IFPRI Publications: Reports

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: September 2025

In September 2025, Sudan’s markets showed relative stability despite conflict, inflation, and weather related disruptions. Cereal and vegetable prices remained broadly stable, while meat, oilseeds, and fuel saw moderate fluctuations. Availability of most essential goods improved slightly, though Darfur states continued to record the highest prices. The parallel exchange rate rose to about 3,100 SDG/USD, widening the gap with the official rate. Traders cited transport costs, heavy rains, and checkpoint fees as key drivers of higher prices, though logistical challenges eased from August. Liquidity and infrastructure conditions improved: 71 percent of merchants reported no cash short ages and 93 percent faced no storage or power issues. However, security risks persisted in Darfur and Kordofan, affecting trade safety. Profit margins remained mostly stable, while tax compliance declined, especially at the federal level. Despite ongoing challenges, merchants remain resilient—two-thirds plan to maintain current trade levels, and nearly one-fifth aim to expand, reflecting cautious optimism amid uncertainty.

Taking stock: Impacts of 50 years of policy research at IFPRI

As the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) marks its 50th anniversary, the Institute and its key stakeholders pause to take stock of what is known about its policy influence and impact over the years. What does the available evidence tell us about IFPRI’s achievements as an international research institution? Have its activities contributed to better policy and investment decisions by governments, development agencies, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and others involved in the economic and social development of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)? This report builds on a stocktaking paper published for IFPRI’s 40th anniversary, whose findings were generally favorable, by using more recent external sources of evidence to provide updated answers to these questions. It synthesizes bibliometric and download data, as well as a series of independently conducted impact assessment studies of many of IFPRI’s research programs and projects. This task has been facilitated by the availability of 40 such evaluations, commissioned by IFPRI, the CGIAR Research Programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health and on Policies, Institutions, and Markets, or project donors. Additionally, other agencies commissioned several evaluations of specific country and regional policies that IFPRI helped influence. This wealth of independent assessments is rare for a policy research institution. Moreover, IFPRI’s commissioning or co-commissioning of 36 impact assessments over 25 years demonstrates a serious commitment to an impact evaluation culture and a willingness to learn from its experiences.

IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, September 2025

Highlights Retail prices of maize were relatively stable in September. National price stability concealed significant market-level variations in maize prices. Imports continued dominating cross-border trade in maize.

Investing in innovative food systems solutions in challenging contexts: A food supply chain mapping and analysis

Humanitarian agencies are in a race against time to save lives in contexts where economies have collapsed as hunger is aggravated by conflicts and extreme weather, among other factors. Take Nigeria, for example. Across the country lives and livelihoods are being shattered by conflict and climate shocks – once a breadbasket, the northern regions now rely heavily on humanitarian food assistance. The numbers speak for themselves: 30.6 million people are food insecure – 10 million people in three northern states; 17 million children are malnourished – the highest number in Africa, second highest globally after India. Farmers are cut off from their fields. Traders struggle to move goods through dangerous or impassable roads. Millions are displaced. And yet amid this fragility pockets of resilience are emerging in areas where conflict has subsided such that some farmers can return to their farms.

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: August 2025

This report presents an overview of trends in prices, availability, and quality of key commodities, while also capturing traders’ perceptions of supply, demand, and market conditions in Sudan between February and August 2025.

Sidama Coffee Agronomy Program: Impact report

Coffee is Ethiopia’s most important export crop, and it constitutes an important source of livelihood for an estimated 15 million people across the value chain, most of whom are poor smallholder farmers. While coffee production and exports generally increased over the last decade or so, several constraints are still keeping the sector from attaining its full potential. Low-yielding, aged coffee trees and poor farm management and agronomic practices are among the main constraints. Between 2019 and 2022, TechnoServe (TNS)—in collaboration with Max und Ingeburg Herz Stiftung/HereWeGrow (HWG)— implemented a 25-month coffee agronomy training program in the Sidama region of Ethiopia that comprised a package of interventions to address these constraints and increase smallholders’ coffee productivity and income. In particular, the program covered five woredas/districts (Aleta Chuko, Dale, Bona Zuria, Hawela, Shebedino) and reached 47,759 farm households in two cohorts (2019 and 2020).

Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report – August 2025

– Rice prices in August 2025 declined nationally, falling by **6% year-on-year** and **2% month-on-month**. The decrease was driven by international market trends and downward pressure from the incoming monsoon. Prices either stabilized or declined across all states and regions, **except in Shan (North)**, where rice prices increased and are currently the highest in the country. – Export crop prices diverged: **Green gram** and **maize** increased this year due to strong international demand. **Black gram** and **pigeon pea** declined year-on-year due to reduced demand in India. – Animal-sourced food prices surged over the last year: **Pork** rose by **68%**, driven by rising production costs. **Fish** prices increased amid strong export demand. – Multiple risks lie ahead that may undermine agricultural production, farm income, and food security: Falling international rice prices, Ongoing conflict, Quality issues, Import restrictions, Disruptions in border trade

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: July 2025

This report analyzes market dynamics in Sudan between February and July 2025, focusing on prices, availability, quality, fuel, exchange rates, and traders’ perceptions of supply, demand, profits, and market conditions. Between February and July 2025, Sudan’s markets showed mixed trends and sharp regional disparities. Cereal prices were mostly stable: wheat held steady with a short rise in early July, sorghum increased in June then stabilized, millet fluctuated slightly, and wheat flour fell in early July before rising sharply. Wheat and wheat flour availability improved, while sorghum and millet availability declined marginally.

IFPRI Malawi maize market report, August 2025

Highlights Retail prices of maize increased on average by 16 percent in August. Prices rose in all monitored markets across all regions of Malawi despite continued imports. Depreciation of the Malawi kwacha (at market rates) against its Zambian and Mozambican counterparts dampened the mitigating effects of imports on maize price increases.

Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report – July 2025

KEY HIGHLIGHTS: Rice prices in July 2025 declined nationally, falling by 6 percent year-on-year and 1 percent compared to last month. However, notable price increases were observed in the past month in Kachin (+9 percent), due to road closures, and Kayin (+9 percent), due to flooding. Export crop prices diverged, with green gram and maize increasing this year due to strong international demand, while black gram and pigeon pea declined year-on-year due to reduced demand in India. Animal-sourced food prices surged over the last year, led by pork (up 67 percent), due to rising production and fuel costs, while fish prices rose amid strong export demand. Fish prices increased in July compared to the previous month, driven by bad weather that prevented many offshore fishing vessels from operating. Multiple risks lie ahead, including falling international rice prices, ongoing conflict, and natural hazards, all of which may undermine agricultural production, farm income, and food security.

Report on capacity strengthening training on best practices in outcome assessment, data interpretation and agricultural policy analysis

The Capacity Strengthening Workshop on Best Practices in Impact Evaluation, Data Interpretation, and Agricultural Policy Analysis (Phase 1) was conducted on April 22-23, 2025, aiming to build the foundational skills of fieldbased government officials in using agricultural data for informed decision-making. To strengthen its initiative on developing the Inclusive Agriculture Transformation (IAT) indicator, IFPRI has proposed a three-phased capacity-building program for key departmental staff. The objective is to enhance their understanding of the importance of data and its systematic maintenance. This initial phase focused on enhancing participants’ understanding of various agricultural datasets and equipping them with basic skills in data interpretation and visualization. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha. The workshop was designed as part of a comprehensive capacity-building initiative to support the Inclusive Agriculture Transformation (IAT) framework, promoting evidence-based policy formulation and implementation.

IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, July 2025

Highlights Retail prices of maize increased on average by 13 percent in July. Prices rose in all monitored markets across all regions of Malawi despite continued imports. Prices rose most steeply in the Southern region, increasing interregional differences.

External assessment of outcomes from IFPRI’s causal impact evaluation research 2012–2022

This report describes methods and findings from an assessment of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) causal impact evaluation (CIE) research over the period 2012–2022. CIE research is recognized within IFPRI as one of its primary means for contributing to informed policy and program decisions and thus forms a key part of one of its impact pathways. Appendix A contains the terms of reference (TOR) for the study. The main goal was to examine how the outputs of this research were used by stakeholders to make decisions. Many of the impact evaluations considered were conducted in partnership with donors and implementing organizations eager to know the effectiveness of their programs and interventions.

2024 IFPRI annual report

IFPRI’s 2024 annual report reviews highlights from our research to reduce hunger and malnutrition, including work in conflict-affected settings and on nutrition and diets, and our engagement around the world through our country and regional offices and global events.

GCAN partner workshop: Report on lessons and recommendations for policy engagement and capacity strengthening

The Gender, Climate Change and Nutrition Integration Initiative (GCAN), led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), has been working to integrate gender, climate resilience, and nutrition considerations into policy, interventions, and research since 2016. Since 2023, the initiative has been working in five focal countries with support from the Gates Foundation.

Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report – June 2025

Rice prices declined nationally, falling by almost 20 percent year-on-year, with sharp drops in Kayah and Kayin, but significant increases in Shan (East). Rice prices are lowest in secure, major rice-producing areas and highest in most conflict- and earthquake-affected regions. Export crop prices diverged, with green gram and maize increasing due to strong international demand, while black gram and pigeon pea declined year-on-year due to reduced demand in India. Animal-sourced food prices surged, led by beef (up 47 percent) and pork (up 64 percent), due to rising production and fuel costs, while fish prices rose amid strong export demand and a seasonal fishing ban. Multiple risks lie ahead, including the aftermath of the March earthquake, falling international rice prices, ongoing conflict, and uncertain monsoon season production, all of which may undermine farm income and food security.

