New at IFPRI

IFPRI 2012 Global Food Policy Report China Launch and Reception

Simone Hill-Lee — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:34:46 -0400

Time:

6:00 PM CST

Presenter(s):

Shenggen Fan, Director General, IFPRI

Contact/RSVP:

RSVP to Xinyuan Shang at x.shang@cgiar.org. For more information about the event, please call: +86 13811743772 (cell) or +86 (10) 8210 6159 (IFPRI office).

Location:

Yashi Restaurant
Grand Building of the Friendship Hotel
Beijing, China

This special event hosted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) will debut IFPRI’s flagship 2012 Global Food Policy Report (Overview in Chinese).

2012 Global Food Policy Report

2012 Global Food Policy Report: Overview

Food Security and Nutritional Status in Egypt Worsening Amidst Economic Challenges

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:56:12 -0400

May 21, 2013, CAIRO – Poverty and food insecurity in Egypt have risen significantly over the last three years according to joint reports released today by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the government’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Contact Information:

Sarah Immenschuh (IFPRI)
s.immenschuh@cgiar.org
Tel: +1 202-862-5679

التصدي لتزايد انعدام الأمن الغذائي في مصر في وقت التحول

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:56:10 -0400

إن الدروس المستفادة من تجارب البلدان الأخرى ومحاولات إصلاح الدعم السابقة في مصر تشير إلى أن التوصل إلى تفهم (لماذا ينبغي أن يحصل الأغنياءعلى الدعم؟ )وإدارة التوقعات (ما الذي سيحصل عليه السكان في المقابل؟)هي أمور ذات أهمية حاسمة للنجاح. وبالإضافة إلى ذلك، هناك فحاجة إلى ىنظام للرصد والتقييم المسبق لإفادة عملية صنع القرار ويجب أن يتعلم واضعي السياسات وأن يقوموا بالتكيف على أساس ذلك أثناء عملية الإصلاح. وأخيراً،فإنه من المرجح أن يكون إصلاح الدعم أكثر نجاحا إذا ما تم ادراجه بشكل متكامل ضمن استراتيجية وطنية أوسع نطاقا للتنمية والأمن الغذائي.

ما بعد الصحوة العربية

اقتصادات الصحوة العربية

PDF file:

ifpriwfppn_egypt_ar.pdf(375.2KB)

Tackling Egypt’s rising food insecurity in a time of transition

admin — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:49:23 -0400

Owing to a succession of crises and worsening poverty, food security in Egypt started to deteriorate as early as 2005. These crises included the avian influenza epidemic in 2006; the food, fuel, and financial crises of 2007–2009; a further rallying of global food prices starting in late 2010; and the challenging macroeconomic context that followed political instability in the wake of the 2011 revolution. Household food insecurity and child malnutrition have risen significantly, and food subsidies are an important part of the country’s safety net.

Economics of the Arab awakening

Beyond the Arab awakening

PDF file:

ifpriwfppn_egypt.pdf(337.6KB)

Interventions for achieving sustainability in tropical forest and agricultural landscapes

Indira Yerramareddy — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:18:26 -0400

The rapid expansion of commodity agriculture in tropical forest landscapes is a key driver of deforestation. To meet the growing demand from a more prosperous and expanding global population, it is imperative to develop sustainable commodity supply chains that support higher agricultural productivity, and that enable improved environmental, economic, and social outcomes. Interventions by community, market, and state actors can enhance the sustainability of supply chains by affecting where and how agricultural production occurs.

PDF file:

capriwp110.pdf(1.5MB)

Note to WTO: Reform agricultural trade

David Laborde Debucquet — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:14:19 -0400

Co-authored by David Laborde Debucquet and Sara Gustafson.

Community–based adaptation to climate change

Indira Yerramareddy — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:11:02 -0400

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of community-based adaptation (CBA) efforts. To start, it develops and describes a framework on adaptation to climate change used as the basis for this research. The paper then defines the characteristics or principles of CBA and describes why it is an essential part of the adaptation process. Following this, it identifies the limitations of or constraints to CBA in practice, including the need to link CBA to the larger adaptation and development processes and discusses institutional arrangements for CBA.

