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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.

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Kinya Kaibung’a

Kinya Kaibung’a is a Research Officer with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Nairobi, Kenya. She has a keen interest in leveraging machine learning, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies to boost climate resilience and food security in smart agriculture systems.

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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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Agrifood Innovation and Resilience

Ryan Nehring

Research Fellow

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Bio

Ryan Nehring is a Research Fellow in the Agrifood Innovation and Resilience Unit whose research focuses on the political economy of natural resource policy, agricultural research institutions, and food systems. He has worked as a researcher in sustainable development for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)–International Policy Centre (Brasília, Brazil) and has been a consultant on projects related to food systems and rural poverty for numerous UN agencies.

Before joining IFPRI, Ryan was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He holds an MA in international development studies from St. Mary’s University, Canada, and an MS and PhD in development sociology from Cornell University.

Languages spoken: English, Portuguese, Spanish

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Publications

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Journal Article

After quantification: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme

2026Ghosh, Ritwick; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei
Details

After quantification: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme

As the concept of soil health gains prominence, it becomes increasingly important to examine how states design and implement soil health policies. Does soil health offer a novel pathway to enact and legitimize institutional changes toward more sustainable farming systems, or does it risk becoming another neologism that preserves status quo, productivist agriculture? We explore these questions through an analysis of one of the most ambitious state-led initiatives organized around soil health: India’s Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme. The SHC scheme seeks to provide every farmer in the country with bi-annual soil test reports, based on the assumption that improved information will encourage more judicious use of fertilizers and pesticides. The assumption reflects a broader emphasis within the agricultural sciences on the importance of quantifying soil health. Drawing on government documents and farmer perception studies (n = 38), we find that although farmers view the cards positively, they make few substantive changes to their farming practices. As an illustrative case, India’s grand SHC scheme shows that quantification alone is insufficient and could even dampen momentum for transformative policy reforms. Effective and durable change lies in pairing efforts to quantify soil health with (a) plural epistemic approaches to knowledge production, (b) participatory models for knowledge dissemination, and (c) structural reforms in the agri-food system that address issues around land tenure and subsidies.

Year published

2026

Authors

Ghosh, Ritwick; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei

Citation

Ghosh, Ritwick; Nehring, Ryan; and Zhang, Wei. 2026. After quantification: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme. Land Use Policy 169(October 2026): 108147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108147

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Project Evaluation; Soil Health; Agricultural Policies; Environmental Policies; Sustainable Agriculture; Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108147 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Blog Post

From agreements to action: Practical tools for strengthening transboundary water cooperation

2026Holmatov, Bunyod; Nehring, Ryan
Details

From agreements to action: Practical tools for strengthening transboundary water cooperation

Key takeaways Addressing small bottlenecks in managing transboundary water resources is key to realizing the broad goals elaborated in formal agreements. Rapid assessments help identify realistic solutions. A case in Central Asia found strong day-to-day cooperation but outdated rules, unclear responsibilities, and limited stakeholder engagement. Inclusive institutions make water governance more resilient. Multistakeholder platforms help build trust, improve decision-making, and support long-term cooperation.

Year published

2026

Authors

Holmatov, Bunyod; Nehring, Ryan

Citation

Holmatov, Bunyod; and Nehring, Ryan. 2026. From agreements to action: Practical tools for strengthening transboundary water cooperation. IFPRI Blog Post. https://www.ifpri.org/blog/from-agreements-to-action-practical-tools-for-strengthening-transboundary-water-cooperation/

Country/Region

Kyrgyzstan; Uzbekistan

Keywords

Africa; Asia; Sub-saharan Africa; Southern Africa; Central Asia; Water Policies; Transboundary Waters; Water Law; Water Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Blog Post

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Working Paper

Links between school meal programs and regenerative agriculture: Scoping literature review

2026Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Davis, Kristin E.; Einbinder, Aron; Gelli, Aulo
Details

Links between school meal programs and regenerative agriculture: Scoping literature review

School meal programs (SMPs) are among the largest public investments in child well-being worldwide, and they have untapped potential to act as levers for sustainable food systems transformation. This discussion paper provides an overview of evidence on linkages between regenerative agriculture and SMPs, and also presents a framework to guide future analytical work on integrating regenerative agriculture and SMPs for food systems transformation. We conducted a scoping review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA). The reviewed literature reveals a geographically diverse but uneven distribution of research on how SMPs incentivize regenerative agriculture. The review reports emerging evidence on the ability of SMPs to generate positive outcomes for livelihoods and community development. That evidence, however, is limited in scope as it is dominated by studies on Brazil’s SMP. Beyond Brazil, our review found no evidence that conclusively establishes a causal relationship between SMPs and the uptake of regenerative agriculture. Much of the literature focuses on smallholder procurement, organic production, or agroecological practices more broadly, with relatively few studies explicitly measuring regenerative outcomes such as soil health restoration, biodiversity gains, or carbon sequestration.

Year published

2026

Authors

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Davis, Kristin E.; Einbinder, Aron; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Davis, Kristin; Einbinder, Aron; and Gelli, Aulo. 2026. Links between school meal programs and regenerative agriculture: Scoping literature review. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2429. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183803

Country/Region

Brazil

Keywords

South America; School Feeding; Regenerative Agriculture; Environment; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Events

Rooted in Biodiversity: Transforming Landscapes through Nature-Positive Agriculture
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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March 18, 2026, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Rooted in Biodiversity: Transforming Landscapes through Nature-Positive Agriculture

Agriculture is both a major driver of biodiversity loss and a crucial part of the solution. This seminar will present research and evidence underpinning the World Bank report Rooted: Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity, which identifies why biodiversity is key for agriculture and examines the constraints, strategies, and investment pathways needed to harness biodiversity and make […]

Rooted in Biodiversity: Transforming Agriculture through Nature-Positive Solutions
IFPRI at External Event

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December 11, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Rooted in Biodiversity: Transforming Agriculture through Nature-Positive Solutions

Agriculture is both a major driver of biodiversity loss and a crucial part of the solution. This session will present research and evidence underpinning the forthcoming World Bank report Rooted: Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity, which identifies strategies and investment pathways to harness biodiversity for resilient agricultural systems. By showcasing sustainable practice bundles, the economics of […]

IFPRI @ 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30)
IFPRI at External Event

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November 10 to 21, 2025

IFPRI @ 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30)

IFPRI is pleased to participate in the 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30) being held in Belém, Brazil from November 10 to November 21, 2025. COP30 builds on progress of previous COPs to turn the ambitions of the Paris Agreement into reality. Hosted in the Amazonian city of Belém, the topics of […]

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News

April 10, 2026 | In the News

Geopolitical conflict-driven food fallout calls for agroecology solutions (Rural21)

CGIAR colleagues Lulseged Tamene, Jonathan Mockshell, and Francisco Hidalgo together with IFPRI’s Ryan Nehring and Wei Zhang call for a shift towards a holistic approach to environmental, social and economic sustainability.