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: June 2025

This report analyzes key market trends in Sudan from February to June 2025, focusing on the prices, availability, and quality of essential commodities—cereals, vegetables, animal products, agricultural inputs, fuel, and exchange rates. Consistent with previous editions, it reveals significant spatial and temporal disparities across Sudan’s 18 states. Cereals showed mixed trends. Wheat prices stabilized in June after a mid-May spike, while sorghum and millet fluctuated modestly. Wheat flour prices continued rising. Perceived availability and quality, particularly of wheat and wheat flour, deteriorated in June, with highest prices in conflict-affected and remote areas. Vegetables—particularly tomatoes and potatoes—experienced sharp price hikes in June, largely due to seasonal pressures and logistical disruptions. Onion prices were more stable but showed regional variation. Animal products faced upward price pressure and volatility. Prices of lamb, beef, and eggs rose steadily; chicken and fish were erratic, and milk prices fluctuated. Availability declined, especially for beef and eggs. Perceived quality improved for meat but dropped for chicken and fish. Other staples, including sugar, cooking oil, fava beans, and oilseeds, had relatively stable trends overall, but prices varied widely by state. Sugar and fava beans rose sharply, particularly in South Kordofan and Kas sala. Agricultural inputs showed moderate price fluctuations. Improved seed varieties remained costlier than local ones, with peaks for wheat and potato seeds. Fuel prices in parallel markets spiked in April–May before easing in June. South Kordofan and Central Darfur recorded the highest prices. Exchange rates continued to diverge between official and parallel markets, with wide regional dis parities—Khartoum, Gedaref, and North Kordofan reported the highest parallel rates.

Is a negative US agricultural trade balance a cause for concern?

The rising agricultural trade deficit is a relatively recent phenomenon, but it should not be a cause for alarm. Most exported goods face little competition from imports that help consumers meet their year-round demands for fresh fruits, vegetables, and other food products. Lower agricultural export values in recent years reflect the importance of bulk commodities like soybeans, corn, and wheat. Those commodities’ prices have significantly declined since reaching recent highs in 2022. Imported agricultural goods tend to be consumer-oriented products like fresh fruits and vegetables, which have processing and distribution costs that have increased with global inflation. In contrast to prices for bulk commodities, prices for consumer-oriented products have increased significantly since 2022. The Trump administration’s new tariffs may reduce imports and will certainly impose costs on US consumers, but their impact on the agricultural trade deficit is less clear as US agricultural exports could be adversely affected as well, particularly if they face counter-retaliatory tariffs.

Digital finance and agri-food value chains: Case studies from Nigeria

Nigeria’s agri-food sector is one of the largest and most complex in sub-Saharan Africa, encompassing diverse crops, regions, actors, and markets. With agriculture contributing approximately 24% to the national GDP and employing over 70% of the rural workforce (CBN, nd), the sector plays a central role in livelihoods, food security, and inclusive growth. Within this sector, agri-food value chains constitute the connective tissue that links smallholder farmers, processors, traders, input suppliers, and consumers, both within the domestic economy and across international markets. Nigeria’s agricultural output is predominantly driven by staple food crops such as maize, rice, and cassava, while export-oriented value chains like cocoa provide significant foreign exchange and economic diversification potential. These chains vary widely in terms of modernization, capital intensity, and integration into digital financial services. Staple crop chains are typically domestic-facing and labor-intensive, offering high employment shares and deep linkages with poverty alleviation. Export-oriented chains, although narrower in farmer reach, tend to offer higher margins, foreign earnings, and exposure to quality standards and global market dynamics.

Case studies on efforts to digitalize payments in agri-food value chains

Agriculture remains the backbone of rural economies across much of both Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, employing 54 and 43 percent of the workforce, respectively, and providing livelihoods for most of the rural poor (GSMA, 2020; Nair and Varghese, 2020). Yet, financial transactions in agri-food value chains continue to rely overwhelmingly on cash. The 2021 Global Findex survey finds that most adults in low- and middle-income countries who were paid for agricultural products received their payment in cash. On average, one in four recipients, and fewer than one in six in Sub-Saharan Africa, received agricultural payments into an account (Nair and Varghese, 2020; Demirgüç-Kunt et al., 2022). This reliance on cash introduces a range of inefficiencies and risks, including high transaction costs, security vulnerabilities, lack of transparency, and exclusion from formal financial services (BTCA, 2023a). Digitalizing agricultural payments offers a promising solution to these challenges. Digital financial ser vices (DFS) for the agriculture sector, including mobile money, e-wallets, digital banking, digital credit, savings products, insurance, and e-commerce solutions tailored to agricultural value chains, can facilitate safer, faster, and more transparent transactions while simultaneously connecting farmers and intermediary actors to broader financial ecosystems (GSMA, 2020). By digitalizing payments, farmers can build verifiable financial histories that enable access to formal credit and insurance markets, manage income more effectively, and reduce the risks associated with cash handling. For agribusinesses, digital payments offer substantial operational efficiencies: they lower cash handling costs, improve procurement transparency, support traceability initiatives crucial for compliance with international sustainability standards, and enhance supplier loyalty through faster and more reliable payment processes (Beaman et al., 2014; Nair and Varghese, 2020; BTCA, 2023a).

IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, June 2025

Highlights Retail prices of maize increased by 8 percent in June. Prices rose in all regions of Malawi despite continued imports. Maize retailed above the government-mandated price in 13 out of 26 monitored markets.

Women’s economic empowerment and leadership: Examining an intervention for smallholder farmers delivered via farmer producer organizations in Guatemala using qualitative methods

Women work across multiple nodes in agricultural value chains, though their participation in value chains varies within and across contexts and their contributions are often underrecognized (Malapit et al., 2020; Quisumbing et al., 2021). Addressing issues such as weak economic growth, climate change, and hunger will require strengthening agricultural value chains, though doing so without a gender-sensitive lens may exacerbate existing gender inequalities within them (Rubin & Manfre, 2014). Development practitioners seeking to strengthen agricultural value chains are increasingly interested in programs that use group-based approaches, as they may reach many people efficiently using such a strategy. However, there is not much evidence on how to increase women’s economic opportunities in agricultural value chains and bolster women’s leadership within the context of group-based interventions. TechnoServe, with funding support from the Walmart Foundation, began implementing the Smallholder Market Access (SMA) program in Guatemala and Nicaragua in 2019. The goal of this program was to work with farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and affiliated smallholder farmers in fresh produce agricultural value chains (AVCs) to increase the productivity, profits, and the market share of FPOs among smallholder farmers. The program also sought to strengthen women’s inclusion in AVCs, leadership, and empowerment by offering both gender-responsive and gender-transformative program components, particularly though agronomy trainings and gender equality trainings for women and men, as well as women’s leadership trainings for women only. This qualitative study focuses on SMA in Guatemala. We investigated gender dynamics in FPOs, women’s empowerment, women’s leadership, and how SMA may influence these themes. Ultimately, the goal of this study was to gain insights on the strengths of SMA programming with regard to women smallholder farmers’ economic and leadership opportunities, as well as to identify opportunities to strengthen the program. We collected data from in-depth interviews with eight SMA staff, nine FPO lead ers, and 18 FPO members. We also conducted six single-sex focus group discussions with FPO members, which included 15 women and 13 men total. The FPOs sampled did not receive the full SMA treatment prior to data collection; as such, the results presented in this study reflect perceptions of different components of SMA that had been only partially implemented prior to data collection.

Digital finance and agri-food value chains: Case studies from Kenya

Kenya’s agrifood systems are broad and diverse, including both staple food crops and high-value exports which are essential to the economic and social advancement of the nation. The agricultural sector em ploys more than 40 percent of Kenya’s workforce, including more than 70 percent of rural residents, and accounts for about 33 percent of the country’s GDP (FAO, 2023a; FAO, n.d.). The growth of Kenya’s agrifood system is largely driven by domestic market demand rather than exports, a trend driven by rapid urbanization and rising income opportunities in the rural nonfarm sector, which are leading to shifts in dietary preferences and are expected to further influence ongoing structural transformation (Diao et al., 2023). Kenya’s agricultural sector is characterized by several value chains that significantly support economic output, job creation, and trade. Tea is Kenya’s most significant agricultural export, contributing about 2 percent to the overall GDP and 4 percent to GDP in agriculture. Managed predominantly by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which oversees over 60 percent of national tea production, the sector supports approximately 6.5 million people (Tea Board of Kenya, 2024). Tea also contributes around 21 percent of Kenya’s export earnings, which makes it the third-largest source of foreign exchange earnings in the nation after diaspora remittances and tourism (Kilimo News, 2024).

Digital finance and agri-food value chains: Case studies from Ethiopia

Agriculture is of paramount importance to Ethiopia’s economy. Agriculture accounts for 40 percent of the country’s GDP, 80 percent of export earnings, and employs 75 percent of the population (Tamene & Ali, 2022). Crop and livestock production account for roughly 65 percent and 25 percent of agricultural GDP, respectively (International Trade Administration, 2024). Cereals account for roughly 90 percent of total grain production. Teff, known for its gluten-free nutritional aspect, takes the leading share of cereals by production area (ESS 2022). Ethiopia is also the second-largest wheat producer in Africa, following South Africa, with an expansion potential of 1.3 million hectares (Senbeta & Worku, 2023). Coffee, a crop with high cultural and economic importance in Ethiopia, accounts for 30 percent of exports and 25 percent of total employment. Ethiopia stands as Africa’s leading coffee producer and among the top five coffee producing nations worldwide (Tefera & Torry, 2023). Within Ethiopia’s overall agri-food system, most agricultural value chain activity fits the traditional definition, where subsistence farming dominates, postharvest value addition is minimal, and grain production constitutes the largest share (Barrett et al., 2022). However, some commodities in Ethiopia are progressing from traditional to transitional and modern value chains. The dairy value chain can be considered transitional, as it is characterized by a growing processing and logistics sector and emerging pre-urban supply chains (which disfavor remote regions with high production potential as they need more advanced logistics). The coffee value chain in Ethiopia can be considered as a modern value chain – i.e., characterized by product standardization and quality control aimed at the global market/export (Ambler et al., 2023; Barrett et al., 2022).

Transforming agrifood systems in Zambia: What are the priorities and how much will it cost?

