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With research staff from more than 70 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

David Spielman

David Spielman is the director of IFPRI’s Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit and has been with the institute since 2004. His research agenda covers a range of topics including agriculture and rural development policy; agricultural science, technology, and innovation; plant genetic resources and seed systems; agricultural extension and advisory services; and community-driven rural development.

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

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IFPRI currently has more than 480 employees working in over 70 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is dedicated to creating a more inclusive and secure world for all through progressive research and a mutual learning. IDS works with governments, local civil society, international NGOs, researchers, and donors to help create change. IDS partners with the University of Sussex to support and accredit their master’s degrees and PhD research programs.

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Publications

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Journal Article

Market channel and other drivers of tomato farmer production and handling practices in Nigeria

2026Gurmu, M.Y.; Liverpool-Tasie, L.S.O.; Olayinka, O.; Assfaw Wossen, T.; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Feleke, S.; Abdoulaye, T.
Details

Market channel and other drivers of tomato farmer production and handling practices in Nigeria

Non-contract farming arrangements remain the dominant marketing option for poor, often food-insecure smallholder farmers in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet such farming arrangements are less studied than contract farming. Using a case study of 1,673 Nigerian tomato farmers, this study examined whether selling to midstream actors such as wholesalers and aggregators (via informal market arrangements) supports farmers’ adoption of good agricultural practices. We first explored the drivers of farmer sales to different market channels using a multinomial logit model. Then, using multivariate probit analysis, we identified factors associated with the adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP) and good handling practices (GHP) with particular attention to a farmers’ market channel. We found that larger smallholder farmers using modern irrigation are more likely to sell to midstream actors. We also found that selling to wholesalers and aggregators is an important determinant of farmers’ adoption of GAP and GHP, and this holds even for the smallest smallholder farmers. These results confirm that even where informal trading arrangements dominate (as is common in most LMICs), value chain actors in the midstream of food supply chains can support farmer adoption of GAP and GHP. These relationships have important implications for food security via enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder producers and improving the availability and safety of fresh produce for consumers, and thus should be leveraged in the design and implementation of efforts to expand farmer adoption of GAP and GHP.

Year published

2026

Authors

Gurmu, M.Y.; Liverpool-Tasie, L.S.O.; Olayinka, O.; Assfaw Wossen, T.; Yamauchi, Futoshi; Feleke, S.; Abdoulaye, T.

Citation

Yami, M., Liverpool-Tasie, L.S.O., Olayinka, O., Wossen, T., Yamauchi, F., Feleke, S., & Abdoulaye, T. (2026). Market channel and other drivers of tomato farmer production and handling practices in Nigeria. Food Security, 1-18. Article in press.

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Markets; Contract Farming; Good Agricultural Practices; Good Practices; Tomato; Farmers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-026-01646-9 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

Insecticide use, farmers’ self-reported health status, and genetically modified cowpea in Nigeria: Findings from a clustered randomized controlled trial with causal

2025Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.; Spielman, David J.; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Zambrano, Patricia; Chambers, Judith A.
Details

Insecticide use, farmers’ self-reported health status, and genetically modified cowpea in Nigeria: Findings from a clustered randomized controlled trial with causal

Excessive insecticide use in smallholder agriculture can threaten human health and the environment. We evaluate the effects of receiving a genetically modified cowpea variety that confers resistance to the legume pod borer (Maruca vitrata) using a clustered randomized controlled trial with an encouragement design in Nigeria. We find that farmers who received the pod borer-resistant (PBR) cowpea with complementary inputs significantly reduce insecticide volumes and report fewer days of insecticide-related illness compared to farmers who only received a conventional cowpea variety. Farmers receiving PBR cowpea alone experience smaller, mostly insignificant reductions. To explore heterogeneous responses, we combine ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) interactions with machine learning-based Causal Forest estimates of Conditional Average Treatment Effects (CATEs). Results reveal that smaller, less wealthy, and labor-constrained households experience the largest reductions in insecticide use and health improvements, whereas wealthier farmers or those with higher baseline spraying practices experience lower reductions. Women-managed plots exhibit modestly higher responsiveness. Our findings highlight the importance of moving beyond average effects and seed distribution toward targeted, context-specific interventions that account for behavioral and resource constraints in smallholder farming systems.

Year published

2025

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.; Spielman, David J.; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Zambrano, Patricia; Chambers, Judith A.

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.; Spielman, David J.; Bamiwuye, Temilolu; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; et al. 2025. Insecticide use, farmers’ self-reported health status, and genetically modified cowpea in Nigeria: Findings from a clustered randomized controlled trial with causal. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2388. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179030

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Insecticides; Farmers; Health; Genetically Modified Foods; Cowpeas; Randomized Controlled Trials; Machine Learning

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Livelihoods and recovery after Cyclone Idai: Short- and long-run household evidence from Mozambique

2025Allen IV, James; Yu, Hang
Details

Livelihoods and recovery after Cyclone Idai: Short- and long-run household evidence from Mozambique

Sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate share of global poverty and is also among the regions most vulnerable to natural disasters that pose persistent threats to livelihoods, food security, and long-run development. This study examines how exposure to a major natural disaster—Cyclone Idai, one of the deadliest and costliest disasters in Mozambique’s history—affected household well-being and economic behavior in central Mozambique following its landfall in March 2019. We combine satellite-based best-track data on Cyclone Idai’s trajectory with longitudinal household survey data collected both shortly after the disaster and five to six years later. Specifically, we link predicted maximum wind speed at the community level to a pre-defined sample of households surveyed before the cyclone, allowing us to estimate impacts in the short run (within the same year) and the longer run. This design leverages rich pre-baseline data and province fixed effects to mitigate concerns about selection bias, displacement, and omitted variables that commonly complicate causal inference in disaster impact studies. We find that greater cyclone exposure is strongly associated with short-run reports of shock experience and asset loss, validating predicted wind speed as a measure of disaster intensity. In the long run, however, households appear to recover from the immediate shock. Cyclone exposure is associated with persistent declines in reliance on agriculture as a primary livelihood and increases in small business activity and formal wage employment. At the same time, we observe mixed effects on asset ownership, with sustained declines in housing ownership alongside increases in durable asset holdings. Future work will continue to highlight how complex and heterogeneous pathways through which large-scale disasters reshape household livelihoods and economic behavior over time.

Year published

2025

Authors

Allen IV, James; Yu, Hang

Citation

Allen IV, James; and Yu, Hang. 2025. Livelihoods and recovery after Cyclone Idai: Short- and long-run household evidence from Mozambique. FCA Brief. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178950

Country/Region

Mozambique

Keywords

Southern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Livelihoods; Cyclones; Extreme Weather Events; Households

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief