International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

☕📚 Weekly Reads from IFPRI is here! This week’s featured research explores how informal food markets shape diets, livelihoods, and food systems; reviews how health and nutrition programs can be better assessed when delivered together; examines whether an integrated agriculture, nutrition, and sanitation intervention improved child health in Burkina Faso; investigates how diet quality relates to changes in iron and vitamin A status among adolescent girls in Ghana; and highlights how women’s empowerment can improve agricultural productivity and household food security in Malawi. Ramya Ambikapathi Swetha Manohar Sunny Kim Kimberly Morren Aulo Gelli Elodie Becquey Ampa Dogui DIATTA Loty Diop Derek Headey Priscilla Ifeoma Offoh Inge Brouwer Catherine Ragasa

Still reflecting on a wonderful event in Abuja this week! On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of bringing together researchers, policymakers, government representatives, and development practitioners for a conversation I've been eager to have for some time: How can strengthening women's voice and influence help build more resilient communities in Nigeria? It's a question close to my heart, and one that has motivated much of my research. When we talk about resilience, we tend to focus on how people withstand shocks and recover from crises. But I've become increasingly convinced that we need to think just as much about people's ability to shape the decisions that affect their lives —and especially about what it takes for women to have real influence, not simply a seat at the table. That was the motivation behind our Women’s Voice and Resilience in Nigeria event, and I couldn't have been happier with the conversations it sparked. It was a particular pleasure to welcome Eyong Beatrice of UN Women Nigeria, Vivian Efem-Bassey (Fpmc CSCM, FAPMCN) of ActionAid Nigeria, and John Duru of the Ministry of HM Women Affairs Nigeria to set the stage and share their perspectives. Having voices from government, civil society, and research in the same room made the discussions so much richer. We shared emerging research, including work I've been involved in on women's advocacy training and resilience, and heard fascinating perspectives on women's agency, asset ownership, water vulnerability, and approaches to building resilience from Opeyemi Olanrewaju, Lucía Carrillo, and Charity Osei-Amponsah. I especially enjoyed moderating our policy panel, where I explored what it would actually take to turn this growing body of evidence into better programs and policies with Jennifer Orgle of CARE in Nigeria, Osasuyi Dirisu PhD at the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), Yetunde Adegoke of the Nigerian Association of Evaluators, and Se-ember Oteyi, PhD of ActionAid Nigeria. We know that women's voice matters. But we still have so much to learn about how to turn participation into meaningful influence—and how that influence can help strengthen trust, cooperation, and resilience in communities facing enormous challenges. I'm grateful to the CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security Science Program, the CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and our many partners for making this event possible. These are exactly the kinds of exchanges that make research exciting for me. #WomensVoice #GenderEquality #Resilience #Nigeria #IFPRI #CGIAR

📢TOMORROW! 📌 Political Economy of Fertilizer Subsidies. 🤝 Co-organized by IFPRI and AgIncentives Consortium 📆October 21, 2026, 10:00 – 11:00 am (US/Eastern) 🗨️Speakers include IFPRI's Jeffrey Bloem, Danielle Resnick, and Jibran Punthakey (OECD Trade and Agriculture). 🎫 Register here: https://lnkd.in/eCjPQ8kt CGIAR CGIAR Policy Innovations

🌎 IFPRI at the 2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue: 📆 October 20 to 22, 2026 📍 Des Moines, Iowa Don't miss these side events tomorrow: 📌 Beyond Irrigation: The Growing Agenda for Agricultural Water and Better Health ⏰ 7:00–8:30 AM (America/Chicago) 🗨️ IFPRI participants include Claudia Ringler 📌 Dawn of a New Era: How Sequencing Crop Genomes Can Usher Agriculture’s Next Great Leap Forward ⏰ 7:00–8:30 AM (America/Chicago) 🗨️ IFPRI participants include Judy Chambers 📣 Liangzhi You, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow, has been named one of the World Food Prize Foundation's 2026 Top Agri-food Pioneers and will be formally recognized during the 2026 Borlaug Dialogue. 🔗 Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e5A327bT CGIAR World Food Prize Foundation

🔔 HAPPENING NOW! 🔔 📌From Relief to Resilience: Supporting Displaced and Shock-Affected Households in Somalia 📆October 20, 2026, 10:00 – 11:00 am (US/Eastern) 🗨️Speakers include Deboleena Rakshit, Jessica Leight, and John-Paul Nyeko (World Vision) 🎫 https://lnkd.in/ePvkuRv3 CGIAR IFPRI Africa

#COP17Armenia is officially underway, and IFPRI is pleased to participate! Join us on October 21 and October 24 in person at the FAO Pavilion, Blue Zone or online via the video livestreams. 📅 October 21, 2026, 16:00 – 17:00 (Asia/Yerevan) "Launch of Special Issue on the Political Economy of Agroecological Transitions." IFPRI Participants: Ryan Nehring, Research Fellow 📅 October 24, 2026, 12:30 – 13:30 (Asia/Yerevan) "Evidence to Action: How True Cost Accounting Unlocks Holistic Progress Towards Biodiversity Targets." IFPRI Participants: Rui Benfica, Senior Research Fellow Details here: https://lnkd.in/etcyFTNk CGIAR

#NowReading Mapping supply chains, cost structure analysis, and investment priorities for food system transformation under conflict and climate stress in northern Nigeria Bedru B. Balana, Steven Were Omamo, Mulubrhan Amare, Olufemi Popoola, Chibuzo Nwagboso, Serigne Loum, Khusro Jawed, and Kwaw Andam examine how food systems function in northern Nigeria amid climate and conflict shocks, analyzing production hubs, trade routes, markets, transport, and processing. They identify systemic inefficiencies—including high input and transport costs and infrastructure deficits—and highlight policy and investment priorities for building more resilient and efficient food systems: https://lnkd.in/ecvaZW9N CGIAR CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security CGIAR Policy Innovations IFPRI Africa

📢TOMORROW! 📌From Relief to Resilience: Supporting Displaced and Shock-Affected Households in Somalia 📆October 20, 2026, 10:00 – 11:00 am (US/Eastern) 🗨️Speakers include Deboleena Rakshit, Jessica Leight, and John-Paul Nyeko (World Vision) 🎫 https://lnkd.in/ePvkuRv3 CGIAR IFPRI Africa

Why do some agricultural innovations with clear benefits for society fail to reach scale? A useful framework in the recently published PNAS Perspective by IFPRI’s Gashaw Abate, Ruth Hill, and colleagues helps explain why. Farmers weigh expected costs against expected returns when deciding whether to adopt a new practice. But when the benefits are "hidden" and cannot be easily seen or rewarded by the market, adoption can remain well below what is socially desirable. Take aflatoxin-safe maize. Producing safer maize can improve food safety and public health, but contamination is not visible to buyers. If farmers cannot earn a premium for producing a safer crop, they may have little incentive to adopt the practice, even when the broader benefits are substantial. The authors argue that increasing adoption often requires a combination of policies: ✅ Lower costs through research, credit, or subsidies ✅ Better information through extension and farmer training ✅ Stronger incentives that reward social benefits ✅ Lower-cost testing and certification systems that make those benefits visible and verifiable 📖 Read the article: https://lnkd.in/eYt2HRHJ #Agriculture #FoodSystems #FoodSecurity #SmallholderFarmers CGIAR Gashaw T. Abate Kaleab Baye Tanguy Bernard Jordan Chamberlin Ruth Hill, Rachid Moussadek

🗺️ Researchers from IFPRI, Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, and Viet Nam's National Institute of Nutrition mapped food outlets across three districts in northern Viet Nam to compare the healthiness of food environments around adolescents' homes and schools. They found that: 🥤 Healthy and unhealthy foods were within similar reach 🏠 School food environments were no unhealthier than those at home 🍽️ More food outlets didn’t mean worse diets Read the study here: https://lnkd.in/eeScf5VB Learn more in this recent blog by Gabriela Fretes, Ph.D., Nicholus Zaw, Phuong Nguyen, Agnes Le Port, Kim Maasen, Elise F. Talsma, Mai Tuyet Truong, Trang TT Tran, Inge Brouwer, Marie T. Ruel, and Jef Leroy: https://lnkd.in/eswKnfXQ CGIAR CGIAR Better Diets and Nutrition