Zambia is not on track to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Its lack of progress is further exacerbated by the country’s maize-centric and rain-fed agriculture sector that is vulnerable to recurring drought cycles predicted to worsen with climate change. At the time of writing this report, Zambia once again is in the grip of a severe drought that destroyed close to half the country’s crops. To get back on track, it is critical to pursue policy pathways that favour synergies and limit the trade-offs between hunger, poverty, nutrition, and climate change. This report presents an evidence-based prioritization of effective interventions to operationalize Zambia’s Food Systems Transformation Pathways to end hunger, make diets healthier and more affordable, improve the productivity and incomes of small-scale producers, and mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Digital finance and agri-food value chains: Case studies from Tanzania

Agriculture is vital to Tanzania’s economic framework, significantly contributing to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to the ministerial report on the agriculture sector, the agriculture sector contributed 26.3 percent to national GDP in 2024, an increase from 26.2 percent in the previous year (MOA, 2025). It employed an average of 61.4 percent of the population, a slight decrease from 65.6 percent in 2023. Furthermore, agriculture provides 65 percent of essential raw materials for industries (MOA, 2024). Specifically, crop production recorded a growth rate of 4.2 percent in 2023, up from 2.7 percent in 2022, contributing 16.1 percent to national GDP, an increase from 15 percent in 2022 (MOA, 2024). Agriculture continues to play a critical role in ensuring food security, meeting 128 percent of domestic food demand in 2024 (MOA, 2025). Exports of agricultural products also saw substantial growth, reaching approximately USD 3.54 billion in 2023/2024, a significant increase from about USD 1.2 billion in 2019/2020 (MOA, 2025). Tanzania’s agricultural transformation increasingly relies on modernizing agri-food value chains, especially those linking rural producers to growing urban and export markets, which are seeing a widening price gap. Value addition is essential for improving agricultural productivity and can take multiple forms. Hidayati et al. (2023) categorize value addition based on quality, safety, and market orientation, while emphasizing the importance of social factors such as job creation and food safety, alongside economic aspects such as sales, profitability, and environmental impacts. In agriculture, value addition involves transforming raw materials into finished products and by-products through processes such as drying, processing, packaging, and distribution. These activities enhance the market value of agricultural products, bolster economic growth through job creation, and contribute to food security. Consequently, maximizing value addition is crucial to fully leveraging the potential of Tanzania’s agricultural sector and translating it into measurable economic growth.

Scaling impact, enriching lives: HarvestPlus 2024 annual report

In 2024, the Global South continued to face food and nutrition insecurity driven by conflict, economic shocks, forced displacement, and climate extremes. Malnutrition persists at high levels, especially among children, while funding for solutions is declining. A fundamental rethink is needed about how to sustainably meet the food and nutrition needs of vulnerable populations. At HarvestPlus, we are acting urgently to scale up nutrients in diets in Asia, Africa, and South America. By the end of 2024, over 360 million people benefited from more nutritious diets through biofortified foods—a nine percent increase over last year. There is an additional reach of biofortified crops through organizations like International Potato Center (CIP), The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, IITA, and others civil society actors which is heartening to note. We continued to empower women smallholder farmers along the value chain with knowledge, business skills, and opportunities. They are driving change by developing and marketing nutrientenriched foods within their communities, making their local food systems more resilient. Improving the nutrition of children and adolescents is a vital focus of our work. This year, we strengthened local supply chains and facilitated the inclusion of home-grown nutritious crops in school meal programs. As a result, over one million schoolchildren in Asia and Africa had access to meals enriched with biofortified foods. These efforts, combined with our delivery of nutrition education, are shaping healthier, more productive futures. A special thank you to Chef Sanjeev Kapoor for championing this work in India under our Nutri-Pathshala school meal model. Partnerships with CGIAR centers and national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES) enabled the release of 12 new biofortified crop varieties in five countries in 2024. These varieties provide farmers with competitive yields and more nutrients—adding diversity to the agricultural system while enriching the food system. By boosting supply and demand, we are making nutrient-rich foods more affordable, available, and accessible for the most vulnerable. Our delivery models scale innovations like biofortification and other nutritious crops and technologies rapidly and at low cost, ensuring they reach those who need them most and create impact at scale. In Pakistan, over 50 percent of wheat grain production is now zinc-enriched, funded primarily through public and private seed sector investments. In Nigeria, over 10 million people are consuming vitamin A maize on farms, with the private sector playing a major role in its scaleup. Going forward, these delivery models will be deployed through our scaling arm, HarvestPlus Solutions. We are encouraged by strong interest from the private sector in partnering with HarvestPlus Solutions. These partnerships are central to our long-term development work, particularly in the current funding environment. In 2024, we continued to transition HarvestPlus’ delivery and commercialization work to HarvestPlus Solutions and its network of partners. Sustainability is at the core of our approach, where local actors lead local solutions at the last mile. Our progress in 2024 is thanks to the collective dedication and passion of our team, partners, and donors. We have come a long way, but there’s still more to do. With continued support, we can deepen our impact, accelerate innovation, and nourish millions more.

Statistics from Space: Next-Generation Agricultural Production Information for Enhanced Monitoring of Food Security in Mozambique – Progress report (January-June 2025)

Scaling strategy for ShambaShield: Inclusive bundled finance for smallholders

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: May 2025

This report presents an overview of trends in prices, availability, and quality of key commodities in Sudan from February to May 2025. It covers cereals, vegetables, animal products, and other essential commodities such as cooking oil, sugar, agricultural inputs (fertilizers and seeds), fuels, and exchange rates. The analysis reveals notable spatial and temporal disparities in prices, availability, and quality across Sudan’s 18 states.

Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report – May 2025

The rapidly evolving agricultural and food security situation in Myanmar requires a high frequency, systematic, and comprehensive approach to monitoring. The Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report synthesizes food price trends using publicly available datasets, focusing on key agricultural crops and highlighting regional differences in rice prices. By analyzing these trends, the report aims to provide insights into the broader agricultural market and the factors driving food price fluctuations in Myanmar.

IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, May 2025

Highlights Retail prices of maize bottomed out in May. Prices rose in southern Malawi despite continued imports. Maize retailed below the government-mandated price in 25 out of 26 monitored markets.

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: April 2025

This report presents an overview of trends in prices, availability, and quality of key commodities in Sudan during February, March, and April 2025. It covers cereals, vegetables, animal products, and essential goods such as cooking oil, sugar, agricultural inputs (fertilizers and seeds), fuels, and exchange rates. The analysis reveals notable spatial and temporal disparities in prices, availability, and quality across Sudan’s 18 states. Cereal prices showed mixed patterns: wheat prices rose from February to March before declining in April, while sorghum and millet prices fluctuated. Wheat flour prices remained relatively stable. Spatial disparities were particularly evident for wheat and wheat flour. Traders consistently reported stable availability and quality for most cereals. Vegetable prices varied significantly. Tomato prices remained stable, potato prices were consistently higher than other vegetables, and onion prices declined steadily before rising slightly at the end of April. Spatial and temporal differences in prices were also prominent. Meat prices continued to increase steadily, while fish prices fluctuated in line with availability. Egg prices rose gradually, while milk prices, after some initial fluctuations, declined steadily in March and April. Among agricultural inputs, wheat seed prices remained stable, whereas local sorghum seed prices rose consistently. Fertilizer prices fluctuated: urea prices experienced a modest increase fol lowed by a decline, while DAP prices rose sharply in April. Fuel prices demonstrated both temporal and spatial variability. Prices were notably higher in the parallel market, while diesel and petrol prices in the regular market were more stable, though regional differences persisted. Finally, the exchange rate analysis showed a continued premium in the parallel market, underscoring persistent foreign currency supply constraints.

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: March 2025

Sudan’s market systems continue to face severe disruptions due to ongoing conflict, political instability, and economic disruptions. These challenges have led to volatile prices, limited availability of essential commodities, and rising food and fuel costs, especially in conflict-affected areas. Insecurity, infrastructure damage, and transport disruptions further exacerbate price disparities, making key goods increasingly unaffordable for vulnerable populations. To monitor these dynamics, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is implementing a nationwide market monitoring initiative covering 36 markets, two in each of Sudan’s 18 states. The initiative tracks prices, availability, and quality of essential commodities, monitors exchange rate movements, and gathers qualitative insights from market actors. Each month, data is collected in two rounds: the first during the first two weeks, and the second during the last two weeks. In each round, five merchants per market are interviewed using structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. This fortnightly approach enables timely and consistent tracking of market trends.

Essential commodities prices, availability, and market actors’ perceptions: February 2025

Sudan faces significant challenges due to prolonged conflicts, political instability, and economic disruptions. The ongoing conflict is disrupting market systems, exacerbating price volatility, and limiting the availability of essential commodities. Supply chain disruptions, insecurity, and infrastructure damage often restrict market access and contribute to rising food and fuel costs. In conflict-affected areas, transportation and security challenges intensify price disparities, making staple foods and key agricultural inputs increasingly unaffordable, especially for vulnerable populations. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is conducting a comprehensive market monitoring initiative across Sudan’s 18 states, tracking the prices and assessing the availability and quality of essential commodities, observing changes in exchange rates, and gathering qualitative insights from market actors. This report provides an overview of market trends in Sudan during February 2025. It will be updated monthly.

Trepidation day: Reciprocal tariffs and the vulnerability of US agriculture

IFPRI strategy for engagement with CAADP 2026-2035: Supporting implementation at regional, sub-regional, and national levels

This document outlines a comprehensive strategy for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to support implementation of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) 2026–2035. With its renewed focus on transforming Africa’s agrifood systems, CAADP provides a framework to address criti cal challenges captured in six strategic objectives that cover sustainable food production, agro-industrialization, investment mobilization, food and nutrition security, inclusivity, resilience, and governance. Building on its long history of support to the CAADP process, IFPRI’s engagement with CAADP 2026–2035 will focus on providing evi dence, strengthening policy processes, building capacity, and supporting investment mobilization to accelerate Africa’s agrifood system transformation. This strategy identifies specific entry points and pathways through which IFPRI can contribute to achieving CAADP’s six strategic objectives including: (1) research and knowledge genera tion; (2) technical assistance and policy support; (3) capacity development; (4) investment and financing support; (5) monitoring, evaluation, and learning; and (6) stakeholder engagement and convening. Working closely with other CGIAR centers and leveraging its country and regional offices, expertise, partnerships, and extensive expe rience in Africa, IFPRI aims to play a pivotal key role in enabling CAADP’s vision of agricultural transformation and inclusive growth, contributing to food security, economic development, and resilience across the continent. By working across regional, subregional, and national levels, IFPRI will engage with partners to help translate CAADP 2025’s ambitious goals into tangible outcomes for food security, resilience, and economic growth.

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, April 2025

Retail prices of maize fell by 21% in April due to the arrival of newly harvested maize on the market. Relatively cheap imports from all three neighboring countries contributed to the decline in maize prices. Maize retailed below the government-mandated price in 21 out of 26 monitored markets.

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Climate Information Services: Training for County Directors of Meteorological Services (CDMS)

This report summarizes the findings of a 3-day training program for eighteen (18) Kenyan Meteorological Department County Directors of Meteorological Services (CDMS), on Cost Benefit Analysis for Climate Information Services (CBA for CIS), in Nakuru, Kenya on March 12-14th 2025. The program was jointly organized by the “Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa” (AICCRA) program and the Institute for Meteorological Training and Research (IMTR) at the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD). The training aimed at building the capacity of CDMS to think critically through ways to quantify and evaluate the monetary and non-monetary costs and benefits of the climate information services developed in their counties, with a strong focus on Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI). Training materials built on an online training conducted by IFPRI, AICCRA and the CGIAR Gender Platform in November and December 2024, and were tailored to the CDMS context during a validation workshop held on March 10th and 11th, 2025.

Pathways Linking Climate Change to Livestock Production and Consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Protocol for a Systematic Review

The sub-Saharan African (SSA) region has a large livestock population but low productivity and animal source foods consumption which contributed to nutritional problems. Climate change further reduces productivity, impacting the livelihoods of the rural poor who largely rely on livestock. The agri-food system of SSA is characterized by small holder traditional family farms, poor technological uptake, poor infrastructure, poor veterinary services, and weak adaptability to climate effects. Owing to the unique challenges in climate change and agri-food system interface in SSA, contextualized evidence is very important to design interventions. We aimed to synthesize evidence on the pathways linking climate to livestock production and animal source food consumption in SSA context. Understanding the pathways linking climate change to livestock production and consumption in SSA is essential for formulating strategies that enhance food security, improve nutrition, and support rural livelihoods while mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change. The incoming systematic review will be based on a previously developed systematic map. In the previous systematic map, we searched eight bibliographic databases, institutional website, conducted web-based search, and used citation snowballing to capture all relevant studies. The search was carried out in English and focused on SSA contexts wherever applicable. The search results were imported into Rayyan and screened for relevance based on title, abstract, and full text. At each stage of the screening process, the numbers of studies included and excluded were recorded. From the included studies of the systematic map, we will filter primary, empirical, quantitative articles conducted 2000 and onwards and use for this systematic review. We will extract the main findings of the articles along with key study characteristics and potential sources of heterogeneity. Included studies will be subjected to JBI’s quality appraisal checklists. A narrative synthesis of data from all studies included in the systematic review will be generated to describe the existing evidence along with study findings. Where data are suitably comparable, quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis) will be performed.

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, February 2025

Highlights  Retail prices of maize increased by 32 percent in February as a result of a similar decrease in the value of Malawi Kwacha on the informal market.  Maize prices were lowest in the Northern region, where informal imports from Tanzania enter the country, and increased southward.  At the market exchange rate, retail prices of maize in Malawi were similar to those in Zambia and Mozambique, but lower than in Zimbabwe.

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Ghana

Ghana’s urban population has grown significantly, and while undernutrition in children has decreased, urbanization and economic progress have led to a shift toward overnutrition. The rise in consumption of poor-quality diets and ultra-processed foods (UPFs), along with more sedentary lifestyles, is contributing to alarming increases in overweight and obesity and diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes. The country is facing an emerging double burden of malnutrition (DBM), in which undernutrition coexists with overnutrition. The prevalence of child stunting is declining in rural areas, but child overweight and obesity is rising in urban areas. Increasing rates of overweight and obesity are also concerning among urban women and adolescent girls. Micronutrient deficiencies affect both urban and rural populations. Ghanaians in urban areas have more diverse diets but higher consumption of unhealthy foods, while those in rural areas face food insecurity and nutrient inadequacies. These challenges highlight the need for targeted dietary interventions to address poor feeding practices, healthy diets, and micronutrient deficiencies. Diet-related NCDs, such as hypertension and diabetes, are rising alongside contributing dietary risk factors, with urban areas and women most affected. Urban youth face higher NCD risks, with low diagnosis rates and socioeconomic factors exacerbating urban-rural disparities. Urban nutrition interventions improved child growth, reduced blood pressure in hypertensive adults, increased nutrition knowledge in schoolchildren. However, some strategies had limitations, and urban programs overlook poor diet quality, failing to address the need for double-duty interventions to tackle the double burden of malnutrition (DBM). Nutrition policies, guided by the Scaling Up Nutrition movement, address food security and healthy diets by targeting vulnerable groups such as young children, women, and adolescents. Ghana has made progress in promoting nutrition and healthy diets through multisectoral advocacy efforts, including the implementation of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes, social protection programs, and a national NCD policy. However, challenges remain, as few policies directly address the urban poor, and insufficient funding, weak governance, unhealthy urban food environments, food safety issues, and the unaffordability of healthy diets require targeted efforts to improve diets and address multiple forms of malnutrition, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas. Strengthening coordination and focusing on obesity and NCD prevention in urban areas are urgent priorities. Double-duty interventions and programs in social protection, agriculture, health, and education should be designed, implemented, and evaluated to tackle all forms of malnutrition.

Experiential learning tools for sustainable water management [India]

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, March 2025

Highlights MARCH 2025 Retail prices of maize declined on average by 25 percent in March thanks to the arrival of newly harvested maize on the market. The depreciation of the Malawi kwacha against neighboring currencies at the informal exchange rates used for most cross-border maize trade slowed down in March, which further eased pressure on prices. Imports of old maize from Tanzania were increasingly complemented by new maize coming in from Mozambique and southern Zambia. By the end of March, imports dominated exports at nearly all border crossings.

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Kenya

Despite progress in reducing child stunting over the past 15 years, Kenya is now facing new nutrition challenges, including overweight and obesity. The double burden of malnutrition (DBM), which is the coexistence of under- and overnutrition within individuals, households, and populations [1], manifests as child stunting and adult overweight (mostly in women) at the population and household levels. Dietary diversity is low and affects different population groups (particularly young children, adolescents, and women), predisposing them to micronutrient deficiencies. However, recent data on micronutrient intake and status are lacking. Households living in urban areas are vulnerable to being overweight, a consequence of increasingly unhealthy dietary patterns. In Kenya’s informal urban settlements, limited dietary diversity, reliance on cereals, and widespread consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) contribute to high rates of child stunting, underweight, and the DBM, with affordability and accessibility driving food choices. Compounding factors include food safety concerns, clustering of unhealthy food vendors, and external shocks. Urban nutrition interventions have had mixed results, with some programs improving child health and maternal knowledge, but others showing no significant impact. Kenya aims to eliminate malnutrition by 2027, but national policies focus mostly on rural areas, leaving urban nutrition challenges insufficiently addressed. Programs such as Afya Jiji and the Nairobi City County Food System Strategy target urban health, but gaps in urban-specific strategies, poor coordination, and limited funding hinder progress. The national school meals program serves only a small portion of schools, and urban food policies are still underdeveloped.

Cost effectiveness of anticipatory action: Lesotho, Madagascar, and Mozambique

An important question when conducting anticipatory action programs relates to its cost-effectiveness. By cost effectiveness, we refer to the relative costs and benefits of anticipatory action in general relative to a more standard approach to post-shock aid. In this context, we largely want to know what would happen to potential beneficiary households in two different scenarios: 1) if they receive anticipatory action transfers, and 2) if they instead receive unconditional post-shock transfers of the same size. The idea is that we assume there is a fixed budget envelope, and the same amount of assistance could be provided as either anticipatory action or as post-shock transfers. The resulting measurement estimates the difference in benefits and losses to providing anticipatory action relative to post-shock assistance, providing a conclusion on the overall net benefits or losses of this approach. Since we assume a fixed budget envelope, we invert the process of measuring cost effectiveness by measuring the net benefits of anticipatory action relative to post-shock transfers. This analysis uses the conceptual framework developed by de Brauw and Bloem (2024) to identify classes of potential benefits and costs for anticipatory action relative to unconditional post-shock transfers. The model suggests the main benefit to anticipatory action is that households can better protect their productive asset holdings, whether livestock or other farm implements, which implies their future incomes will be higher than they would be otherwise. There are also potential gains for households during the negative shock, implying those households may be less food insecure, for example, while the shock is occurring.1 On the other hand, the framework suggests that a specific cost to anticipatory action is the cost of getting it wrong (i.e., giving people benefits when the shock does not materialize for those people).

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, January 2025

Highlights  Retail prices of maize increased by 21 percent in January.  Maize prices were lowest in the Northern region, where informal imports from Tanzania and northern Zambia enter the country, and increased southward.  Some maize was exported to southern Zambia, but high prices in southern Malawi attracted imports from Mozambique.  At the market exchange rate, retail prices of maize in Malawi were similar to those in Zambia and lower than in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Picture-based crop insurance: A randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of using smartphone camera data for claims verification in India

Exposure to weather hazards, pests, crop diseases, and climate change threaten the livelihoods of many smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries. A lack of agricultural insurance has severe financial consequences for farmers in the aftermath of shocks; however, even in uneventful years, it discourages risk-averse farmers from investing in profitable agricultural production opportunities, thereby limiting the adoption of practices and technologies that would improve productivity and income. As a result, many countries are focusing on agricultural insurance as a means of reducing farmers’ exposure to production risks and increasing investments. This report describes findings from an impact evaluation of a novel crop insurance scheme in the state of Haryana, India.

Synthesis report: Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping of Southeast Asian countries formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined this association in 1984. ASEAN expanded to 10 countries between 1995 and 1999 by extending memberships to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. These 10 Southeast Asian countries entered into the trade agreement to ensure the free flow of goods, including agricultural products. Agreements related to services and investment were also signed to enhance economic cooperation and to develop an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 2003 helped liberalize the intra-ASEAN agricultural trade, which grew steadily during the period under review. Further, the dynamics of intra ASEAN trade show that after the food price crisis of 2007/2008, intra-ASEAN agricultural trade increased sharply, which reflects ASEAN’s efforts to create a food security action plan aimed at improving sustainable food trade among ASEAN members.