PDF file:

capriwp109.pdf(441.9KB)

Evaluation of grassroots community–based legal aid activities in Uganda and Tanzania

Indira Yerramareddy — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:02:27 -0400

Progressive legislative actions in Uganda and Tanzania have improved women’s legal rights to land, however significant gender disparities persist in access, control, inheritance, and ownership of land at the grassroots level. One promising mechanism to improve the implementation of laws is through Community–based Legal Aid (CBLA) programs, which are typically designed as pro–poor to enhance legal empowerment of marginalized groups.

PDF file:

capriwp108.pdf(640.5KB)

Commentary: Walk the Talk

Shenggen Fan — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:50:21 -0400

*This post is part of a series produced by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, marking the occasion of its annual Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C., which will be held on May 21st.

Do you know someone who has transformed thinking and action on nutrition?

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:27:09 -0400

Originally posted on the Transform Nutrition blog.

Transform Nutrition, in support of the efforts of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, have launched a new initiative to find the ‘unsung heroes’ of nutrition at national or local levels. Nominations are now welcome. Deadline is 30 June 2013.

Further information and nomination form.

Rapport 2012 sur les politiques alimentaires mondiales

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:26:16 -0400

Ce rapport phare de l’IFPRI analyse les principales questions, évolutions et décisions relatives aux politiques alimentaires pour l’année 2012. En mettant en perspective les succès et déconvenues enregistrés par les politiques alimentaires au cours de cette année, il indique comment faire progresser celles qui ameliorant la situation alimentaire des pauvres.

Fruit de l’expertise et de l’expérience des chercheurs de l’IFPRI ainsi que d’autres spécialistes de renom des politiques alimentaires, ce rapport aborde plusieurs questions cruciales :

Indice de la faim dans le monde 2012

PDF file:

gfpr2012_overview_fr.pdf(1.4MB)

2012年全球粮食政策报告

admin — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:14:15 -0400

作为国际食物政策研究所（IFPRI）的旗舰报告，本报告回顾了2012年主要的粮食政策问题、发展动态以及决策。通过正确地看待这一年粮食政策取得的成功和遭遇的挫折，报告就如何推进改善贫困人口粮食形势的政策提出了建议。

报告汇聚了IFPRI研究人员和其他主要粮食政策专家的专业知识和经验，探讨了以下几个关键问题：

哪些地方的农业生产力正在增长？原因何在？其增长对于全球粮食供应有什么意义？
可持续发展已进行到了什么程度？绿色经济还有多远？
需要做出哪些努力才能让性别考虑成为农业和农村发展中不可缺少的一部分？
农业如何才能为非洲不断增长的年轻人口提供有意义的工作？
美国和欧盟的农业政策正在朝着什么方向发展？两者的分歧在哪里？
巴西、中国和印度将如何影响2050年前的全球粮食安全，IFPRI有什么样的预期？

《2012年全球粮食政策报告》配有丰富的图表和指标，此外还包括一个粮食政策发展时间表。

PDF file:

gfpr2012_overview_zh.pdf(2MB)

国际食物政策研究所与中国的合作及其影响概要

admin — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:54:06 -0400

20世纪70年代初爆发了粮食危机，1974年世界粮食大会随之召开。一些创新者（开始）意识到，粮食安全不仅有赖于农业生产，也有赖于会影响粮食系统的政策。为此，国际食物政策研究所（IFPRI）于1975年成立，旨在为持续消除贫困、饥饿和营养不良提供基于证据的政策选择。

三十多年来，中国经历了经济改革和发展，成功地实现了经济增长和减贫。中国在减少城乡居民的收入差距、平衡区域发展、保护自然资源等方面也付出了很多努力。2003年，国际食物政策研究所专门针对其在中国的工作制定了战略，并扩大了其中国项目；同年，国际食物政策研究所与中国农业科学院合作，成立了国际农业与农村发展研究中心（ICARD），以协调其在中国和东亚的扶贫研究和活动。

PDF file:

brochure_china_zh.pdf(993.3KB)

Researchers, Policymakers, and Other Experts Are Meeting to Discuss Sustaining Regional Economic Growth and Achieving Food Security

admin — Wed, 15 May 2013 07:12:32 -0400

May 15, 2013, Dakar, Senegal—West Africa has sustained a solid pace of growth for nearly two decades—a welcome change after years of stagnation and decline. The strategic question remains, however: How can the region build on this success to accelerate economic transformation and broaden growth, especially to provide regional food security?

