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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

Lilia Bliznashka

Lily Bliznashka is a Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit. Her research focuses on assessing the effectiveness of multi-input nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions and the mechanisms through which they work to improve maternal and child health and nutrition globally. She has worked in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda.

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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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TOPIC

Food Systems

Food systems are the sum of actors and interactions along the food value chain—from input supply and production of crops, livestock, fish, and other agricultural commodities to transportation, processing, retailing, wholesaling, and preparation of foods to consumption and disposal. Food systems also include the enabling policy environments and cultural norms around food. Ideal food systems would be nutrition-, health-, and safety-driven, productive and efficient (and thus able to deliver affordable food), environmentally sustainable and climate-smart, and inclusive. To realize this vision, continued investments must be made in agricultural research and development and technological innovations, paving the way for programs and policies that are based on sound evidence.

IFPRI conducts research and offers policy support on a range of food system issues from farm-level productivity to development of inclusive food value chains to nutrition education—providing evidence for design of food systems that provide people with equitable access to nutritious, sustainable diets and contribute to more broadly to development and well-being.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 12, SDG 14, and SDG 15.

food_systems

topics

Publications

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Journal Article

Food subsidies in India: Revisiting the estimates

2026Narayanan, Sudha; Saha, Shree
Details

Food subsidies in India: Revisiting the estimates

There is a view that the fis­cal bur­den of food sub­si­dies in India is un­sus­tain­able. Yet pop­u­lar de­bate and dis­cus­sion around the costs of these food sub­si­dies, rel­a­tive to their ben­e­fits, are mis­lead­ing for two rea­sons. First, they typ­i­cally treat re­ported bud­getary sub­sidy es­ti­mates—i.e. the fis­cal cost to the gov­ern­ment of the dis­tri­b­u­tion of food via ra­tion shops—as equiv­a­lent to “trans­fers” to ben­e­fi­cia­ries. Sec­ondly, they tend to focus ex­clu­sively on con­sumers. In doing so, they ne­glect the two-part na­ture of the food dis­tri­b­u­tion sys­tem, which in­cludes pay­ments to farm­ers at the time of pro­cure­ment. This paper ex­am­ines ways of mea­sur­ing the costs and value of the food sub­sidy. We pre­sent es­ti­mates that com­bine the im­plicit value of ben­e­fits to con­sumers aris­ing from the re­duced price of grain sold to con­sumers via ra­tion shops, with im­plicit ben­e­fits to farm­ers, in terms of the price dif­fer­ence be­tween what farm­ers are paid by the gov­ern­ment and what they would have ob­tained in the open mar­ket. This ap­proach shows that each rupee of the “food sub­sidy” re­ported in gov­ern­ment ac­counts rep­re­sents a trans­fer worth Rs 1.29 to con­sumers and farm­ers, on av­er­age, over the pe­riod 2001–02 to 2022–23. That is, each rupee trans­ferred to these groups is as­so­ci­ated with a cost of Rs 0.79 to the gov­ern­ment.

Year published

2026

Authors

Narayanan, Sudha; Saha, Shree

Citation

Narayanan, Sudha; and Saha, Shree. 2026. Food subsidies in India: Revisiting the estimates. Review of Agrarian Studies 16(1). 14 p. http://ras.org.in/food_subsidies_in_india

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Subsidies; Food Aid; Social Protection; Fiscal Policies; Cost Benefit Analysis; Cash Transfers

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Multi-stakeholder platforms for enabling agroecological transitions: Configurations and lessons from seven agroecological living landscapes

2026ElDidi, Hagar; Navarrete, Angela; Piraux, Marc; Vall, Eric; Tristán, Maria Claudia; Chimonyo, Vimbayi; Fuchs, Lisa Elena; Singh, Sonali; Frija, Aymen
Details

Multi-stakeholder platforms for enabling agroecological transitions: Configurations and lessons from seven agroecological living landscapes

Agroecological transition (AET) of agrifood systems is a multidimensional process involving diverse stakeholders. Participatory innovation and co-creation of knowledge are also at the heart of agroecology. Deliberately designed Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) are collaborative spaces conducive to driving this type of collaboration and change. However, how these processes are operationalized is poorly documented. This study contributes to filling this gap by highlighting how MSPs can be important vehicles for enabling AETs. As part of the CGIAR Initiative on Agroecology, Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALLs) were set up as MSPs specifically focusing on co-creation of agroecological innovations. By examining different ALL configurations in seven countries, we analyze MSP attributes that can enable and shape AETs at different stages or “levels” of the transition pathway. We find that MSPs can advance different levels of the transition pathway simultaneously by working on multiple innovations involving various stakeholder coalitions. MSPs navigate complex environments, with diverse stakeholders playing multiple policy and non-policy roles to support AETs. The results also illustrate the intersection between MSP configuration and AET objectives, such as policy change, agroecology market support, and scaling adoption. Finally, we discuss the non-linear nature of AET pathways and political economy considerations for stakeholder engagement in MSPs.