Completion report: Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns

The ATMI-ASEAN project was launched on October 7–8, 2016, in the Philippines. It is a five-year project funded by International Funds for Agriculture Development (IFAD) with a year’s extension due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The implementation of the project was led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and co-implemented by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The ATMI-ASEAN project comprises three main components: Component 1. Policy studies and expert workshops; Component 2. High-level policy forums (HLPFs) and roundtables; and Component 3. Technical assistance for planning and policy development. Each component was scheduled and implemented over the project implementation from 2016 to 2021, then extended for a year to finalize the project implementation affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This report elaborates on all project outputs throughout the implementation.

Farmers brace for a new round of trade wars

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take up residence at the White House for the second time, US farmers nervously await what is in store for the agricultural sector, particularly in trade. In 2018 and 2019, US agriculture suffered from collateral damage during the previous Trump administration as the president’s unilateral actions on trade against foreign suppliers of US imports had serious repercussions for US agricultural exports.

IFPRI Malawi monthly maize market report, December 2024

Retail prices of maize increased by 15 percent in December. Maize prices were lowest in the Northern region, where informal imports from Tanzania enter the country, and increased southward. At the market exchange rate, retail prices of maize in Malawi were similar to those in Zambia and lower than in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

2025 Global report on food crises

The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2025 provides consensus-based analysis on acute food insecurity, acute malnutrition and population displacement in countries/territories identified as having food crises in 2024 . It is produced in collaboration with technical agencies and partners to provide a consensual analysis based on rigorous methodologies and the consolidation of data from various sources.

Strategic modeling for future agriculture in Asia

This APO report pinpoints the declining agricultural productivity situation in APO economies since 2019 and explores how key measures could accelerate progress achieving food security and mitigating undernourishment by improving calorie availability per person. Key challenges include slowed agricultural productivity, climate change, land degradation, insufficient R&D investment, water scarcity, and inefficiencies in markets. The report examines measures such as policy interventions and investments in R&D, irrigation, and water use efficiency to enhance productivity, food security, and sustainable resource use. Such measures could accelerate progress toward achieving food security and mitigating undernourishment by improving calorie availability per person.

Nature-Positive Solutions Initiative survey report: Colombia

This study is part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions for shifting agrifood systems to more resilient and sustainable pathways” (NATURE+), which aims to promote sustainable agricultural productivity through nature-positive solutions (NPS) by addressing three critical challenges: Land Degradation: Industrial agriculture, while ensuring large-scale food production, has caused severe environmental harm, including 80% of global deforestation, threats to 86% of endangered species, significant biodiversity loss, and up to 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also depletes water and soil health, reducing crop resilience and lowering farming incomes and nutrition outcomes. To mitigate these impacts, a shift toward resilient farming systems that support smallholder farmers and enhance agriculture’s role as a positive force for nature is essential. Limited Evidence and Knowledge to Support NPS: Awareness of the environmental costs of industrial agriculture has highlighted the need for sustainable farming practices, especially after the 2021 UN Food System Summit and the COVID-19 pandemic. NPS has significant potential, including creating 395 million jobs by 2030 (as per the 2020 World Economic Forum). However, gaps in evidence and tools for decision-making hinder scaling efforts. Research in biodiversity, soil health, and waste management is crucial to develop scalable innovations and support agricultural research for community development. Lack of Business Models for Public-Private Partnerships: The private sector plays a vital role in scaling impact oriented solutions, requiring supportive policies and incentives to encourage investments in sustainable pathways. Developing business models that combine scientific innovation with ecological, social, and livelihood benefits is necessary to foster collaboration and drive smallholder farming toward nature-positive practices.

Nature-Positive Solutions Initiative baseline evaluation survey report: India

The pressing need to achieve sustainable agriculture and mitigate climate change has led to a growing recognition of the importance of nature-based solutions (NBS). Defined as interventions that leverage the protective, restorative, and regulatory functions of ecosystems (Cohen-Shacham et al., 2016), NBS offers a holistic approach to addressing a range of environmental and societal challenges. This framework positions humans as active stewards of ecosystems rather than passive beneficiaries. Industrial agriculture, in prioritizing mass-scale food production, has exacted a heavy toll on both the environment and human well-being. Miralles-Wilhelm and Iseman (2021) report that 52 percent of global agricultural lands suffer from moderate to severe degradation due to unsustainable practices, contributing to 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, industrial agriculture drives 80 percent of deforestation, threatens 86 percent of the 28,000 species currently at risk of extinction (through habitat conversion and pollution), and accelerates soil and water degradation. The use of chemical inputs, monocropping, and poor waste management further compromise nutrition, reduce crop resilience, and depress farming incomes. These challenges highlight the urgent need to transition toward resilient, nature positive agricultural systems capable of sustaining smallholder farmers and ensuring that agriculture becomes a net contributor to environmental restoration. In response, the One CGIAR initiative, “Nature-positive solutions for shifting agri-food systems to more resilient and sustainable pathways” (NATURE+), seeks to enhance the adoption of nature-positive solutions (NPS) to promote sustainable agricultural productivity. NATURE+ addresses key systemic barriers in three areas: (1) land degradation and resource depletion, (2) limited evidence and knowledge gaps within the agricultural research for development (AR4D) community, and (3) the lack of viable business models to drive public-private partnerships in sustainable agriculture. While the harmful impacts of industrial agriculture are well documented, the AR4D community lacks robust evidence and tailored tools to support NPS planning. The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and the COVID-19 pandemic have further underscored the need for systemic transformation. The 2020 World Economic Forum report, “The Future of Nature and Business,” estimates that NPS could create 395 million jobs by 2030, but achieving this potential requires substantial investment in evidence-based innovation and decision-support tools for biodiversity enhancement, soil management, waste management, and water conservation.

Key stakeholders, platforms, and networks in Bangladesh’s food systems transformation process, 2022–2024

In 2022, the CGIAR Research Initiative on Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation (SHiFT) conducted a stakeholder identification and analysis activity to develop its strategy for stakeholder engagement. As part of SHiFT’s Work Package 5, Catalyzing Food Systems Transformation, this analysis was used to prepare a stakeholder engagement strategy for Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Viet Nam, SHiFT’s three countries of work. The stakeholder identification and mapping, as well as a report on the country’s food system transformation process and issues, constitute a database that enables rapid selection of potential stakeholders for engagement, capacity sharing, and collaboration, among other purposes. The stakeholder identification process is repeated, typically on a quarterly basis, to update the database. This summary report is based on information first collected in 2022 and updated as of December 2024. Building understanding, engagement, and capacity with diverse food system stakeholders will help to foster collaboration and coordination across varied perspectives, and to drive transformative actions across the food system for positive outcomes on the environment, food security and nutrition, and livelihoods and inclusion. SHiFT’s approach is to engage with and provide technical support to relevant stakeholders, networks, and platforms whose objectives are aligned with the Initiative’s goals. This approach aims to contribute to local and national food systems transformation for sustainable healthy diets, rather than facilitating the formation of new networks or platforms that would require more time to build engagement and capacity, and might not be sustainable. The Initiative’s efforts are also meant to avoid overlapping with those of the country’s government and other development partners. Instead, SHiFT aims to create synergies through coordinated actions to achieve national food systems transformation and sustainable healthy diets, as well as broader national goals on food systems.

Capacity assessment to support food systems transformation towards sustainable healthy diets in Bangladesh: Exploring the capabilities of the SHiFT strategic partners

Strengthening the multidisciplinary capabilities necessary to accelerate food systems transformation has garnered increased interest over the past decade. A capabilities assessment was done with the Strategic Partners of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation in Bangladesh to understand their abilities to facilitate transformative changes towards sustainable healthy diets. Both Strategic Partners, the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) and the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC), have long histories and well-established structures for collaboration and coordination with diverse stakeholders to realize the nutrition-focused (BNNC) and the food-related (FPMU) ambitions of the Government of Bangladesh. They are engaged in food and/or nutrition policy development, governance of the sectors, and monitoring progress at both national and sub-national levels. Using a capability assessment tool tailored to capturing food systems transformation capabilities at organizational level, the capabilities to deliver results and adapt and self-renew were the highest scored for FPMU. BNNC scored more on the capabilities to achieve coherence and to relate to support food systems transformation higher. However, food systems transformation and sustainable healthy diets emerged as relatively new concepts in both organizations. It was acknowledged that whereas the current mandates of BNNC and FPMU may address issues relevant for sustainable healthy diets, to date this still lacks adequate translation into the current policy development and planning operations and has no intentional prioritization. Both teams underscored the urgency to invest in human resources and institutional capacity strengthening as well as earmarking finances to pursue food systems transformation agendas. Becoming more articulated and explicit about what comprises food systems change, what are sustainable healthy diets and what could be monitored is crucial to support the Strategic Partners to have tangible actions to track. Moving from food system narratives to specific actions will facilitate understanding of what is, or needs to be, monitored.

Baseline analysis for an impact evaluation of a home-grown school feeding program in Osun State, Nigeria to support smallholder farmers

Home-Grown School Feeding Programs (HGSFPs) are becoming important policy instruments to improve food security, nutrition, education, agricultural production, and local economic growth (Adeyanju et al., 2024; Abay et al., 2021; Sitali, 2021; Takeshima et al., 2018; Fernandes et al., 2016; Karisa and Ordho, 2014; WFP, 2013). While the potential of HGFSPs to tackle undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies is well documented (Alderman, Bundy, Gelli, 2024), their role in supporting local value chains and smallholder farmers remains an area of active inquiry. Following international trends and lessons, Nigeria started delivering HGSFP which includes utilizing locally sourced foods instead of imports (Dennis et al., 2021). These programs provide school meals using locally sourced food from smallholder farmers within the same community (Sumberg & Sabates-Wheeler, 2011). In 2004, Nigeria’s National HGSFP was piloted in 12 states, covering all six geopolitical zones. However, the national government abruptly halted the program, with Osun relaunching the program in 2012 using state-level funds. Osun State is currently the only Nigerian state that implements the program—and considered one of the more successful states for implementing it. Despite stoppages of the program, lessons learned from the pilot phase offered valuable operational and policy insights for implementing the National HGSFP in 2016, with the aim of using farm produce locally grown by smallholder farmers to provide children with nutritious mid-day meals on every school day (Adeyanju et al., 2024).

