetha; Moursi, Mourad; Menon, Purnima
Background Poor diets pose a threat to all forms of malnutrition and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Data on dietary patterns are scarce in South Asia. Objectives We sought to describe overall diet quality, intake of foods and food groups, and eating occasions among adults in rural South Asia. Methods Data were from five districts across Bangladesh (n=2,802 individuals), India (n=1,672), and Nepal (n=1,451). The Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) application was used to measure intake of foods on the previous day, with each food tagged to an eating occasion. Diet quality and the risk of diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) were described using GDQS total (0–49), GDQS positive (0–32) and GDQS negative (0–17) metrics for overall, healthy, and unhealthy food intake respectively. Results Diet quality was low, with similar scores across countries for GDQS total (17-19 depending on country), GDQS positive (7–8) and GDQS negative (10–12), indicating low intake of healthy foods as the main contributor to poor diets. Over 90% of adults had levels of GQDS scores associated with moderate/high risk for diet-related NCDs, with the proportion at high risk in Bangladesh being 2-3x higher than other countries. Across sites, intake of refined grains (white rice), sweets (sugar, biscuits), and white tubers (potatoes) was common. One-third of adults did not eat breakfast in Nepal, and snacking was twice as common in males (63%) versus females (33%) in Bangladesh. Conclusions These findings highlight the need to improve diets in rural South Asia and may help inform interventions targeting food intake patterns.
Assessing food acquisition, preparation, and consumption practices in South Asia: A systematic review of assessment tools
(Preprint, 2025-01-06) Patwardhan, Sharvari; Boncyk, Morgan; Avula, Rasmi; Blake, Christine; Akter, Fahmida; Das, Jai K.; Silva, Renuka; Menon, Purnima; Scott, Samuel P.
Assessing behaviors related to food choice at individual- and household-levels is essential for improving household diets, but assessment tools are limited. We conducted a systematic review to identify gaps in existing assessment tools for food acquisition, preparation, and household consumption practices in South Asia, wherein diets are rapidly changing, and triple burden of malnutrition is emerging. Systematic search of three academic databases (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Core Collection) using pre-defined keywords were undertaken to identify studies assessing food acquisition, food preparation, and household consumption practices in South Asia, published in English between 2000 and December 2023. Following PRISMA guidelines, two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full texts based on the inclusion criteria, and extracted data on study characteristics and the assessment tools used to examine the food choice behaviors. Of 11,288 unique articles identified, 46 were included for synthesis. Food acquisition behaviors were assessed by 25 studies, food preparation by eight studies and household consumption practices by 26 studies. Most studies used quantitative methods (n=30), some used qualitative (n=13), and few used mixed methods (n=3), and varied by type of behavior assessed. Likert scales were the most widely used tools of quantitative assessments, while semi-structured interviews were the most common for qualitative assessments. Across the 46 studies, 59 different tools were used to assess food-related behaviors and only 14 studies claimed using validated tools and many studies did not include the full tool in the text or supplement (n=22). Our review highlights the need for expanding food choice behavior assessments to include the less-studied populations such as exploring young children and adolescents’ food choice behaviors and developing a contextually adaptable repository of validated tools to advance our understanding of food choice behaviors in various settings.
Perceived constraints to healthy diets: Evidence from agrifood system assessments in rural South Asia
(Preprint, 2025-01-09) Patwardhan, Sharvari; Chakrabarti, Suman; Choo, Esther M.; Boncyk, Morgan; Blake, Christine; Kim, Sunny S.; Scott, Samuel P.
The healthfulness of diets in South Asia is limited by socio-economic and public infrastructure challenges. Perceptions about food such as availability, accessibility, desirability, and convenience can impact food choice and ultimately diets. However, there are limited tools to understand consumers’ perceptions of these factors and if perceptions relate to actual food intake. Using a novel tool administered across five rural districts in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, we quantify the association between food perceptions and food intake. A Likert scale (agree, neutral, disagree) was used to capture respondents’ perceptions about seven food choice drivers (affordability, accessibility, desirability, convenience, food quality, food safety, availability) for a list of six common foods. For each food, principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify latent “drivers”. The association between these and diets (using 24-hour dietary recall data) was estimated using multivariable regression analysis. There was considerable heterogeneity across countries with respect to the relative importance of food choice drivers and diet quality. There is a need to measure and understand individual food perceptions that drive food choice to help develop policies that promote healthier food choices.
