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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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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 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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The Earth Planet

South Asia

countries and regions

Publications

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Opinion Piece

The famines in Gaza and other conflict areas are a moral failure

2025
Osendarp, Saskia; Haddad, Lawrence; Fabrizio, Cecilia; Andridge, Caroline; Black, Robert E.; Brown, Molly E.; Bryan, Elizabeth; Campbell, Bruce M.; D’Alimonte, Mary; Fanzo, Jessica
…more Headey, Derek D.; Heidkamp, Rebecca; McCarter, Abbe; Menon, Purnima; Michaux, Kristina; Nordhagen, Stella; Silva, Lais Miachon; Verstraeten, Roosmarijn; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.
Details

The famines in Gaza and other conflict areas are a moral failure

As scientists and members of the Standing Together for Nutrition Consortium (ST4N) who have been Standing Together For Nutrition during recent crises, we use evidence of the impact of crises on nutrition to advocate for the people most affected. Now, in the face of the world’s indifference, we are compelled to speak out about the horrifying human-made famine unfolding in Gaza and other conflict areas, including Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen. Widespread starvation is deliberately used as a weapon of war,10 at a scale that we never thought possible. It is a moral failure that in 2025 more than 1·2 million people are living in Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) phase 5 (catastrophe) famine conditions—the most extreme food insecurity level according to the gold-standard IPC. These famines are not only claiming lives today, but they are also inflicting irreversible intergenerational trauma and damage.

Year published

2025

Authors

Osendarp, Saskia; Haddad, Lawrence; Fabrizio, Cecilia; Andridge, Caroline; Black, Robert E.; Brown, Molly E.; Bryan, Elizabeth; Campbell, Bruce M.; D’Alimonte, Mary; Fanzo, Jessica; Headey, Derek D.; Heidkamp, Rebecca; McCarter, Abbe; Menon, Purnima; Michaux, Kristina; Nordhagen, Stella; Silva, Lais Miachon; Verstraeten, Roosmarijn; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A.

Citation

Osendarp, Saskia; Haddad, Lawrence; Fabrizio, Cecilia; Andridge, Caroline; Black, Robert E.; Brown, Molly E.; et al. 2025. The famines in Gaza and other conflict areas are a moral failure. Lancet 406(10503): 572-573. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01542-9

Country/Region

Sudan; Yemen

Keywords

Palestine, State of; South Sudan; Western Asia; Northern Africa; Asia; Africa; Conflicts; Nutrition; Famine; War; Starvation; Food Insecurity

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(25)01542-9 Source record

Record type

Opinion Piece

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Working Paper

Chinese artificial intelligence in Africa: Digital colonisation or liberalisation?

2023Tinarwo, Joseph; Babu, Suresh Chandra
Details

Chinese artificial intelligence in Africa: Digital colonisation or liberalisation?

In this era of globalisation and progressive digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our everyday lives. While AI technology is lauded for increasing economic growth and solving some of the intricate global development challenges, such as climate change as well as disease and natural disaster forecasting, it has become a threat to citizen freedom and democracy and there are concerns of data privacy and security. China is rapidly expanding its AI and has emerged as one of the leading nations in artificial intelligence, research and development, particularly in the global South. Africa is one of the continents that has become a destination of the fast-expanding Chinese AI, notwithstanding that its impacts remain unknown. This research primarily adopted a qualitative research approach to examine the impact of Chinese AI in Africa and identify opportunities for facilitating positive influence of Chinese AI and digital presence in Africa. The study found that the expansion of Chinese AI in the global South, using Zimbabwe and South Africa as case studies, has been associated with mixed results. Since its beginning in the late 1970s after the economic reform, the Chinese AI-led automation has resulted in improved productivity, particularly in agriculture, health, infrastructure and manufacturing industries. However, the Chinese AI has been associated with gross human rights violations and promotion of corrupt practices, such as patronage and rent-seeking behaviour. Additionally, Chinese AI is undermining the rule of law and the functionality and legitimacy of weaker state institutions and processes.

Year published

2023

Authors

Tinarwo, Joseph; Babu, Suresh Chandra

Citation

Tinarwo, Joseph; and Babu, Suresh Chandra. 2023. Chinese artificial intelligence in Africa: Digital colonisation or liberalisation? Tayarisha Working Paper 12. Johannesburg, South Africa: University of the Witwatersrand.

Country/Region

South Africa; Zimbabwe

Keywords

Africa; Southern Africa; Eastern Africa; Artificial Intelligence; Digital Technology; Economic Aspects; Development

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Book Chapter

Government response to ultra-processed and sugar beverages industries in developing nations: The need to build coalitions across policy sectors

2023Gómez, Eduardo J.
Details

Government response to ultra-processed and sugar beverages industries in developing nations: The need to build coalitions across policy sectors

How were the governments of three middle-income countries with high levels of non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—India, Mexico, and South Africa—able to implement sugar-sweetened beverage taxes (SSBs) despite intense opposition from powerful corporations? Employing a multiple streams analytical framework to explain the agenda-setting process, this chapter highlights several factors that generated supportive coalitions for SSBs, including the importance of transnational advocacy in each country as well as governments’ interest in generating more revenue from the tax. By contrast, regulatory measures to regulate the soda and snack food industries, such as limits on advertising, sales, and food labeling, have been less accepted by the same governments. To explain why, the chapter argues that coalitions around these policies are weaker, regulation generates lower levels of public contestation and visibility, and the prospect for generating government revenue is less pronounced.