Contact Information:

Hawa Diop, h.diop@cgiar.org, +221.33.869.98.32

Les points forts des recherches récentes de l’IFPRI enmatière depolitiques alimentaires en Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:52:47 -0400

À la suite des crises alimentaires du début des années 1970 et de la Conférence mondiale de l’alimentation de 1974 qui en a résulté, un groupe de visionnaires novateurs a compris que la sécurité alimentaire ne dépendait pas uniquement de la production agricole, mais également des politiques portant sur l’ensemble des systèmes alimentaires, de la ferme à la table.

Patterns of growth and structural transformation in Africa

PDF file:

brochure2013_wcao_fr.pdf(927KB)

Highlights of recent IFPRI food policy research in the West and Central Africa region

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:34:43 -0400

In the wake of the food crises of the early 1970s and the resulting World Food Conference of 1974, a group of innovators realized that food security depends not only on crop production but also on the policies that affect an entire food system, from farm to table. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) was founded in 1975, the same year as the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, which formally created the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Patterns of growth and structural transformation in Africa

PDF file:

brochure2013_wcao.pdf(936.7KB)

Better Development through Diaspora Engagement?

Rebecca Sullivan — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:11:01 -0400

For many developing countries, remittances—the money sent from expats back home to their families—are a major source of revenue, in some instances comprising upward of 20 percent of GDP. Over the last decade, remittances to the world’s least developed countries (LDCs) eclipsed even foreign direct investment. Remittances are not only stable; they are growing, despite the recent financial crisis that brought the global economy to its knees. Progressively, capital-scarce developing countries are recognizing the importance of harnessing this source of income, knowledge, and investment to spur better economic development.

Tackling food security and nutrition in Egypt: challenges and opportunities

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:03:38 -0400

Location:

Salon Vert, Cairo Marriott, Zamalek, Cairo

Abstract

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics of Egypt (CAPMAS), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and IFPRI will launch findings from the 2011 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIECS) data detailing poverty, food security and nutrition trends in Egypt and their implications for policymakers and programming.

div class="pullquote" markdown="1">##More information##
Policy Note
Download:

Tackling Egypt’s rising food insecurity in a time of transition

Is open data transforming the development frontier? IFPRI’s “D8” participants think so.

Cindy Cox — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:43:44 -0400

Open data is a public good for the good of the public. Indeed, a growing movement in agricultural development is calling for institutions to open up their data and let it be freely available without restriction, publicly accessible, deliverable and downloadable in desirable and descriptive ways, and easy to mix with other data and tools. Even Bono recently made a call for open data “to turbocharge the fight against poverty.”

Cornell’s Per Pinstrup-Andersen: Don’t Believe the Hype (and Data) Surrounding Food Price Crises

Peter Shelton — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:37:38 -0400

Beginning in 2007, the world has suffered three rounds of high food prices. These crises were caused by a variety of factors—from extreme weather events to civil conflict—but poor policies by affected countries exacerbated the problem, according to an expert on the subject who spoke at IFPRI last week.

Highlights of IFPRI's partnerships and impacts in China

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:35:50 -0400

For more than 30 years, China has undergone economic reforms and development that have led to successful economic growth and poverty reduction. The country has also made considerable efforts to reduce the income gap between urban and rural populations, balance regional development, and conserve natural resources. In 2003, IFPRI developed a strategy specifically tailored to its work in China and expanded its national program.

Highlights of IFPRI’s recent food policy research for Ireland

Highlights of IFPRI’s recent food policy research for the Asian Development Bank

Highlights of IFPRI’s recent food policy research for the government of Australia

Highlights of IFPRI’s research and partnerships in Bangladesh

Highlights of recent IFPRI food policy research for DFID

Highlights of recent IFPRI food policy research for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Highlights of recent IFPRI food policy research for USAID

Highlights of recent IFPRI food policy research in the West and Central Africa region

PDF file:

brochure_china.pdf(679.4KB)

Group lending with heterogeneous types

Indira Yerramareddy — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:12:41 -0400

Group lending has been widely adopted in the past thirty years by many microfinance institutions as a means to mitigate information asymmetries when delivering credit to the poor. This paper proposes an empirical method to address the potential omitted-variable problem resulting from unobserved group types when modeling the repayment behavior of group members. We estimate the model using a rich dataset from a group-lending program in India.

