IFPRI Briefs

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/129223

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 1468

Global labelling for sustainable development
(Brief, 2024) Piñeiro, Valeria; Elverdin, Pablo; Pascuzzi, Nieves; de Oliveira, Susan Elizabeth Martins Cesar
Food production is a complex and varied set of activities, both agricultural and nonagricultural, involving an increasing number of sectors and actors that influence the way food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed. Also new dimensions are being considered when food is produced, traded, and exported. The impact of agrifood systems on the environment and the wellbeing of farmers stand out, as well as concerns about the safety and nutritional quality of food. Over the last decades, economic growth together with urbanization, social, and culinary changes resulted in a shift toward more unhealthier diets. Specially, the increased consumption of ultra processed food has led to a higher incidence of overweight and obesity. Faced with this concern, many governments have made progress in the design and implementation of policies to promote healthier diets. Mandatory labeling of processed products is rapidly growing, but its legislation varies in each country, causing confusion among consumers and affecting food SMEs' access to third markets. International trade is essential for food security and nutrition. Given that more than one-fifth of all food consumed worldwide is imported, evidencing the global interdependence of agrifood systems, it requires countries to work together. The G20 countries have the ability to take the initiative to advance greater harmonization.
Advancing fair and sustainable trade: Strategies for G20 action in the wake of environmental regulations
(Brief, 2024) Mahiques, Maria Victoria Arias; De Maria, Marcello; Park, Leonardo; Sancisi, Angeles; Papendieck, Sabine; Piñeiro, Valeria; de Oliveira, Susan Cesar; Illescas, Nelson; Nakagawa, Louise; Uehara, Thiago
The new environmental regulations aimed at ensuring sustainable trade in commodity supply chains, exemplified by the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), represent a significant step towards tackling global environmental issues such as climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. However, international trade should not only be greener but also more just and inclusive, ensuring that the benefits and burdens of these measures are evenly shared among all countries and societal groups. Developing Countries (DCs) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), but also certain vulnerable groups like smallholder farmers, risk being disproportionately affected by these new regulations, with potential detrimental effects on economic growth, human development, and integration within the global trade system. These obstacles stem from increased production costs, potential competitiveness loss and complex compliance requirements. This brief delves into these hurdles and outlines immediate actions that the G20 should undertake in response. Even though there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the G20 can provide guidelines to address these shared challenges in three critical dimensions: I. Participatory governance: fostering multilateralism, open participation mechanisms and polycentric institutions. II. Capacity building: funding technological infrastructure, supplying technical assistance and supporting transparency tools. III. Economic incentives: designing and implementing market mechanisms that promote sustainable production. The G20 must play a key role in outlining policy strategies that comprehensively integrate climate change, trade, and agrifood systems, and guarantee the participation of DCs and LDCs, in order to achieve SDGs worldwide.
Enhancing agricultural resilience in Uzbekistan through farmers’ decisionmaking autonomy
(Brief, 2025-01) Djanibekov, Nodir; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Mirkasimov, Bakhrom; Akramov, Kamiljon T.
KEY MESSAGE • Greater farmer’s decision-making autonomy enhances resilience in technical efficiency during economic shocks. • Technical efficiency improves with autonomy, as farmers can adjust resource use, sustain productivity, and make adaptive choices regarding crop selection and input management. • Eliminating top-down land allocations, granting secure land use rights, expanding financial and market access, and decentralizing training programs can improve the capacity of farmers to become more productive and adaptable in the face of current and future challenges.
US tariffs on the horizon: How will India’s economy be affected?
(Brief, 2025-01) Pal, Barun Deb; Ajmani, Manmeet Singh
US trade policy is expected to change significantly under the new administration, with an anticipated average tariff increase of 10 to 20 percentage points on all imports.1 Tariffs as high as 100 percent may be imposed on imports from select countries to address trade imbalances and to boost domestic manufacturing in the United States. India is one of the countries that may be significantly impacted by this policy change. Total merchandise trade between India and the United States increased rapidly in the past decade, rising from US$53 billion in 2014 to US$78 billion in 2022 (World Bank, 2024). The United States became India’s top trading partner in 2022, accounting for 11 percent of India’s total trade. India, in turn, accounts for around 2.5 percent of the total US trade.