An Inclusive agri-food systems transformation pathway for India
(Preprint, 2024-08-16) Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Jha, Chandan; Bodirsky, Benjamin; Beier, Felicitas; Humpenöder, Florian; Leip, Debbora; Chen, David; Crawford, Michael; von Jeetze, Patrick; Bacca, Edna Molina; Soergel, Bjoern; Springmann, Marco; Dietrich, Jan; Popp, Alexander; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Lotze-Campen, Hermann
Although India has transformed from a food scarce to a food self-sufficient nation, the challenges of nutrition security, regional inequalities, and unsustainable agricultural practices persist. Existing policies lack an integrated vision for and implementation of holistic food system changes. This study undertakes a food system assessment for India using a global food system modelling framework, evaluating 23 food system measures on 14 indicators across dimensions of health, environment, inclusion, and economy. The food system measures include healthy diets, biosphere protection, agriculture management, equitable livelihood, and external reforms. Results indicate that 13 out of 14 indicators including nutrition and environmental outcomes improve due to synergistic effects driven by coordinated interventions, reducing trade-offs among the four dimensions of the food system. While progress is observed in most health and environmental indicators, challenges such as rising obesity and nitrogen pollution persist. Our attempt to quantify the dynamics of India’s food system under different scenarios enables understanding the trade-offs across dimensions. The comprehensive and forward-looking food system outcomes that this study elucidates aid in the identification of pivotal intervention points and facilitate strategizing policies for transformative changes.
Intrahousehold dynamics in South Asia: Understanding the relationships between women's empowerment, task sharing, decision making, and diets among women
(Preprint, 2025-01-09) Kumar, Neha; Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Manohar, Swetha; Banerjee, Archis; Gupta, Shivani; Chauhan, Alka; Patwardhan, Sharvari; Koirala, Uma
Despite the growing evidence on the role of women in agriculture and nutrition, interlinkages between empowerment among women, gendered task allocation, and nutrition are rarely studied together. Using data from the Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA), a household survey that used a plate-to-farm assessment approach in three countries (Bangladesh, India and Nepal), the paper investigates the associations between empowerment of women, gendered task allocation, decision-making among women, and diets among women. Our findings reveal complex and context-specific differences in associations between task allocation, decision-making and empowerment among. While agency in decision-making among women is positively associated with empowerment in all three country contexts, associations between gendered task allocation and empowerment vary. The share of tasks performed by females, particularly in agriculture and food preparation) is positively associated with empowerment among women, but the proportion of tasks shared equally between males and females does not necessarily empower women. Gendered task allocation and empowerment among women are not significantly associated with diets of women in the three countries, owing to the greater importance of broader socio-economic and context-specific factors such as wealth, education, and regional factors in explaining the variance in dietary outcomes. These findings highlight the need to take a holistic approach that addresses gender norms and household resource constraints to improving empowerment of women, while also addressing local accessibility/availability of nutritious foods to enhance the quality of diets of women.
COPO: a metadata platform for brokering FAIR data in the life sciences
(Preprint, 2019) Etuk, A.; Shaw, F.; González Beltran, A.; Johnson, D.; Laporte, Marie-Angélique; Rocca Serra, Philippe; Arnaud, Elizabeth; Devare, Medha; Kersey, Paul J.; Sansone, Susanna-Assunta; Davey, R.P.
Scientific innovation is increasingly reliant on data and computational resources. Much of today’s life science research involves generating, processing, and reusing heterogeneous datasets that are growing exponentially in size. Demand for technical experts (data scientists and bioinformaticians) to process these data is at an all-time high, but these are not typically trained in good data management practices. That said, we have come a long way in the last decade, with funders, publishers, and researchers themselves making the case for open, interoperable data as a key component of an open science philosophy. In response, recognition of the FAIR Principles (that data should be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) has become commonplace. However, both technical and cultural challenges for the implementation of these principles still exist when storing, managing, analysing and disseminating both legacy and new data. COPO is a computational system that attempts to address some of these challenges by enabling scientists to describe their research objects (raw or processed data, publications, samples, images, etc.) using community-sanctioned metadata sets and vocabularies, and then use public or institutional repositories to share it with the wider scientific community. COPO encourages data generators to adhere to appropriate metadata standards when publishing research objects, using semantic terms to add meaning to them and specify relationships between them. This allows data consumers, be they people or machines, to find, aggregate, and analyse data which would otherwise be private or invisible. Building upon existing standards to push the state of the art in scientific data dissemination whilst minimising the burden of data publication and sharing.

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