Does labelling differentiate products and create price premiums? The case of tomatoes from northeast Nigeria

This note describes a labelling experiment introduced to crates of tomatoes cool transported from the northeast region of Nigeria to Lagos or Port Harcourt. A label was attached to a random sample of crates to ensure that the quality of tomatoes is orthogonal to the labels and the destination market was not informed of the experiment. The label contained the information on (a) the project (IFPRI), (b) the transportation method (cool transportation), and (c) the origin of tomatoes (Jos or Gombe), as shown below. The experiment was conducted in the first rounds from Jos and Gombe (Lagos), and the fifth round from Jos (Port Harcourt). As expected, the labeled crates were priced higher than the unlabeled crates. About 9 to 33% of the sale price is attributed to improved information on the quality of tomatoes via the labels.

Innovations in low-income country food systems

The food sector is a critical area of employment and economic activity in most low-income countries, especially for the rural poor, providing incomes and sustenance, employment and growth. In many low and middle-income countries, two configurations, formal and informal, overlap in economically significant grey areas. This overlap between the formal and informal is particularly common and therefore relevant to research and policy in the food sector of low-income countries. This paper is concerned with identifying innovations in the informal sector of food systems in low-income countries, in particular innovations that improve participation and circumstances for those at the bottom: farmers, small traders. This focus requires some distinction between formal and informal; this distinction will abstract away from a lot of the overlap and the dynamism of the sector. We organize the definition of formal and informal primarily around the degree of compliance with official regulatory frameworks and financial systems, acknowledging that this definition has some limitations. For example, the nature of activities and actors in the informal sector—such as smaller firm size or transaction size—can in some cases mean that their operations are not subject to the regulations that apply to larger firms. Formality, in such economies and under such a definition, is then tightly correlated not just with regulatory compliance but also the economic scale of the operations (which may be endogenously determined as a means of avoiding regulation). While this framework helps to clarify the boundaries of what is considered formal or informal, is important to recognize that these boundaries can be fluid, and in many contexts, the distinction may not fully capture the nuanced realities of economic activity.

Solar drying technology for post-harvest loss management of horticulture products: Findings from baseline survey in Nigeria

Creating a sustainable food system requires addressing the critical challenges of food waste and loss. This is particularly crucial for small-scale farmers who supply local markets but lack access to modern preservation technologies, leading to significant product losses between harvesting and selling. Research indicates that in low-and middle-income countries, approximately 38 percent of harvested perishable agricultural goods are lost before consumption. Globally, about 22 percent of fruits and vegetables are lost in the supply chain before reaching retailers (FAO, 2019). These postharvest losses have significant impacts to low economic return and household food and nutrition security. Post-harvest losses also contribute significantly to environmental concerns, accounting for roughly 8 percent of yearly global greenhouse gas emissions. Among all food categories, fruits and vegetables experience the highest losses by weight.

2024 China and global food policy report: Building a sustainable and diversified food supply to foster agrifood systems transformation

The global food and nutrition security situation remains severe, with multiple crises exacerbating hunger and food insecurity. Climate change, regional conflicts, inflationary pressures, and slow economic recovery in many parts of the world have led to decreased incomes and purchasing power, worsening global hunger and malnutrition. The 2023 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World indicates that between 691 million and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, with a food insecurity prevalence of 29.6%, including approximately 900 million people experiencing severe food insecurity. Furthermore, over 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet due to diminished access to nutritious food.

Real-time media analysis using large language model (LLM) for the top 5 prioritized pests and diseases

This report presents a comprehensive overview of the real-time media analysis system developed to assess risks associated with the top five prioritized pests and diseases affecting crops. The activity, under Work Package 2 of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Plant Health, utilizes advanced text mining and machine learning techniques, including a Large Language Model (LLM), to process and analyze media articles. Key achievements include the development of an automated media analysis pipeline to monitor pests and diseases globally, the integration of GPT-4 to classify and extract detailed information from news articles, the creation of a public, interactive Crop Disease Dashboard providing real-time insights, the implementation of a cloud-based interface and REST API for user-friendly interaction and integration, and the ongoing refinement of the system based on human verification and feedback. This innovative approach aims to strengthen crop health monitoring and support policymakers and researchers in mitigating the risks posed by crop diseases and pests.

Agroecological insights for Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, India: a contextual analysis for sustainable transformation

This report examines the agroecological, environmental, economic and social dimensions of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh, India. Agroecological dimensions include recycling, input reduction, soil health, animal health, biodiversity, synergy, economic diversification, co-creation of knowledge, social values and diets, fairness, connectivity, land and natural resource governance, and participation. The report also highlights the challenges and opportunities for sustainable agroecological transformation. Mandla, a tribal dominated district faces challenges such as land degradation, poor soil conditions, poor land productivity, biodiversity loss, and socio-economic disparities. To address these challenges, CGIAR initiative on Agroecology established Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALLs) in Mandla district. The initiative identified key challenges, captured the vision of local communities, assessed existing farming practices, and developed new agroecological practices to address some of the challenges. Local communities recycle resources such as crop residues, animal manure and invasive plant species to prepare compost, farmyard manure and biochar to a limited extent. There is significant increase in synthetic fertilizer use in the last few decades, however some farmers are applying some amount of locally prepared compost, and operating at low input-output conditions, leaving scope of improvement in production with input reduction. The district, predominantly characterized by black cotton soil, faces challenges like soil erosion, low organic content and nutrient deficiencies. Conservation practices such as green manuring, mulching, bunding, silt application, bio-fertilizer, compost application and crop rotation are practiced sporadically to maintain soil health. Cattle and livestock are integral to farming system. Department of Animal Husbandry and local animal health workers are primarily involved in maintaining animal health. Penning, timing open grazing, prohibition of grazing in some areas, and cattle shed flooring are recent introduction for sustainable feeding regimes. The district is rich in natural biodiversity with wide range of flora and fauna, however due to increasing chemical fertilizer use and unsustainable farming practices has led biodiversity loss. Synergy between various faming system, including crop-livestock, agroforestry, NTFP in the landscape need improvement through targeted interventions. Local communities depend on agriculture, NonTimber Forest Products (NTFP), and fisheries for livelihood, contributing to economic diversification, however dwindling natural resources poses risks to the community livelihood. Farmer to farmer interactions, traditional fairs, informal gatherings, seed festivals, farmers field schools, and formal institutions such as NGO’s, government institutions facilitate co-creation of knowledge. Local communities prioritize diverse, nutritious and traditional diets but shrinking production poses a serious threat to dietary diversity. Seasonal festivals and community gatherings also play a key role in maintaining social values and diets. Limited access to resources, market information, transportation, price disparities and monopoly markets are some of the value chain challenges faced by local communities. Community practices such as wage fixing, labour pooling and labour exchange help maintain fairness. However, Connectivity among various food system and value chain actors is weak and need strengthening. Land and natural resource governance is managed by district administration, state forest department, and local communities including gram sabhas and panchayat committees, which usually adhere to traditional tribal practices. Participation of community organizations such as NGO’s, tribal knowledge networks, state agricultural department, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, department of rural development, Farmers producers’ organization, self-help groups, and Joint Forest Management Committee is crucial for agroecological transition. The assessment reveals that while agroecological practices are being practiced in Mandla, they are fragmented and implemented at smaller scale but shows potential for scaling up. National and state policies, including Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, National Rural Livelihood Mission, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, and local NGO’s can play a pivotal role in agroecological transition. Large scale adoption of agroecology can be achieved by establishing multistakeholder platform, farmers networks and knowledge sharing platforms, access to markets and value chains, capacity building programs, infrastructure and policy support, nature-based solutions, financial mechanisms and incentives, participatory research and trail establishment, inclusive governance structures.

Impacts of cool transportation in Nigeria: Midpoint analysis

A randomized controlled trial was introduced to see impacts of cool transportation that connects three vegetable markets in northeast and two large demand centers in southern regions of Nigeria. This note summarizes the findings from the midpoint analysis. First, the impact of cool transportation is large and statistically significant. Sales price, revenue and profit significantly increase for marketers. Second, impacts on sales price are quantitatively large, and a larger portion of sales price increase is attributed to refrigeration, that is, quality preservation through cooling. About 70% of the increase comes from cooling; only 30% from transportation. Third, impacts on revenue and profit, relative to non-cool transportation, are also quantitatively large. In particular, the analysis shows a large proportional increase in profit.

Cointegration analysis of sesame prices in Ethiopian commodity exchange warehouses

This study examines the cointegration of sesame market prices in eight Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) warehouses and its implications for improving the functioning of sesame markets. We analyzed 489 weekly market price data points for each of the eight ECX warehouses, covering the period from end of 2014 to mid-2024. We estimate the Multivariate Vector Error Correction Model (ECM) to analyze short- and long-term spatial price adjustments across warehouses. Of the eight warehouses, six showed significant spatial integration. The VECM results showed effective price transmission and strong short- and longterm market relationships. Short-term dynamics particularly revealed complex interactions. These findings highlight the varying impacts of price fluctuations between warehouses and the need to understand these interactions for better strategic decision making, resource allocation, and pricing strategy refinement. Furthermore, accelerating the speed of price pass through is vital to improve the livelihoods of sesame farmers in Ethiopia.

The cluster panacea? An evaluation of three interventions in shrimp value chains in Bangladesh

Clustering farming has often been proposed as an effective way to overcome the significant transactions costs faced by downstream buyers in interacting and negotiating with many small farmers, while making it easier for extension workers and governments to dispense advice, provide upstream services and inputs. In this study, we evaluate the impact of a set of three initiatives in Bangladesh, implemented by a government department, a private sector processing firm and a not-for-profit industrial advocacy body, all involving clustering contiguous shrimp farm ponds to enable group certification necessary for global market access. We implement a canonical difference-in-differences model using two rounds of surveys of a sample of over 1,222 farmers in 2023 and 2024 to assess the impacts on pond management practices, net profits and any unintended impacts on food security and dietary diversity. Our results suggest that the cluster interventions had impressive impacts on adoption of better farm management practices. However, these do not appear to translate into significant gains in net profits, perhaps because these interventions are still relatively new. Further, it appears that cluster farmers pay a penalty on account of a shift to more intensive cultivation, represented by a loss in species diversity and lower incomes from fish and vegetables. We find that there are no significant spillover effects as yet on shrimp farmers in the same village as the clusters. This study reflects critically on the efficacy of clustering that is presumed to enhance access to global markets.

Accelerating quality upgrading in Ugandan dairy value chains – Preliminary results from a value chain experiment

Uganda’s dairy sector faces persistent challenges in milk quality, particularly low butterfat and solids-not-fat (SNF) levels. This study uses a multilevel randomized control trial with interventions at both Milk Collection Center (MCC) and farmer levels to identify some of the barriers that prevent quality upgrading within dairy value chains. Innovations included milk analyzers, digital record-keeping, and farmer-focused educational campaigns. Results showed significant improvements in milk quality at MCCs using analyzers, with higher butterfat and SNF levels and reduced adulteration. However, adoption varied widely, and uniform price setting by processors failed to incentivize quality improvements. Future efforts should focus on aligning financial incentives with quality, reducing adoption barriers, and fostering competitive markets to ensure sustainable quality upgrading in Uganda’s dairy value chain.

Transforming food systems towards sustainable healthy diets in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Viet Nam: A cross-country stakeholder analysis

The CGIAR Research Initiative on Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation (SHiFT) recognizes the urgency of early stakeholder engagement to facilitate systemic changes towards sustainable healthy diets. This qualitative exploratory study aimed to provide insights about where stakeholders are active in food systems in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Viet Nam and their characteristics. The conceptual framework of food systems for diets and nutrition proposed by the High Level Panel of Experts on food security and nutrition was used to map all stakeholders using a network analysis approach, in particular applying the degree centrality measure. This measure shows the food system domains with the largest number of stakeholder connections. The analysis reveals that centralization is spread across various food system domains. In Bangladesh, the areas with the most stakeholder connections are observed in the policy and governance and food environment domains. In Ethiopia, more connections were observed under the food environment, and production system domains and the outcomes related to diets, nutrition and health. In Viet Nam, it is the production system, storage and trade, packaging and processing, and food environment domains with the most stakeholder connections. Overall, platforms are active in policy and governance in all countries, suggesting that engaging with multi-stakeholder platforms is beneficial for SHiFT to advance the national agendas aimed at realizing sustainable healthy diets. Considering connectivity with food system domains, SHiFT can collaborate with all sectors. Moreover, focusing on stakeholders in the food environment, particularly on overseeing foodscapes for people, is essential. However, implementing food systems transformation requires identifying and engaging with other actors as well. However, there is limited representation of stakeholders in processing, transport, and retail, especially in Ethiopia and Bangladesh. International stakeholders emerge prominently from our analysis, suggesting that the food system narrative may still be primarily driven from an international/global perspective, resonating with the United Nations Food Systems Summit dialogues. To realize the ambitions of transitioning towards sustainable healthy diets for all, efforts must extend beyond projects/programs and engage national-level stakeholders.

Cool transportation in Nigeria: Intervention, baseline and randomized controlled trial

In many developing countries, including Nigeria, much of fruit and vegetable production is lost largely because of lack of an adequate cold chain, including postharvest handling, cold storage and temperature-controlled transportation. As a result, not only the availability of fish, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and meat but also the safety and nutritional content of the food are affected. Under such conditions, all agents in the supply chain including farmers suffer from income reduction, while consumers face un-stable and lower-quality supply of normally more nutritious foods. Inadequate development of value chains and deficiencies in high costs associated with cooling systems are main causes of such losses.

Postharvest packaging and marketing innovation adoption in Nigeria: The case of plastic crate

Postharvest loss of horticultural crops is very high in most developing countries, and most of the loss occurs during production, harvesting, and transporting stages. Postharvest technologies (PHTs) are therefore important to reducing food loss and wastage and critical to both national and international food security agendas. This report provides the status quo of postharvest innovation adoption in Nigeria by taking the case of horticultural growers’ adoption of postharvest packaging and transportation innovation such as returnable plastic crates. Primary data were collected from 1704 farmers using a multistage random sampling technique. Our findings reveal low adoption of PHT, with only 8% of rainfed and 14% of irrigation farmers utilizing PHT for packaging and transporting perishable agricultural products. Growers who adopted PHT received a market price that was twice as high as those who did not, encouraging sustained adoption of PHT by growers. The results prove that the high costs and limited availability in rural areas, rather than awareness gap, discourage farmers from using PHT. The research suggests interventions to address these challenges by utilizing flexible distribution strategies, such as engaging small and micro enterprises to offer rental PHT services in rural areas.

Drivers of agrifood system transformation in Odisha

Globally, agrifood systems (AFS) are experiencing rapid transformation driven by a range of factors. This transformation process is also observed across several states of India, including Odisha. This study develops a conceptual framework to examine the key drivers of AFS transformation in Odisha. Analytical tools, including trend analysis, the Simpson Index, and the Just-Pope Yield function, were used to assess the impact of various determinants of changes in the state’s AFS. The report presents an analysis and breakdown of growth trends in the agrifood system over the last two decades, identifies constraints and opportunities for future growth, and evaluates the coherence of government agricultural policies, offering direction for future policies to manage and motivate AFS transformation in Odisha. Odisha’s AFS is characterized by diverse stakeholders, with smallholder farmers facing significant challenges, particularly from climate-induced shocks and the volatility in agricultural gross value added (GVA). Among farming households, wage income now surpasses earnings from traditional agricultural activities, such as crop cultivation and livestock production. Several demographic and economic factors, including population growth, urbanization, and rising incomes, have profoundly influenced the structure and operations of the AFS, as evidenced by increasing demand for higher-value food products, including processed foods. The adoption of innovative technologies, such as Bt cotton and climate-resilient crop varieties, has enhanced farm productivity and profitability, driving crop diversification. Increased use of purchased farm inputs, such as high-yielding variety seeds, inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural machinery, has further shaped Odisha’s agrifood landscape. Government policies, including higher annual budget allocations for irrigation infrastructure, climate-resilient technologies, subsidized credit and insurance, and farmer welfare programs, have been instrumental in shaping Odisha’s AFS. However, despite strong growth, the fisheries sector remains underfunded compared to other subsectors. Improved rural infrastructure—such as expanded road and irrigation networks, grain and cold storage facilities, mobile connectivity, and improved market access—has contributed positively to AFS transformation in the state. Additionally, rural organizations, including farmer producer organizations (FPO), self-help groups (SHG), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and agricultural extension centers, have played a crucial role in advancing the state agricultural initiatives, such as Shree Anna Abhiyan, the special programme for promotion of millets in tribal areas of Odisha. The increasing number of hotels and restaurants, coupled with rising investments in the agrifood industry, underscores the expanding role of the agro-processing sector in Odisha’s economy. To revitalize rural economies, efforts should focus on boosting rural non-farm sectors, enhancing farm productivity, and strengthening infrastructure, particularly logistics and cold chain facilities. Investments in agrifood processing, promoting digital marketing, and fostering climate-resilient technologies are also important. Small farmers need support through strengthened FPOs, better access to quality seeds and mechanization, especially women farmers. Policies should be modified to promote increased crop and enterprise diversification, fishery sector growth, and organic farming. Agrifood parks and research in processing technologies can increase value addition and promote entrepreneurship within the AFS. Finally, solar energy integration will ensure sustainability and economic growth across agrifood value chains.

IFPRI Malawi maize market report, November 2024

The Monthly Maize Market Report was developed by researchers at IFPRI Malawi to provide clear and accurate information on the variation of maize prices in selected markets throughout Malawi. All prices are reported in Malawi Kwacha (K).

Value chain mapping and analysis of Mahua Flowers and Seeds in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh

In Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh, a state located in Central India, tribal communities collect fruits, flowers, gums and other materials from the forest for self-consumption and sale. These so-called non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are important for income, food security and livelihood. Additionally, the income from these products creates an incentive for the protection of the forest, making it an important asset from an ecological perspective. However, overall forest degradation, unsustainable harvesting and alternative income sources have led to decreased NTFP collection and trade. The term NTFP encompasses a wide variety of products including fruits, nuts, seeds, resins, gums, medicinal plants, mushrooms, honey, fibers, and other plant and animal products. Although many of these can be found in the forests of Madhya Pradesh, only a few products and species have sizeable economic activity. The two most important of these products are the flower of the mahua tree (Madhuca longifolia) and the leaves of the tendu tree (Diospyros melanoxylon). While the former is mainly used in the production of local liquor, the latter is used by the tobacco industry as wrapping for traditional cigarettes called bidis. The collection and trade of NTFPs was regulated under the colonial rule of the British and this continued independence. Starting from the 1990s attempts were made to shift rights and power towards the forest dwellers and away from the authorities. The implementation of these reforms (e.g. PESA and FRA) has been particularly slow and scattered in Madhya Pradesh, where the Forest Department remains virtually in charge of the forests. However, the trade of most NTFPs (except some like tendu) has been liberalized. In recent times public authorities have even gained interest in NTFPs as an avenue to lift tribal communities out of poverty. In this report we study NTFP trade and production in Mandla, discussing the value chain analysis (VCA) of mahua flowers, followed by an analysis of alternative value chain linkages to diversify the use and income potential from mahua. The goal of this analysis is to identify the potential for agro-ecological improvements

Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report – November 2024

The rapidly evolving food security situation in Myanmar requires a high frequency, systematic and comprehensive approach to monitoring. The Myanmar monthly food price report synthesizes food price trends using publicly available datasets, focusing on key agricultural crops and highlighting regional differences in rice prices. By analyzing these trends, the report aims to provide insights into the broader agricultural market and the factors driving food price fluctuations in Myanmar.

