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

Erick Boy

researcher spotlight

Erick Boy

Erick Boy is the Chief Nutritionist in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. As head of nutrition for the HarvestPlus Program since 2008, he has led research that has generated scientific evidence on biofortified staple crops as efficacious and effective interventions to help address iron, vitamin A, and zinc deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.

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Development Strategies and Governance

Fantu Bachewe

Research Coordinator

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Fantu Bachewe

Bio

Fantu Nisrane Bachewe is a Research Coordinator in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Fantu primarily coordinates research for the project on Strengthening Food Systems to Promote Increased Value Chain Employment Opportunities for Youth, funded by Mastercard. His research covers a range of topics including productivity and efficiency in agriculture; agricultural development and policy; rural labor markets and non-farm employment; food system transformation and policy; and food prices and nutrition. From 2014 to 2022, Fantu was based at the Ethiopia Strategy Support Program in Addis Ababa, where he coordinated and participated in several research initiatives including value chain analyses of animal-source foods and vegetables and fruits; production and productivity analyses; rural off-farm economic activities, focusing on women and youth; potentials and constraints of biofortification; post-harvest management and crop losses; monitoring and evaluation of interventions; and inclusive value chain interventions. Fantu received a PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota, an MSc in Environmental and Development Economics from the University of Oslo, and a BA in Economics from Addis Ababa University.

Publications

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Farm size and agricultural productivity of nutritious foods: Evidence from Ethiopia

2025Ameye, Hannah; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw
Details

Farm size and agricultural productivity of nutritious foods: Evidence from Ethiopia

Agri-food systems are transforming quickly in Africa. An important issue in the transformation process of agricultural production is the role of small farms. While many authors have looked at this question, one aspect that has received little attention is the role of small farms in the production of nutritious foods, an important topic given the low availability and relatively high prices of nutritious foods and the consequent low level of nutrition security in the continent. Using a unique large-scale dataset from Ethiopia—one of the largest countries in Africa that has been transforming rapidly—we look at the production of vegetables and dairy products. We find a strong association between farm size and partial productivity measured in terms of output, value of outputs and profit per hectare/cow, with productivity twice to four times as high for larger farms. These farms have substantially higher input expenditures as well as differences in farm technologies compared to small ones. Our findings have important implications for the debate on the role of small farms and nutritional improvements in the continent. JEL Classification: O13, Q12, Q18

Year published

2025

Authors

Ameye, Hannah; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Minten, Bart; Tamru, Seneshaw

Citation

Ameye, Hannah; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Minten, Bart; and Tamru, Seneshaw. Farm size and agricultural productivity of nutritious foods: Evidence from Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Economics. Article in press. First published online January 24, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12621

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agricultural Productivity; Farm Size; Nutrition; Small Farms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-9552.12621 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

The changing demographics in food systems and implications for future youth engagement in Rwanda

2024Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Mawia, Harriet; Niyonsingiza, Josue
Details

The changing demographics in food systems and implications for future youth engagement in Rwanda

Food systems are critically important for food security and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Moreover, expansion of nonfarm components of food systems (FS) reinforces efforts to transition out of agriculture. FS, particularly off-farm segments of food value chains, must grow rapidly to guarantee food and nutrition security for growing populations and to provide the quantity and variety of food demanded as a result of increases in urbanization and income, as well as to accommodate accompanying technological and other changes. The impact, inevitability, and amenability to policy interventions of these factors and the extent of FS transformation needed differs across countries. Future FS also face several emerging challenges. Employment and job creation are among the areas that are significantly affected by FS transformation. Demographic changes that accompany expanding FS employment are also critical for gender equity and youth inclusion. The extent, speed, and complementarity of the FS transformation and increased employment varies across countries. However, there is currently no system in place to monitor the extent of FS transformation or its interactions with other aspects of the economy, such as employment. This study of Rwanda uses secondary data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) (2023), World Bank (2023), and Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV) (2023) to investigate demographic trends in overall FS employment and who is and is not engaging in FS; and to document sectoral and overall economic growth, population and demographic changes, and urbanization trends—all which influence and are influenced by FS growth. The study contributes to the literature by testing the predicted patterns of employment growth and inclusiveness in agrifood systems, and by pointing to the nodes of employment in FS where gender- and age-based inequities exist, thereby facilitating policymaking and interventions to ameliorate the problems. In addition, tracking performance in employment-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Rwanda contributes to our understanding of the progress made in SSA toward inclusiveness, efficiency, and poverty reduction, particularly progress that benefits women and the youth. Rwanda’s economy grew remarkably during the two decades covered in the study (2001–2022). Agriculture contributed significantly to gross domestic product (GDP) as well as to overall and FS employment. Per capita income more than doubled, although it still is about half the average GDP per capita of SSA. The population, threequarters of whom are under 35 years of age, increased by 70% during the period. There have been great strides in education, particularly for girls and women. However, urbanization has been slow, and half of the country’s urban residents live in the capital city. The unemployment rate in Rwanda has been twice the SSA average and has generally been increasing. More than half of the workers are employed in agriculture, although this share declined considerably during the period. Farming contributes significantly to FS employment. However, the share of overall FS employment declined during the period, due to a decline in farming employment accompanied by stagnant employment in non-farm FS. Relative to men, women’s overall labor force participation rate is considerably lower and their unemployment rate higher. A larger share of women work in low-skill jobs and this gap increased during the period; a relatively larger share of women are employed in FS, but a smaller share work in the nonfarm component of FS and this gender gap widened. Similarly, relative to mature adults, youth are less advantaged. The labor force participation rate of youth is considerably lower, and the rate of unemployment is higher and increasing relatively faster among youth. However, differences in FS employment among youth and mature adults were considerably lower and shown no clear trend. Findings of this study point to several short- and long-run policy implications.

Year published

2024

Authors

Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Mawia, Harriet; Niyonsingiza, Josue

Citation

Bachewe, Fantu; Mawia, Harriet; and Niyonsingiza, Josue. 2024. The changing demographics in food systems and implications for future youth engagement in Rwanda. SFS4Youth Working Paper 3. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/162766

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Data; Employment; Food Systems; Nutrition; Youth

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Monitoring the cost and affordability of a healthy diet within Countries: Building systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam

2024
Herforth, Anna Whitson; Gilbert, Rachel; Sokourenko, Kristina; Fatima, Tehreem; Adeyemi, Olutayo; Alemayehu, Dawit; Arhin, Eunice; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Bai, Yan; Chiosa, Imran
…more Genye, Tirsit; Haile, Hagos; Jahangeer, Raja; Kinabo, Joyce; Mishili, Fulgence; Nnabugwu, Chioma D.; Nortey, John; Ofosu-Baadu, Bernice; Onabolu, Adeyinka; Sarpong, Daniel Bruce; Tessema, Masresha; Van, Duong T. T.; Venkat, Aishwarya; Masters, William A.
Details

Monitoring the cost and affordability of a healthy diet within Countries: Building systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam

Background Governments around the world collect food price data on a frequent basis, often monthly, for the purpose of monitoring inflation. These routine economic data can be used with a nutrition-sensitive lens for understanding economic access to a healthy diet. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has adopted the cost and affordability of a healthy diet (CoAHD) for annual tracking alongside other food security indicators. This indicator is relevant in many countries for informed decision-making and accountability toward food systems summit pathways. National governments may wish to include this indicator in their own monitoring systems, using existing subnational price and income data. Objectives We describe emerging systems in several countries for monitoring CoAHD and analytical tools that facilitate the calculation of CoAHD. We discuss reasons why the indicator may differ when calculated using subnational data compared with the global monitoring system and how to interpret differences. Methods Between June 2016 and February 2024, 19 workshops were held in 7 countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam), where stakeholder discussions covered sources of food price data, institutions involved, policy uses, and direct training in calculation of CoAHD. Food price data collected by national organizations were used to calculate CoAHD in partnership with government agencies. Results Calculating CoAHD using subnational data uses the same methods across settings, but the mechanisms for monitoring and dissemination are different in each country, illustrating heterogeneity in how the metric can most effectively be incorporated within existing structures. Results from national and global monitoring systems have expected differences based on data sources, healthy diet standards, and affordability standards. Conclusions CoAHD can be calculated with existing data and resources, facilitated by new software tools and user tutorials. In the future, it can be further streamlined, leveraging technical assistance from global institutions and aligning national and global monitoring systems.

Year published

2024

Authors

Herforth, Anna Whitson; Gilbert, Rachel; Sokourenko, Kristina; Fatima, Tehreem; Adeyemi, Olutayo; Alemayehu, Dawit; Arhin, Eunice; Bachewe, Fantu Nisrane; Bai, Yan; Chiosa, Imran; Genye, Tirsit; Haile, Hagos; Jahangeer, Raja; Kinabo, Joyce; Mishili, Fulgence; Nnabugwu, Chioma D.; Nortey, John; Ofosu-Baadu, Bernice; Onabolu, Adeyinka; Sarpong, Daniel Bruce; Tessema, Masresha; Van, Duong T. T.; Venkat, Aishwarya; Masters, William A.

Citation

Herforth, Anna Whitson; Gilbert, Rachel; Sokourenko, Kristina; Fatima, Tehreem; Adeyemi, Olutayo; Alemayehu, Dawit; et al. 2024. Monitoring the cost and affordability of a healthy diet within Countries: Building systems in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Viet Nam. Current Developments in Nutrition 8(10): 104441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104441

Country/Region

Ethiopia; Ghana; Malawi; Nigeria; Pakistan; Vietnam

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Eastern Africa; Western Africa; Asia; Southern Asia; South-eastern Asia; Affordability; Capacity Development; Food Security; Food Prices; Healthy Diets; Sustainable Development Goals

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.104441 Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Journal Article

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Is Ethiopia missing a golden opportunity for addressing hidden hunger? The opportunities and challenges of biofortification

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June 24, 2020, 3:00 – 5:30 pm

Improving evidence for better policy making in Ethiopia’s livestock sector

In collaboration with the Livestock Systems Innovation Lab (LSIL), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has been doing collaborative work over the last 3 years with the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and Policy Studies Institute (PSI) to study the livestock sector in Ethiopia. Analysis has been done on the consumption and markets […]

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July 21 to 23, 2019

2019 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

IFPRI is participating in the 2019 AAEA Annual Meeting. The AAEA is a not-for-profit association serving the professional interests of members working in agricultural and broadly related fields of applied economics. Members of the AAEA are employed by academic or government institutions, as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety […]

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