Assessing the gender dimensions in the true costs of food production in Kenya
(Brief, 2024-12-31) Baragu, Geoffrey; Boukaka, Sedi-Anne; Benfica, Rui
Key takeaways: Gender-based environmental and social external costs create substantial economic inefficiencies in the agricultural sector. The gender wage gap contributes 12.8% to total external costs. Women's limited access to resources leads to reduced productivity, with female farmers investing 36% less in inputs than their male counterparts. Workplace harassment, which disproportionately affects women, accounts for 10.8% of total external costs. Unequal land management practices (women managing smaller plots) and having restricted access to improved agricultural inputs create additional inefficiencies in resource allocation and production outcomes.
What can food policy do to redirect the diet transition?
(Brief, 2005) Haddad, Lawrence James
The dietary transition in the developing world is accelerating toward an increased burden of chronic disease. It is increasing human mortality and disease burdens, and it is lowering economic productivity. The dietary transition is driven by changing preferences fueled by growing incomes, changing relative prices, urbanization, and food technology and distribution systems. This paper identifies policy options from the food supply and demand sides that can influence the transition toward increasingly healthy outcomes. These options have had mixed success in industrialized countries, and the policy tradeoffs in the developing world will be even more complicated. Additional technical research is needed to assess competing risks and help develop policy options. There is also a need for research to engage different actors in the policymaking process. In a debate in which much is at stake, there is a potentially powerful role for researchers to bring these actors to the table. In the end, this may help improve the decisionmaking processes underlying food policies that aim to redirect the diet transition toward healthier outcomes.
Weighing risks: Short and long term impacts of credit constraints
(Brief, 2006) Boucher, Steve; Quisumbing, Agnes R.
Zinc fortification
(Brief, 2007) Ruel, Marie T.
Building sustainable capacity for policy research with impact: Lessons from PRCI in Asia
(Brief, 2024-03) Babu, Suresh Chandra; Tschirley, David; Boughton, Duncan; Srivastava, Nandita
This policy brief summarizes results of an assessment of the impacts of assistance provided by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy Research, Capacity, and Influence (PRCI) to agricultural and food policy think tanks and research centers in six countries of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos) and South Asia (India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) from mid-2019 to mid- 2024. The brief’s objectives are to (1) distill the progress and accomplishments of the policy think tanks that PRCI supported and the related impacts that this assistance had on their organizations, and (2) draw lessons for the design of future programming that aims to support sustained enhancement of institutional capacity for applied food and agricultural policy research that has influence on policy processes and outcomes.
Effect of organic fertilizer use on crop yield and soil health in maize production in Kenya
(Brief, 2024-12-31) Xie, Hua
Sub-Saharan Africa faces an elevated risk of food insecurity. The agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan African countries encounters significant challenges in increasing crop production to meet the ever-growing food demand driven by population growth and economic development. Nutrient management is a critical component of crop production, yet nutrient input levels in the region are notably low. In many areas of cropland, nutrient balances are in deficit (Liu et al., 2010). At the recent Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit, African leaders pledged to strengthen nutrient management practices to enhance food production through increased fertilizer use. Fertilizers can be categorized into different types. Most discussions on fertilizer policy to date have focused on inorganic fertilizers, which are produced through industrial processes. In contrast, organic fertilizers are derived from naturally occurring materials. The use of organic fertilizers may offer additional long-term benefits, particularly for improving soil health. Notably, soil organic carbon is a key indicator of soil health, and organic fertilizers, being rich in carbon, can contribute to increasing soil carbon content. A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of organic fertilizers on crop productivity and soil health, focusing on maize production in Kenya. Maize is the primary staple crop in Kenya, with a harvested area of 2.1 million hectares, representing about 40% of the total harvested area for all crops in the country (FAOSTAT). Maize is also the largest consumer of fertilizers in Kenya. It is estimated that maize cultivation uses 2.8 million tons of fertilizers annually, accounting for approximately 50% of the country's total fertilizer consumption. Fertilizers are applied on about 70% of the maize-planted area (IFDC & AFAP, 2018). However, the average maize yield in Kenya remains low, at less than 2 metric tons per hectare (FAOSTAT), indicating suboptimal management practices or inadequate input levels, including insufficient fertilizer use (De Groote, 2023).