An evaluation of farmers’ digital literacy and awareness on the adoption and implementation of bundled digital innovations in Uganda

Global agri-food systems face numerous challenges, including the adverse effects of climate change, low productivity, limited adoption of technologies, and restricted access to input and output markets. These constraints contribute to increased food insecurity, decreased income from agriculture, and stagnated growth rates in many agrarian economies. Digitizing the agriculture sector presents a sustainable solution to these challenges by providing critical information that supports optimal decision-making, enhancing efficiency and productivity. However, the widespread adoption of digital innovations in this sector is hindered by low awareness of existing technologies, limited digital literacy, and prevailing social norms and power dynamics affecting various population segments, particularly women and youth. To overcome these barriers, campaigns aimed at improving digital literacy and raising awareness is essential for promoting the uptake and use of digital innovations. Despite the importance of these initiatives, studies that quantify the impact of such interventions on the adoption and use of bundled digital innovations remain limited. This evaluation report, first, examines the effects of awareness creation and digital literacy trainings on the adoption of bundled digital innovations, differentiated by gender. Second, it evaluates the impact of digital literacy training on input use (improved seeds, fertilizer, agrochemicals (fungicides and herbicides) and mechanization), crop yields (for at least two major annual crops in the study area: maize and beans and two cash crops (banana and coffee), and income, all categorized by gender and other socio-economic characteristics. Data for this study were obtained from a randomized controlled trial (RCT), collected over two waves: a baseline conducted in September 2023 and a follow-up in September 2024. The treatment group comprised 253 households from three districts in Uganda, who received digital literacy training along with basic agronomic training as part of the intervention. In contrast, the control group consisted of 284 households from two districts. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were employed since the covariates were balanced between the treatment and control groups at both the baseline and follow-up stages. ANCOVA was also utilized for validation purposes, incorporating pre-treatment variables to enhance model estimates. The results indicate an attrition rate of 4.5%, with no significant differences observed across the various explanatory variables. This suggests that attrition is nonsystematic. The balance test scores show no evidence of differences in covariates between the treatment and control groups, which supports the use of OLS regression for empirical estimation. The intervention led to a significant increase in the uptake of improved seeds, as well as a positive trend of gross revenues from agricultural production and increased consumption expenditures on both food and non-food items. This study suggests that creating awareness and providing digital literacy training can enhance the adoption of productivity-enhancing inputs, such as improved seeds. Additionally, it is essential to adopt an inclusive, gender-sensitive approach to ensure that awareness and training campaigns have a wider impact.

Youth in agriculture: A PhotoVoice perspective to envision their engagement in agricultural practices

This report examines youth engagement in agriculture, focusing on agroecology in Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh. Despite agriculture’s critical role in livelihoods, rural youth show declining interest due to perceptions of low profitability, high risks, and systemic barriers like limited land ownership and inadequate institutional support. Using the PhotoVoice methodology, the study captures youth aspirations, challenges, and perceptions of sustainable farming practices. Findings indicate that while young women and men value agroecology’s benefits—improved soil health, sustainability, and income—they face significant hurdles, including resource scarcity, water shortages, and financial constraints. Many envision “dream farms” with modern equipment and sustainable practices but lack the infrastructure and support to realize these goals. Youth also report limited agency in decision-making and minimal participation in collectives, further alienating them from the sector. To address these challenges, the report calls for creating collectives for young women and men for collaboration, enhancing capacity-building programs, and integrating agroecology into education and policy frameworks. Strengthening institutional support, providing financial and technical assistance, and leveraging NGO partnerships are recommended to bridge gaps and empower youth as leaders in agroecological transitions. These actions are essential for fostering a resilient and sustainable agricultural future driven by young farmers.

Systematic Review of BPAT and CRP Evaluations on Market Segmentation and Target Product Profile Development in CGIAR Breeding Programs

Plant breeding is a very effective way to increase agricultural production and lead to impacts on food and nutrition security as well as improving incomes and livelihoods. The impacts of plant breeding, however, are dependent on the adoption of improved varieties by the target farmers. There is a balance between push and pull approaches to plant breeding. The former deals with developing improved varieties that address major production constraints, and upon release, are promoted and provided to farmers for their approval and adoption. The premise is that higher yielding potential will attract the attention of farmers, and they will choose to adopt the new variety. The latter deals with finding what the market needs and demands, be it the producers, processors and/or consumers. Then varieties are developed to fit that market demand. This is also known as demand-led breeding (Persley & Anthony, 2017). Due to variety adoption levels that have been below expectations (Thiele et al., 2020), there has been a shift in CGIAR breeding programs towards more demand-led-breeding. The CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence (MI Initiative)1 is bringing together a disciplinary team of scientists including breeders, agronomists, pathologists, seed system experts, social and gender scientists, crop and climate modelers along with national agriculture research and extension systems (NARES) from target countries to design and implement a demand-led breeding approach of varietal improvement across CGIAR mandate crops. Although there is a large existing body of work on the traits and varieties farmers prefer, including the differences in trait preferences between men and women, this has not been compiled in a standardized form that can be used for comparative purposes to inform trait prioritization and breeding investments more systematically. Since demand-led breeding involves superimposing consumer and producer-centered thinking on the agroecology-driven breeding programs, this requires substantial efforts in collecting market intelligence data to understand the drivers of variety adoption. Therefore, the MI Initiative is defining strategies for generating and using market intelligence in order to guide decisions on breeding program design. A central tenet of demand-led breeding programs is the identification of market segments and the definition of the ideal variety for meeting the requirements within each segment. A market segment is defined as a group of farmers with common variety requirements that include production (where and how the crop is grown) and end-user requirements (what the crop is used for)2. This segmentation takes into account the geographical region, agro-ecological zone(s), end use of the crop (fresh product, processed, as feed), color (of seed, grain, or skin and flesh of roots, tubers, vegetables and fruit), production environment, production system (rainfed/irrigated), and maturity. Once the market segments are defined, then varieties are designed to have a set of traits that respond to the needs and preferences of producers, processors and consumers in the specific market segment. The critical traits that must be found in the new product are documented and listed in a TPP (Target Product Profile), with defined levels and thresholds, usually compared to benchmark varieties that are popular in that market segment. The TPP presents also additional traits that are also desirable, and might lead to particular impacts, be it in nutrition, gender equity, adaptation to climate change, or resistance to emerging diseases. These are also part of the TPP and undergo a prioritization process as not all traits might reach the desired levels during the breeding cycle.

Myanmar Monthly Food Price Report – October 2024

The rapidly evolving food security situation in Myanmar requires a high frequency, systematic and comprehensive approach to monitoring. The Myanmar monthly food price report synthesizes food price trends using publicly available datasets, focusing on key agricultural crops and highlighting regional differences in rice prices. By analyzing these trends, the report aims to provide insights into the broader agricultural market and the factors driving food price fluctuations in Myanmar.

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Philippines

Child stunting is a persistent problem in the Philippines. While stunting prevalence is higher in rural than in urban areas, it still affects one in four children under the age of five in urban areas and coexists with rising overweight in school-age children, adolescents, and adults. Some urban nutrition interventions have focused on reducing diet-related noncommunicable disease (NCD) risks, but they have not addressed the challenges of the double burden of malnutrition (DBM) (e.g., the coexistence of problems of undernutrition and overnutrition) in school-age children and adolescents. Likewise, the lack of evidence on interventions in the urban food environment (FE) signals a need for studies to better understand the role of FEs in driving unhealthy dietary changes and the DBM and to test approaches to shift consumption patterns toward healthier diets and lifestyles. NCDs are the leading cause of mortality in the Philippines, and NCD risks are higher in urban areas than rural ones. National policies support nutrition with multisectoral approaches, particularly through urban farming and gardening to promote healthy and affordable urban diets. Yet the urban-specific programs must be evaluated. Evaluations of urban agricultural initiatives are needed to document any impact on diets and nutrition and to assess the potential for scale up, especially given land scarcity in dense urban areas. Additionally, multisectoral double-duty actions must be developed to address all forms of malnutrition.

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Sri Lanka

Key Messages Child stunting has declined in both rural and urban areas since 2016, but still affects a third of children on estates. Wasting prevalence has increased dramatically since 2016, reaching an alarming prevalence of 20 percent in urban areas. There is insufficient intake of nutritious foods, particularly in rural areas, and diet quality is negatively influenced by obesogenic food environments as the urbanization process continues. The cost of a healthy diet increased from $3.58 to $4.77 per person per day from 2017 to 2022, and 41 percent of the population is unable to afford a healthy diet. The prevalence of overweight, obesity and noncommunicable diseases is increasing nationally with higher burdens of overweight and obesity in urban populations and among women. National nutrition policies reference urban areas but do not adequately address the dual challenges of undernutrition (such as wasting) and overnutrition (such as overweight, obesity, and NCDs) common to urban contexts. Evidence is lacking on how to effectively address the double burden of malnutrition, yet clearly double-duty actions to address all forms of malnutrition will be essential.

Resilient Cities urban nutrition profile: Bangladesh

Urban-rural disparities in undernutrition in children under five have dissipated. Stunting declined from 2014 to 2022 in both urban and rural areas, but more so in rural areas, leading to comparable rates of stunting in urban and rural areas (22 percent, 24 percent). Wasting remains “high” (according to the World Health Organization) in both urban and rural areas (11 percent). The prevalence of child overweight is low but increasing, especially in Dhaka. Vitamin A deficiency affects half of children under five. Vitamin D and iron deficiencies are higher in urban areas, with zinc and iodine deficiencies more prevalent in rural areas. Urban and rural diets lack fruits and vegetables. A third of urban households have inadequate caloric intake. The cost of a healthy diet increased from $3.03 to $3.64 per person per day from 2017– 2022 and the percentage of the population unable to afford a healthy diet fell from 65 to 48 percent. Currently, 82 million people are unable to afford a healthy diet in the country. The diet diversity of young children has improved since 2011, but gains were seen mostly in rural areas. The percentage of all children fed the minimum meal frequency dropped by 20 percentage points from 2017 to 2022. Urban informal settlements are a concern – children have higher rates of stunting, lower dietary diversity, and higher prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies compared to other urban children. Overweight and obesity in urban adults is a critical problem. More urban women (48 percent) are overweight compared to rural women (35 percent); the same is true for urban men (29 percent) compared to 17 percent for rural men. Some urban nutrition interventions to tackle child undernutrition are being implemented, but few have been rigorously evaluated. Data on urban food environments (FEs) is becoming more available, but there are gaps in knowledge, particularly on the design and evaluation of interventions to counter the influence of the country’s increasingly obesogenic urban FE. National policies include targeted actions to improve urban diets and nutrition. More could be done, however, to improve the healthiness and safety of FEs, leverage social protection programs for the urban poor to make healthy diets more affordable, and to implement double-duty actions to address all forms of malnutrition.