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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

Danielle Resnick

Danielle Resnick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit and a Non-Resident Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Her research focuses on the political economy of agricultural policy and food systems, governance, and democratization, drawing on extensive fieldwork and policy engagement across Africa and South Asia.

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Development Strategies and Governance

Faith Kimaiyo

Research Officer

Bio

Faith Kimaiyo is a Research Officer in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her research work mostly involves impact evaluation methods and focuses on food and nutrition, agricultural transformation, and social protection. Together with her colleagues, Faith has drafted several reports, blogs, and research papers. She has also supported capacity building and organizing conferences. Before joining IFPRI, she worked as a policy analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Analysis (KIPPRA). Faith holds a master of arts degree in economics from the University of Nairobi.

Languages: English, Kiswahili

Development Strategies and Governance

Publications

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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

Subsidizing resilience: Evaluating Kenya’s fertilizer subsidy program amid global supply chain disruptions

2024Ayalew, Hailemariam; Breisinger, Clemens; Karugia, Joseph T.; Kimaiyo, Faith Chepkemoi; Kimathi, Sally; Olwande, John
Details

Subsidizing resilience: Evaluating Kenya’s fertilizer subsidy program amid global supply chain disruptions

Amid global supply chain disruptions and an escalating fertilizer crisis, Kenya’s National Fertilizer Subsidy Program (NFSP) emerges as a critical intervention to enhance agricultural resilience. This paper investigates the NFSP’s impacts on fertilizer adoption, maize productivity, and market dynamics, employing a quasi-experimental design with two-way fixed effects and two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimation. We leverage random variation in government-issued SMS notifications to identify causal effects. Results show that the NFSP increased fertilizer adoption by 7%, leading to maize yield gains of 26–37% (164–233.5 kg/acre), with greater benefits for younger and more educated farmers. However, the program caused a substantial crowding-out effect, reducing private-sector fertilizer use by 49–57%. Barriers such as financial constraints, delayed notifications, and logistical inefficiencies limited equitable access, undermining the program’s potential. Despite these challenges, the NFSP was cost-effective, offering favorable value-cost ratios for farmers and the government. To enhance impact and sustainability, we recommend addressing participation barriers and integrating private-sector agro-dealers into the distribution framework. This study provides crucial insights for policymakers on designing subsidy programs that balance immediate productivity gains with market sustainability, especially during periods of global agricultural uncertainty.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ayalew, Hailemariam; Breisinger, Clemens; Karugia, Joseph T.; Kimaiyo, Faith Chepkemoi; Kimathi, Sally; Olwande, John

Citation

Ayalew, Hailemariam; Breisinger, Clemens; Karugia, Joseph T.; Kimaiyo, Faith Chepkemoi; Kimathi, Sally; and Olwande, John. 2024. Subsidizing resilience: Evaluating Kenya’s fertilizer subsidy program amid global supply chain disruptions. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2306. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168639

Country/Region

Kenya

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Subsidies; Fertilizers; Resilience; Supply Chain Disruptions; Supply Chains; Global Value Chains; Maize; Smallholders

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper