Subscribe

Back

Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

Ahmed Akhter

researcher spotlight

Akhter Ahmed

Akhter Ahmed is a Senior Research Fellow in the IFPRI’s Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit and Country Representative for IFPRI Bangladesh. He has worked on strategies for agricultural and rural development, social protection, and women’s empowerment to reduce poverty, food insecurity, and undernutrition in developing countries including Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Malawi, the Philippines, and Turkey.

Back

What we do

Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

Research topics

Projects and impact

Modeling tools

Project microsites

What’s new

Where we work

Back

Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country Programs

Research by country and region

Subscribe

experts

Innovation Policy and Scaling

David Spielman

Director, Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS)

Follow

David

at:

ORCiD

Bio

David J. Spielman is the director of IFPRI’s Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit and has been with the institute since 2004. His research agenda covers a range of topics including agriculture and rural development policy; agricultural science, technology, and innovation; plant genetic resources and seed systems; agricultural extension and advisory services; and community-driven rural development. David was most recently based in Kigali, Rwanda, where he led the Rwanda Strategy Support Program.  From 2016 to 2020, David managed IFPRI’s research theme on science, technology, and innovation policy from its headquarters in Washington, DC, and contributed to research projects in Asia and Africa. From 2004 to 2010, he was based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was part of IFPRI’s work on strengthening agricultural innovation systems. Earlier in his career, David worked on agriculture and rural development issues for the World Bank (Washington, DC), the Aga Khan Development Network (Pakistan), and several other organizations. David received a PhD in Economics from American University in 2003, an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics in 1993, and a BA in International Relations from Tufts University in 1992.

Languages Spoken: English, Urdu

Publications

Google Scholar

RePEc Author Profile

CGIAR Seed Equal Initiative

CV

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Book Chapter

Quality seeds, improved varieties: The economics of crop genetic improvement and farmer uptake

2025Kramer, Berber; Spielman, David J.
Details

Quality seeds, improved varieties: The economics of crop genetic improvement and farmer uptake

Crop genetic improvement has long been a cornerstone of global efforts to enhance agricultural productivity, improve food security, and foster economic development. This chapter explores evidence on the contribution of crop improvement to productivity, nutrition, environment, and poverty outcomes, before assessing evolutions in policy research and important areas for future research. Book link: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174108

Year published

2025

Authors

Kramer, Berber; Spielman, David J.

Citation

Kramer, Berber; and Spielman, David J. 2025. Quality seeds, improved varieties: The economics of crop genetic improvement and farmer uptake. In Global food policy report 2025: Food policy: Lessons and priorities for a changing world, eds. Johan Swinnen and Christopher Barrett. Part Three: Supporting Farmers, Chapter 9, Pp. 221-244. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174302

Keywords

Seed Systems; Seed Quality; Varieties; Farmers; Plant Genetics; Improved Germplasm; Crop Improvement; Crop Rotation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

Resource thumbnail

Book Chapter

Agricultural innovation policies: Prioritizing investments and promoting uptake and impacts at scale

2025Ragasa, Catherine; Spielman, David J.; Lynam, John K.
Details

Agricultural innovation policies: Prioritizing investments and promoting uptake and impacts at scale

Technological progress in agriculture is essential to tackling the many challenges facing food systems, but it has been unevenly distributed around the world, along with the accompanying gains in productivity and welfare. This chapter reviews the evolution of research on technical change and public policy, from seminal economic analyses highlighting the importance of technical change, to innovation systems analyses that broadened our understanding of the technical change process, on to the latest strategies being pursued to accelerate change. Book link: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174108

Year published

2025

Authors

Ragasa, Catherine; Spielman, David J.; Lynam, John K.

Citation

Ragasa, Catherine; Spielman, David J.; and Lynam, John K. 2025. Agricultural innovation policies: Prioritizing investments and promoting uptake and impacts at scale. In Global food policy report 2025: Food policy: Lessons and priorities for a changing world, eds. Johan Swinnen and Christopher Barrett. Part Five: Effecting Change, Chapter 17, Pp. 413-440. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174351

Keywords

Innovation; Agricultural Innovation; Investment; Economic Impact; Biofortification; Biosafety

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

Resource thumbnail

Book Chapter

Agricultural extension services: From transfer of technology to facilitation for innovation

2025Davis, Kristin E.; Gandhi, Rikin; Koo, Jawoo; Kramer, Berber; Miller, Alesha; Repishti, Jona; Spielman, David J.; Sulaiman V., Rasheed
Details

Agricultural extension services: From transfer of technology to facilitation for innovation

Agricultural extension and rural advisory services play a key role in the agrifood systems of many low- and middle-income countries by supporting farmers’ efforts to enhance productivity, strengthen resilience to shocks, and conserve the natural resource base on which these systems depend. This chapter applies IFPRI’s “best fit” conceptual framework to examine the global evolution of agricultural extension and rural advisory services over the past 50 years, as well as the shift from a “transfer of technology” approach to a more sophisticated “facilitation for innovation” paradigm. Book link: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174108

Year published

2025

Authors

Davis, Kristin E.; Gandhi, Rikin; Koo, Jawoo; Kramer, Berber; Miller, Alesha; Repishti, Jona; Spielman, David J.; Sulaiman V., Rasheed

Citation

Davis, Kristin E.; Gandhi, Rikin; Koo, Jawoo; Kramer, Berber; Miller, Alesha; et al. 2025. Agricultural extension services: From transfer of technology to facilitation for innovation. In Global food policy report 2025: Food policy: Lessons and priorities for a changing world, eds. Johan Swinnen and Christopher Barrett. Part Three: Supporting Farmers, Chapter 8, Pp. 195-220. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174301

Keywords

Agricultural Extension; Technology; Technology Transfer; Agricultural Innovation; Advisory Services; Productivity; Resilience; Resource Conservation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

Blogs

Agrifood science in transition: Building a sustainable architecture in the face of declining development aid
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 16, 2025

Agrifood science in transition: Building a sustainable architecture in the face of declining development aid

By Steven Were Omamo and David Spielman

Navigating a challenging new environment.

‘Miracle seeds,’ informational curses? The risk of high expectations for new agricultural technologies
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 22, 2023

‘Miracle seeds,’ informational curses? The risk of high expectations for new agricultural technologies

By Caroline Miehe, Leocardia Nabwire, Robert Sparrow, David Spielman, and Bjorn Van Campenhout

Using videos to test skewed perceptions of improved crop varieties.

What changed when Ugandan farmers rated input quality and local vendor services
IFPRI Blog
 | 
April 08, 2022

What changed when Ugandan farmers rated input quality and local vendor services

By Bjorn Van Campenhout, Caroline Miehe, David Spielman, and Robert Sparrow

The power of consumer opinion.

View all Blogs

Events

Fertilizer, soil health, and economic shocks: Policy lessons learned from recent events
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

June 11, 2025, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Fertilizer, soil health, and economic shocks: Policy lessons learned from recent events

Please type your questions into the chat box with name, affiliation, and country. The event video, presenter slides, and podcast will be available in the days following the event. Join us for a discussion of key findings from a recent special issue of Food Policy exploring the complex interactions between fertilizer use, soil health management, […]

2025 Global Food Policy Report | Food Policy: Lessons and Priorities for a Changing World
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

May 28, 2025, 9:00 – 12:30 pm

2025 Global Food Policy Report | Food Policy: Lessons and Priorities for a Changing World

Over the last 50 years, the world’s food systems have evolved tremendously amid major economic, environmental, and social changes. Throughout this period, policy research has played a critical role in providing evidence and analysis to inform decision-making that supports agricultural growth, better livelihoods, and improved food security, nutrition, and well-being for all. Please join us […]

IFPRI @ UNCCD 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16)
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

December 2 to 13, 2024

IFPRI @ UNCCD 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16)

The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from December 2 to 13, 2024. IFPRI is pleased to participate in UNCCD COP16, where leaders from governments, the private sector, civil society, and global stakeholders will unite to […]

View all Events

News

January 27, 2021 | Press Release

European Union gives €1 million to support the Agriculture pillar of the National Economic Recovery Plan for COVID-19 in Rwanda

The European Commission has provided EUR 1 million to IFPRI to support the Ministry of Agriculture in Rwanda to enhance skills in the analysis of public investment priorities & policy options for the COVID-19 recovery period.

December 19, 2019 | In the News

Rwanda government partners with IFPRI programme to accelerate agricultural productivity (Africa Business Communities)

Africa Business Communities published an article on the new IFPRI program, the Rwanda Agricultural Policy Analysis and Capacity Development Program. Rwanda is accelerating its agenda for sustainable development and inclusive growth by reinforcing its emphasis on agriculture, nutrition, and rural transformation. Senior Research Fellow and Head of the new Program, David Spielman said, “The Rwanda […]

December 07, 2019 | In the News

Government launches new plan to stave off malnutrition (The New Times)

The New Times (Rwanda) reported on the new Rwanda Strategy Support Program (RSSP). Developed by IFPRI in collaboration with the government of Rwanda, the program seeks to leverage on evidence and policy analysis to accelerate agricultural transformation in Rwanda. Republished in Africa Business Communities.

View all News