Year published

2023

Authors

Gómez, Eduardo J.

Citation

Gómez, Eduardo J. 2023. Government response to ultra-processed and sugar beverages industries in developing nations: The need to build coalitions across policy sectors. In The Political Economy of Food System Transformation: Pathways to Progress in a Polarized World, eds. Danielle Resnick and Johan Swinnen. Chapter 6, Pp. 133-154. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198882121.003.0006.

Country/Region

India; Mexico; South Africa

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Latin America; Northern America; Southern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Central America; Frameworks; Sustainable Development Goals; Policies; Non-communicable Diseases; Food Policies; Taxes; Agricultural Policies; Reforms; Food Industry; Regulations; Ultraprocessed Foods; Food Systems; Governance

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198882121.003.0006 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Book Chapter

Blogs

World Breastfeeding Week: Research shows the vital importance of support for mothers and infants
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 01, 2025

World Breastfeeding Week: Research shows the vital importance of support for mothers and infants

By Jennifer Johnson

Insights from IFPRI research.

Understanding and supporting collective action in natural resource management through experiential learning games: Examples from three continents
IFPRI Blog
 | 
July 23, 2025

Understanding and supporting collective action in natural resource management through experiential learning games: Examples from three continents

By Hagar ElDidi, Thomas Falk, Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo, Franziska Auch, Wei Zhang, and Upeksha Hettiarachchi

Fostering cooperative stewardship.

Four lessons for financial innovation in agrifood systems
IFPRI Blog
 | 
July 01, 2025

Four lessons for financial innovation in agrifood systems

By Kate Ambler, Jeffrey Bloem, Alan de Brauw, Mehrab Bakhtiar, and Eduardo Maruyama

Digital apps and other approaches for modernizing value chains.

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Events

AI and Remote Sensing for Agricultural Insights: From Satellite Imagery to Decision Support 
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

November 20, 2025, 9:30 – 10:30 am

AI and Remote Sensing for Agricultural Insights: From Satellite Imagery to Decision Support 

How can advances in AI and remote sensing improve agricultural decision-making, particularly in contexts where timely, accurate data is difficult to obtain? This webinar explores the intersection of machine learning and satellite imagery, focusing on innovations that enhance monitoring, planning, and climate resilience in food systems.  Sibiry Traore will present lessons from his work on […]

Nudging People (and Policy) Towards Better Diets and Nutrition: Insights from South Asia
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

September 30, 2025, 12:00 – 2:00 pm

Nudging People (and Policy) Towards Better Diets and Nutrition: Insights from South Asia

Purnima Menon is the senior director for food and nutrition policy at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). She is also the acting director for transformative strategies. Menon has wide-ranging research experience in evaluating large-scale programs in nutrition, health systems, agriculture, gender, technology and food systems. She has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, including […]

Food Policy for a Changing World: Lessons and Priorities for South Asia
Series/Special Event

 | 

September 16, 2025, 2:30 – 6:15 pm

Food Policy for a Changing World: Lessons and Priorities for South Asia

Agriculture plays a central role in South Asia, providing livelihoods for millions while shaping trade and food systems across the region. Countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are major producers of rice, wheat, tea, and spices, with agricultural exports fueling economies and global supply chains. Despite these strengths, the sector faces significant challenges, […]

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News

August 04, 2025 | Press Release

ASEAN and BIMSTEC experts convene in Jakarta for regional policy roundtable on agricultural transformation and market integration

The event formally launched a new regional initiative, Ensuring Inclusiveness, Sustainability, and Efficiency of Food System Transformation in the ASEAN and BIMSTEC countries.

August 02, 2023 | In the News

Why India’s rice ban could trigger a global food crisis (BBC) 

“What happens when India bans exports of a food staple that is essential to the diets of billions around the world?” writes the BBC. “India is the world’s top rice exporter, accounting for some 40% of the global trade in the cereal. Among the major buyers of rice are China, the Philippines and Nigeria.” “I suspect that […]

July 12, 2023 | In the News

Rice crops are being threatened by El Nino after grain supplies were disrupted by the war in Ukraine (Associated Press)

“Warmer, drier weather because of an earlier-than-usual El Niño is expected to hamper rice production across Asia, hitting global food security in a world still reeling from the impacts of the war in Ukraine,” writes the Associated Press.  “That’s bad news for rice farmers, particularly in Asia where 90% of the world’s rice is grown and […]

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Projects

Private sector-led digital agricultural extension for smallholder farmers: impact evaluation and learning study in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

Private sector-led digital agricultural extension for smallholder farmers: impact evaluation and learning study in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

IFPRI, in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Research Commissioning Centre (RCC) and GSMA, is leading an impact evaluation study and supporting……

BRIGHT Sri Lanka

BRIGHT Sri Lanka

In 2022-2023, Sri Lanka experienced its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. A debt crisis accompanied by severe foreign exchange shortages resulted in 80%……

Food & Agricultural System Transformation Research (FASTR)

Food & Agricultural System Transformation Research (FASTR)

Odisha has made significant strides in its journey in agriculture through initiatives such as the Samrudhi Agricultural Policy-2020, digitization of its key development schemes, developing……

View all Projects