Year published

2026

Authors

ElDidi, Hagar; Navarrete, Angela; Piraux, Marc; Vall, Eric; Tristán, Maria Claudia; Chimonyo, Vimbayi; Fuchs, Lisa Elena; Singh, Sonali; Frija, Aymen

Citation

ElDidi, Hagar; Navarrete, Angela; Piraux, Marc; Vall, Eric; Tristán, Maria Claudia; Chimonyo, Vimbayi; et al. 2026. Multi-stakeholder platforms for enabling agroecological transitions: Configurations and lessons from seven agroecological living landscapes. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 50(5): 1023-1055. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2025.2556433

Keywords

Agroecology; Food Systems; Multi-stakeholder Processes; Policy Innovation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2025.2556433 Source record

Project

Agroecology

Record type

Journal Article

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Brief

Five misconceptions distorting food policy in Malawi: A joint NPC-IFPRI position paper

2026Changaya, Fredrick; Cockx, Lara; De Weerdt, Joachim; Duchoslav, Jan; Jamali, Andrew; Nagoli, Joseph
Details

Five misconceptions distorting food policy in Malawi: A joint NPC-IFPRI position paper

Among countries not affected by conflict, Malawi has the lowest GDP per capita, and its economy has been shrinking for much of the past five years (Engel et al., 2026). Chronic hunger remains widespread: each year, millions of Malawians depend on emergency food distributions for survival. 38 percent of children under the age of five are stunted, reflecting long-term nutritional deprivation (NSO, 2024). To some extent, the country has been unlucky with external shocks. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Malawi has endured a series of other shocks: global food and fertilizer price spikes triggered by the war in Ukraine (De Weerdt and Duchoslav, 2022), climate disasters such as cyclones and droughts (Anderson et al., 2023, Upton et al., 2024), and a sudden reduction in development assistance from the United States (Cockx et al., 2025). These shocks have undoubtedly strained an already fragile economy.

Year published

2026

Authors

Changaya, Fredrick; Cockx, Lara; De Weerdt, Joachim; Duchoslav, Jan; Jamali, Andrew; Nagoli, Joseph

Citation

Changaya, Fredrick; Cockx, Lara; De Weerdt, Joachim; Duchoslav, Jan; Jamali, Andrew; and Nagoli, Joseph. 2026. Five misconceptions distorting food policy in Malawi: A joint NPC-IFPRI position paper. MaSSP Policy Note 57. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182570

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Food Policies; Food Security; Food Assistance; Maize

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Blogs

Putting women at the center of agrifood transformation: Lessons from Odisha, India
Issue Post
 | 
March 16, 2026

Putting women at the center of agrifood transformation: Lessons from Odisha, India

By Bhumika Mishra, Vandana Vidhani, Devesh Roy, and Mamata Pradhan

Why gender is integral to policy.

Scaling up crop insurance in Africa for climate resilience and agricultural transformation
Issue Post
 | 
March 10, 2026

Scaling up crop insurance in Africa for climate resilience and agricultural transformation

By Ruth Hill and Berber Kramer

Advantages of risk management for smallholders.

How warring factions gained influence in Sudan's food system – and what it means for the current conflict
Research Post
 | 
February 27, 2026

How warring factions gained influence in Sudan’s food system – and what it means for the current conflict

By Danielle Resnick, Hala Abushama, Khalid Siddig, and Oliver Kiptoo Kirui

Mapping relationships in a devastating war.

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Events

When Data Is Everywhere: Digital Research Methods Transforming Food Systems Science
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

May 14, 2026, 9:00 – 10:00 am

When Data Is Everywhere: Digital Research Methods Transforming Food Systems Science

In an era of data abundance, novel digital research methods are reshaping how we study and improve food systems. Building on earlier sessions focused on speech-based AI and farmer-generated data, this discussion broadens the lens, bringing together two researchers who are applying cutting-edge digital tools to address complex questions in the food domain.  First, Soonho Kim (Senior Data Manager, IFPRI) will introduce how Agentic AI […]

Leveraging Automatic Speech Recognition and Farmer-Generated Data for Insight, Inclusion, and Impact
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

May 4, 2026, 9:30 – 10:30 am

Leveraging Automatic Speech Recognition and Farmer-Generated Data for Insight, Inclusion, and Impact

As speech recognition and mobile data collection tools mature, increasing attention is turning to a critical next question: how can farmer-generated data be meaningfully used to inform research, programs, and policy? This session builds directly on earlier discussions of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) for agriculture by focusing on the applications, utility, and downstream impacts of […]

Conflict in the Middle East: Reverberations for Food Systems
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

April 14, 2026, 9:00 – 11:00 am

Conflict in the Middle East: Reverberations for Food Systems

While the global food system has largely adjusted to the disruptions in agricultural commodities and fertilizers following the invasion of Ukraine, the new conflict in the Middle East introduces a new set of challenges at a time when markets and supply chains remain vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. Disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant […]

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News

April 02, 2026 | In the News

The Gulf built a fertilizer superpower. Now it’s under strain (WIRED Middle East)

WIRED.me quotes Charlotte Hebebrand in the article focusing on the the Gulf fertilizer industry—and why the ongoing escalating conflict is putting global food systems under strain.

February 21, 2026 | Press Release

IFPRI opens Papua New Guinea country office and hosts major policy research seminar in Port Moresby

New IFPRI Papua New Guinea country office under the PNG Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Policy Support Program.

February 18, 2026 | In the News

Sudan: how warring factions gained influence in the country’s food system – and what it means for the current conflict (The Conversation)

The importance of understanding the political economy incentives that drive large-scale conflict.

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Our experts

Deanna Olney

Deanna Olney

Director, Nutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH), Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

David Spielman

David Spielman

Director, Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS), Innovation
Policy and Scaling

James Thurlow

James Thurlow

Director, Foresight and Policy Modeling (FPM), Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Manuel Hernandez

Manuel Hernandez

Senior Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions, Latin America and the Caribbean

Neha Kumar

Neha Kumar

Senior Research Fellow, Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Shima Mohamed

Shima Mohamed

Research Analyst, Development
Strategies and Governance

Razin Kabir

Razin Kabir

Senior Program Manager, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion

Joseph Nagoli

Joseph Nagoli

Senior Research Coordinator, Development
Strategies and Governance

Charlotte Hebebrand

Charlotte Hebebrand

Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Communications
and Public Affairs (CPA)