The dynamics of insurance demand under liquidity constraints and insurer default risk

Innovations in rural and agriculture finance

How far do shocks move across borders?

PDF file:

ifpridp01268.pdf(1.6MB)

Ethiopia’s value chains on the move

Indira Yerramareddy — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:52:02 -0400

We study the value chain of teff, Ethiopia’s most important staple food crop by area and value. Based on large-scale primary surveys, we find significant changes in the last decade. First, there is increasing adoption of modern inputs (chemical fertilizer, improved varieties, and herbicides) by farmers, especially by those living close to urban centers. Second, quality demands are rising and there are important shifts from the cheap red varieties to the more expensive white ones.

PDF file:

esspwp52.pdf(951.2KB)

Ghana’s commercial seed sector

Indira Yerramareddy — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:15:46 -0400

Ghana’s seed sector has undergone some significant changes in the past few years, including the establishment of a new seed law and regulations, the appointment of a National Seed Council, and the emergence of a more diversified commercial seed sector. This paper begins by reviewing the principal elements in Ghana’s commercial seed sector. It then examines three factors that will be critical to the direction of seed sector development: the adequacy of public sector crop varieties, the nature of farmers’ seed demand, and the composition of the local seed industry.

PDF file:

gsspwp32.pdf(592.5KB)

Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2011-2012

Indira Yerramareddy — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:13:18 -0400

To download the dataset and for more information, please visit at http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1.21266.

CAADP’s 10-Year Report Card: An evaluation of a premier program for investment in agriculture

Rebecca Sullivan — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:53:38 -0400

Investment in the African agricultural sector was largely in a state of decline until the early 2000s, followed by what became known as Africa’s “decade of growth.” Between the years 2001-2010, investment in the sector grew more than 3 percent per year, overtaking population growth on the continent for the first time in decades.

The Status of Food Security in the Feed the Future Zone and Other Regions of Bangladesh

Indira Yerramareddy — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:49:14 -0400

This report presents results of analyses of the IFPRI household survey data on various topics that, combined, represent the current food security situation in Bangladesh. Specifically, the study examines how that situation varies between the FTF zone of influence in the southern region and other regions throughout the country.

PDF file:

bihstr.pdf(6.4MB)

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI)

Indira Yerramareddy — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:03:44 -0400

The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is a new survey-based index designed to measure the empowerment, agency, and inclusion of women in the agricultural sector in an effort to identify ways to overcome those obstacles and constraints (Alkire et al. 2012). This technical report, prepared by researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), presents the WEAI, computed for the Feed the Future zone as well as rural Bangladesh as a whole.

Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index

PDF file:

weaitr.pdf(1.3MB)

Typology of farm households and irrigation systems

Indira Yerramareddy — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:45:17 -0400

Irrigation is considered an important factor for agriculture and food security. Knowledge gaps, however, still exist with regard to how farmers in Africa south of Sahara, including Nigeria, are using irrigation. Given the diverse agroecological and socioeconomic environment in countries like Nigeria, understanding the diverse patterns of irrigation use and their associations with household characteristics is important in designing how irrigation can contribute to the agricultural transformation. This report summarizes the typology of farm households and irrigators in Nigeria.

What is the irrigation potential for Africa?

Demand characteristics for small-scale private irrigation technologies

Market and climatic risks and farmers’ investment in productive assets under the Second Fadama Development Project in Nigeria

Dynamics of transformation insights from rice farming in Kpong Irrigation System (KIS)

PDF file:

ifpridp01267.pdf(750.3KB)

Understanding the role of research in the evolution of fertilizer policies in Malawi

Indira Yerramareddy — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:36:59 -0400

This study examines the role of research in agricultural policy making in Malawi at a time when the Africa Union and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development have been seeking to promote greater evidenced-based decision making in agriculture. Drawing on both theory and actual past experiences documented in the literature, results are intended to improve our understanding of the extent to which research has played any role in influencing policy change in Malawi. This is done in the context of the evolution of the country’s fertilizer subsidy policies. Results point to some general lessons.

Mapping the contemporary fertilizer policy landscape in Malawi

The impacts of agricultural input subsidies in Malawi

PDF file:

ifpridp01266.pdf(966KB)