The case for food system knowledge support system (FS-KSS)
(Brief, 2025-01-17) Ulimwengu, John M.; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035) is a key framework aimed at transforming Africa’s agrifood systems to achieve sustainable agricultural growth, food security, and economic development across the continent. Building on the lessons from the Malabo Declaration, the Plan emphasizes the need for sustainable food production, inclusivity, and resilience in the face of climate change and other challenges. However, achieving these ambitious goals requires a robust and integrated support system that can provide accurate, real time data, facilitate evidence-based decision-making, and promote accountability among stakeholders. Without a well-functioning knowledge system, the efforts to transform agrifood systems may be hindered by data gaps, limited analytical capacity, and a lack of coordination among various actors. The effectiveness of food systems in Africa is often hindered by data gaps, inconsistencies, and limited capacity for data analysis. These issues compromise the ability of governments and other stakeholders to make informed decisions, implement sound policies, and monitor progress toward national and continental goals such as food security and climate resilience. This is where the Food System Knowledge Support System (FS-KSS) becomes crucial, as it provides the necessary tools to ensure effective implementation of the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan.
Bangladesh: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks
(Brief, 2024-12-30) Mukashov, Askar; Jones, Eleanor; Thurlow, James
This study explores Bangladesh’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. The Bangladesh Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was employed to simulate a range of potential economic outcomes under various shock scenarios sampled using historical data to capture domestic agricultural yield volatilities and world market price uncertainty for traded goods. Data mining and machine learning methods were applied to quantify the contribution of each shock to the uncertainty of economic outcomes (gross domestic product [GDP], private consumption, poverty, and undernourishment). Our findings suggest that potential variation in Bangladesh’s GDP ranges from +0.8 to -1.0 percent to baseline, with domestic climate shocks accounting for 53.7 percent of uncertainty, and remaining 41.7 percent are explained by the volatility of world market prices and Foreign Exchange (FX) flows. At the same time, private con sumption is more uncertain (from +4.0 to -3.5 percent to base), and external factors are the most important risk contributors (70.1 percent is world prices and 2.9 percent is FX flows). Similarly, external factors contribute roughly two-thirds to the potential variation of national poverty and undernourishment rates that fluctuate from -2.4 to +1.8 and –2.2 to +1.9 relative to the baseline rates percentage points respectively. Understanding how potential shocks might impact various segments of the Bangladesh economy and population is a critical first step in facilitating a discussion on risk mitigation strategies that include increasing sectoral productivity or diversifying production to reduce reliance on high-risk sectors.
Advancing climate-smart financial solutions for smallholder farmers: Lessons from the CGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative
(Brief, 2024-12-20) Timu, Anne G.; Laborte, Alice; Attoh, Emmanuel; Kikulwe, Enock; Kiundu, Paul; Guo, Zhe; Mayanja, Brian; Mbithi, Anthony; Sartas, Murat; Vyas, Shalika; You, Liangzhi
Smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries face climate-related risks that increase their income volatility and compromise their well-being. The CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience (ClimBeR) has developed and implemented a suite of innovative instruments aimed at transforming the climate adaptation capacity of smallholder farmers. This brief examines the potential of these bundled financial solutions in enhancing smallholder farmers' resilience to climate risks and documents ClimBeR's experience in implementing and scaling these instruments.
The case for post Malabo Agenda implementation guidelines
(Brief, 2025-01-17) Ulimwengu, John M.; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), developed by the African Union (AU) in 2003, marked a significant turning point for Africa’s agricultural development. CAADP’s objective was to transform agriculture into a key driver of economic growth, poverty reduction, and food security across the continent. Through a focus on increasing agricultural productivity and ensuring that agricultural development was aligned with national and regional priorities, CAADP sought to tackle Africa’s persistent challenges of hunger, malnutrition, and economic stagnation. In 2014, the Malabo Declaration was introduced as the second phase of CAADP implementation, with a new set of ambitious targets aimed at ending hunger and halving poverty by 2025. The declaration reinforced the importance of agricultural-led growth and committed African governments to specific goals, including increasing agricultural productivity by at least 6% annually and allocating at least 10% of national budgets to agriculture. It also emphasized sustainable agriculture, resilience to climate change, and equitable access to resources, particularly for women and smallholder farmers.
Comprehensive mapping of food systems is necessary to guide transformation efforts: The case of Rwanda
(Brief, 2025-01-17) Ulimwengu, John M.; Warner, James; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz
Rwanda has made significant strides in improving its food systems, with notable progress in reducing malnutrition and stunting, especially among children. Stunting rates declined from over 50% in the early 2000s to 33% by 2020, reflecting the government’s commitment to addressing food insecurity and enhancing nutrition through a range of agricultural and public health initiatives. The country’s Crop Intensification Program (CIP) has played a pivotal role in increasing agricultural productivity, especially for staple crops like maize, beans, and Irish potatoes, which has contributed to better food availability across the country. Despite these achievements, substantial challenges persist. Almost 19% of households still face food insecurity, with the highest prevalence in rural areas. Additionally, malnutrition continues to affect vulnerable populations, with anemia rates among women of reproductive age at 37%, signaling gaps in nutrition security. Environmental concerns, including soil degradation, water scarcity, and climate change, further complicate efforts to sustain agricultural productivity. Approximately 40% of Rwanda’s land is affected by soil erosion, and shifting climate patterns pose increasing risks to agricultural yields. These challenges indicate the need for a more strategic, research-based approach to understanding and transforming Rwanda’s food system.
From reach to transformation: Leveraging the RBET Framework to secure women’s land and resource rights
(Brief, 2024) Larson, A.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Trautman, S.; Atmadja, S.; Cronkleton, P.; Elias, M.; Gallagher, E. J.; Garner, E.; Morgan, M.; Paez-Valencia, A. M.
The Reach, Benefit, Empower framework has been invaluable in guiding gender considerations in programming, ensuring that projects carefully consider their goals, and then move from ambition to implementation to evaluation. The framework makes it easier to see how projects claiming to “empower” women may only manage to “reach” them, such as through training, without actually verifying if the activities benefit or empower them. The addition of “Transform” to this framework (RBET for short) emphasizes the need for deeper structural or normative changes to create more equitable systems. In this brief we explore how to get the most out of the RBET framing in relation to securing women’s land and other resource rights.
Key principles for country theory of change for food systems transformation anchored in CAADP strategic and action plan (2026-2035)
(Brief, 2024) Ulimwengu, John M.; Mutyasira, Vine; Keizire, Boaz
Africa is at a pivotal moment in its journey toward achieving sustainable agricultural development, food security, and climate resilience. Agriculture, which employs over 60% of the continent’s population, plays a critical role in economic growth and poverty reduction. Yet, Africa’s food systems are under pressure from multiple challenges, including widespread food insecurity, malnutrition, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to climate change. Despite two decades of significant advancements through the implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the continent faces complex issues that demand a more transformative and systemic approach to agricultural development. The latest Africa Union 4th CAADP Biennial Review Report shows that none of the Member States are on-track towards achieving the CAADP Malabo commitments by 2025. The continent is doing particularly poorly on the ending hunger commitment, with none of the countries on-track towards achieving access to agriculture inputs and technologies, agricultural productivity, and food security and nutrition. The 2024 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) saw a greater commitment from global leaders, Africa Heads of States, private sector, civil society, and international organizations to scale up investment in the transformation of Africa’s food systems to ensure food and nutrition security in Africa while creating jobs and opportunities youth and women. The year also saw intensification of engagements around the Post-Malabo discussion which have seen a strategic shift towards as a broader agri-food systems approach.
Nepal: Systematic analysis of climate and world market shocks
(Brief, 2024-12-30) Mukashov, Askar; Thurlow, James; Dorosh, Paul A.; Jones, Eleanor
This study explores Nepal’s vulnerability to economic and climatic shocks and identifies those contributing most to economic uncertainty. Our analysis is based on an empirically based estimation of the probability distribution of these shocks and a machine learning summary of several thousand simulations of their impacts using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model for Nepal. In this way, we are able to quantify the contribution of each shock to the uncertainty of economic outcomes (gross domestic product [GDP], private consumption, poverty, and undernourishment). Our findings indicate that, given the very high import intensity of the economy, world market price and foreign exchange (FX) flow volatility have the largest impacts on household welfare (consumption, poverty and undernourishment). However, domestic yield volatility, especially cereal yield volatility, is the most important risk to Nepal’s GDP. However, Overall, these findings suggest that risk mitigation strategies, such as increasing average crop yields, adopting technologies and practices that narrow yield uncertainties, or diversifying production away from risky crops and sectors, can have major benefits for Nepal’s households and the overall economy.
Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan
(Brief, 2025-01-07) Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr
Tajikistan’s heavily relies on imported mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, are crucial for enhancing crop yields, increasing income and supporting farmers’ livelihoods. However, limited access to this input, along with rising global fertilizer prices, has restricted farmers’ ability to fully benefit from them. Particularly due to the result of this, agricultural productivity has been constrained, affecting food security and farmer incomes. Key challenges • Fertilizer application rates, particularly for both mineral and organic types, remain below the recommended norms set by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). Farmers across the country, especially smallholders, struggle to apply adequate amounts of fertilizers due to high costs and limited access. • Access to high-quality mineral fertilizers is further hindered by the country’s dependency on imports, which can exacerbate local price volatility. • Fertilizer use varies across different regions of Tajikistan. In Khatlon and Sughd regions fertilizer use is higher, particularly for cotton and vegetable farming. However, in other regions fertilizer use remains comparatively low, limiting agricultural productivity. • While fertilizers are essential for improving crop yields, excessive or inefficient use can lead to environmental risks, including soil salinity and degradation. Careful management of fertilizer use is needed to prevent harm to biodiversity and soil ecosystems, particularly in regions with intensive farming, such as those producing cotton. Recommended actions • Promote training on organic fertilizer benefits and sustainable practices like composting. Support better manure management to increase organic fertilizer application. • Abolishing or reducing value added tax and import tariffs for fertilizers could make them more cost-effective and attainable for farmers. • Introduce targeted subsidies for mineral fertilizers to make fertilizers more affordable and accessible. • Promote efficient fertilizer use and broader sustainable practices like soil conservation and integrated pest management to ensure long-term productivity.
Agricultural advisory services in Tajikistan: Private sector role
(Brief, 2025-01-07) Aliev, Jovidon; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Goibov, Manuchehr
Agricultural advisory services (AAS) may play a crucial role in supporting Tajikistan’s food security and rural development by helping farmers to increase productivity, adopt new technologies, and access to the markets. Despite their significance, AAS remain underdeveloped with limited coverage and accessibility. Strengthening AAS through government support, private sector engagement, and in partnership with NGOs can address the challenges and contribute to sustainable growth of the sector. Key challenges and developments • Limited coverage and accessibility: In 2021, around 5 percent of Tajikistan’s farms and 14 percent of arable land benefited from professional AAS, while over 90 percent of farmers need these services. • Resource constraints: Financial needs and limited number of AAS providers are the main constraints to scaling-up the services to meet nationwide farmers' needs. • Positive impacts of current initiatives: Despite limited resources, Sarob and Neksigol Mushovir private and non-profit cooperatives through providing AAS to the farmers contributes on yield increases across the country, at the same time reduce an irrigation water use. • Digital innovation: Neksigol Mushovir’s AgroSpace platform, with mobile applications, e-library resources, and online consultations, has significantly improved access to agricultural knowledge. • Climate-smart agriculture: Sarob’s initiatives in climate-smart practices, such as zero tillage and water-saving technologies, have reduced inputs use and an increased crops yield. Recommended actions • Expand institutional support: Public support to scaling up of the AAS is crucial. • Enhance public-private partnerships: Encourage collaboration between public institutions, private sector, and NGOs to pool resources and knowledge is vital to expanding AAS to the farmers. • Enhance digital solutions for AAS: Invest in digital platforms to provide accessible, low-cost advisory services, real-time market information, and climate adaptation tools to the farmers. • Focus on climate resilience: Scale up climate-smart agricultural practices and provide training in water management, pest control, and sustainable farming techniques to enhance productivity under changing climate conditions.

Browse

Recent Submissions