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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.

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Elodie Becquey

Elodie Becquey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, based in IFPRI’s West and Central Africa office in Senegal. She has over 15 years of research experience in diet, nutrition, and food security in Africa, including countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Tanzania.

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Innovation Policy and Scaling

Sedi Boukaka

Research Coordinator

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Bio

Sedi is a Research Coordinator in the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to 2023, she worked as a consultant for IFPRI for two years and supervised data collection, data analysis, and preparation of impact assessment reports under the International Fund for Agricultural Development–funded program on assessing the gendered impact of rural development projects in four countries. She is a development economist with research experience in household welfare measurement and impact assessments of complex rural and agricultural development programs, with a focus on Africa. She is now coordinating several household surveys and working on the implementation of experiments under the CGIAR Research Initiatives Nature+ and Digital Innovation.

Sedi received a PhD in economics from the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

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Publications

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Working Paper

Digital tool integration, biodiversity, and the potato value chain in Kenya: Results from a baseline survey

2025Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Geoffrey, Baragu; Azzarri, Carlo
Details

Digital tool integration, biodiversity, and the potato value chain in Kenya: Results from a baseline survey

Potato farmers in Kenya grapple with various challenges along the value chain, including limited access to quality planting materials such as seeds and fertilizers, insufficient storage and postharvest handling facilities, fluctuating market prices, and unreliable market information systems. These challenges are further exacerbated for women and youth because of persistent social gaps in the agriculture sector. Digital tools can play a vital role in addressing these challenges by providing access to valuable agricultural information, weather forecasts, and best practices that help farmers make informed decisions and improve crop management. However, challenges persist in digital tool adoption within the agricultural value chains in sub-Saharan Africa. The study aims to assess the impact of digital tool adoption and support on socioeconomic and agriculture-related outcomes in Kenya’s potato value chain. It piggybacks on an ongoing digital tool integration program, Business Development and Coaching (BDEC), conducted by the Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA), which targets agripreneurs in Farmer Service Centers (FSCs). By comparing a treatment group that receives this training with a control group continuing business as usual, the study evaluates the effects of agripreneurs’ adoption and expanded use of digital tools on farmers’ agriculture-based livelihoods, income generation, and job creation metrics, with a focus on youth employment and gender disparities.

Year published

2025

Authors

Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Geoffrey, Baragu; Azzarri, Carlo

Citation

Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Geoffrey, Baragu; and Azzarri, Carlo. 2025. Digital tool integration, biodiversity, and the potato value chain in Kenya: Results from a baseline survey. SFS4Youth Working Paper 7. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Biodiversity; Decision Making; Potatoes; Value Chains; Surveys; Youth; Sex-disaggregated Data

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Outcomes and impacts of CGIAR Research Initiatives in Kenya from 2022 to 2024

2025Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Kimaiyo, Faith; Kramer, Berber; Ayalew, Hailemariam; Place, Frank
Details

Outcomes and impacts of CGIAR Research Initiatives in Kenya from 2022 to 2024

Kenya hosted one of CGIAR’s largest portfolios of research and innovation from 2022 to 2024, when pooled funding for the CGIAR was distributed through CGIAR research initiatives. This paper synthesizes CGIAR’s contributions to Kenyan agriculture in that period by triangulating two evidence streams: 148 outcomes logged in the CGIAR Performance and Results Management System (PRMS) and 56 impact assessments published as peer-reviewed journal articles. The analysis shows that CGIAR’s work has catalyzed improvements in seed systems, facilitated refinements in agronomic techniques, and encouraged the adoption of climate-resilient, sustainable farming practices and technologies. These contributions have paved the way for increasing crop productivity, while also supporting key livestock innovations that enhance food safety and bolster the resilience of pastoral communities. Robust local partnerships underpinned several policy shifts and helped align many outputs with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). Yet, important gaps persist. Activities are mainly concentrated in easily reached areas rather than being spread across all agro-ecological zones, and outcomes are recorded in an isolated way, obscuring how separate successes add up to systemic change. Peer-reviewed impact evaluations focused on a different set of impact areas than outcomes reported in PRMS, rarely involve cross-center collaborations, and PRMS entries seldom document how evidence, policy uptake, and multidisciplinary collaboration link together. Looking ahead to the next CGIAR Science Programs phase, the paper urges broader engagement with under-served value chains, deeper cross-program synergies, and closer alignment with Kenya’s BETA and MTP IV priorities to foster inclusive, resilient agricultural growth.

Year published

2025

Authors

Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Kimaiyo, Faith; Kramer, Berber; Ayalew, Hailemariam; Place, Frank

Citation

Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Kimaiyo, Faith; Kramer, Berber; Ayalew, Hailemariam; and Place, Frank. 2025. Outcomes and impacts of CGIAR research initiatives in Kenya from 2022 to 2024. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2344. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175411

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agriculture; Agricultural Innovation; Food Systems; Impact Assessment; Resilience

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Brewing prosperity: An analysis of living income gaps among coffee smallholders in central Kenya

2025Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Benfica, Rui
Details

Brewing prosperity: An analysis of living income gaps among coffee smallholders in central Kenya

This study investigates the living income gap among coffee smallholders in central Kenya. It uses detailed survey data collected from coffee farmers organized in cooperatives and from coffee farm workers in Nyeri and Murang’a counties. Our analysis finds that coffee smallholders earn an average of only 109 KSh per day, just 35 percent of the 312 KSh living income benchmark, with the gap being particularly severe in Murang’a and among those with smaller landholdings. Sensitivity analyses show that enhancing prices paid to farmers and improving yields can partially reduce the income shortfall. For instance, doubling both parameters, especially when coupled with a 50 percent increase in farmers’ non-coffee income, lowers the incidence of households below the benchmark from more than 90 percent to about 67 percent. Yet, even under these relatively optimal conditions, the persistence of a significant gap underscores deep structural constraints in the local economy. Policy recommendations therefore call for a multidimensional approach that improves production efficiency, improves and stabilizes prices, promotes income diversification, and strengthens institutional support.

Year published

2025

Authors

Boukaka, Sedi Anne; Benfica, Rui

Citation

Boukaka, Sedi Anne; and Benfica, Rui. 2025. Brewing prosperity: An analysis of living income gaps among coffee smallholders in central Kenya. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2342. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175180

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Coffee; Diversification; Smallholders; Poverty; Productivity; Income Distribution; Living Standards

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper