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Who we are

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.

Ahmed Akhter

researcher spotlight

Akhter Ahmed

Akhter Ahmed is a Senior Research Fellow in the IFPRI’s Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit and Country Representative for IFPRI Bangladesh. He has worked on strategies for agricultural and rural development, social protection, and women’s empowerment to reduce poverty, food insecurity, and undernutrition in developing countries including Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Malawi, the Philippines, and Turkey.

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What we do

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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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country Programs

Research by country and region

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partnerships

The CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), led by IFPRI, leads action-oriented research for a food-secure present and future. PIM’s research provides support for policies that help poor farmers, both men and women, improve their lives; produce nutritious and affordable foods; and protect the soil, water, and biodiversity in rural landscapes. Sound policies, robust institutions, and well-functioning markets complement new discoveries of agricultural science to create dynamic and resilient food systems.

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Projects

RIAPA Data and Modeling System

RIAPA Data and Modeling System

Overview The Rural Investment and Policy Analysis (RIAPA) data and modeling system is IFPRI’s primary tool for forward-looking, economywide country-level analysis, serving as a simulation……

Impact of COVID-19 on Food Value Chains

Impact of COVID-19 on Food Value Chains

This project studied the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on eight food value chains in three countries: okra, tomatoes, and dairy in Burkina Faso; maize……

Operational Research for WFP’s Food assistance for Assets (FFA) Program in Sri Lanka

Operational Research for WFP’s Food assistance for Assets (FFA) Program in Sri Lanka

Background: The World Food Programme (WFP) and IFPRI have been collaborating for several years to increase the impacts of WFP’s programs on diet, nutrition and……

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Publications

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Report

Synthesis report: Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns

2025Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil
Details

Synthesis report: Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping of Southeast Asian countries formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined this association in 1984. ASEAN expanded to 10 countries between 1995 and 1999 by extending memberships to Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. These 10 Southeast Asian countries entered into the trade agreement to ensure the free flow of goods, including agricultural products. Agreements related to services and investment were also signed to enhance economic cooperation and to develop an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 2003 helped liberalize the intra-ASEAN agricultural trade, which grew steadily during the period under review. Further, the dynamics of intra ASEAN trade show that after the food price crisis of 2007/2008, intra-ASEAN agricultural trade increased sharply, which reflects ASEAN’s efforts to create a food security action plan aimed at improving sustainable food trade among ASEAN members.

Year published

2025

Authors

Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata; Saroj, Sunil

Citation

Roy, Devesh; Kamar, Abul; Pradhan, Mamata; and Saroj, Sunil. 2025. Synthesis report: Agricultural transformation and market integration in the ASEAN region: Responding to food security and inclusiveness concerns. New Delhi, India: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/170266

Country/Region

Philippines; Singapore

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Agriculture; Food Security; Trade; Economic Aspects; Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Report

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Working Paper

Employment impacts of agrifood system innovations and policies: A review of the evidence

2024Berdegué, Julio A.; Trivelli, Carolina; Vos, Rob
Details

Employment impacts of agrifood system innovations and policies: A review of the evidence

The food sector constitutes the largest global source of employment, supporting the livelihoods of most of the world’s poor and vulnerable populations. This article provides an extensive review of the available evidence of the employment effects of innovations and policy interventions in agrifood systems and value chains in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The review was guided by a two-part hypothesis: (1) food systems currently underperform in terms of their potential for generating decent jobs and income opportunities, and (2) this gap is only growing as expanding food markets and existing agrifood supply chain business models skew gains to the disadvantage of smallholders, agrifood small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and food sector workers.

Year published

2024

Authors

Berdegué, Julio A.; Trivelli, Carolina; Vos, Rob

Citation

Berdegué, Julio A.; Trivelli, Carolina; and Vos, Rob. 2024. Employment impacts of agrifood system innovations and policies: A review of the evidence. Rethinking Food Markets Initiative Technical Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169667

Keywords

Employment; Livelihoods; Policies; Agrifood Systems; Value Chains; Smallholders; Agricultural Transformation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Leveraging public works for sustainable and resilient livelihoods: Four case studies from India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

2024Narayanan, Sudha; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Gautam, Aditi
Details

Leveraging public works for sustainable and resilient livelihoods: Four case studies from India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Despite significant improvements in poverty and standard of living over the last two decades, India continues to face challenges, including slow improvements in health and nutrition indicators and in aspects of women’s empowerment and in generating opportunities for sustainable livelihoods. At the same time, climate-related events are increasing in frequency with associated risks. Women and other marginalized populations are often at greater risk from these events due to their relatively lower access to resources, lower mobility and greater dependence on common property resources. Social protection can be an effective instrument to promote resilience. One such large social protection program with significant potential is India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or the MGNREGA, one of the largest public works programs in the world. This report provides insights from four case studies linked to the MGNREGA and implemented under the Indo-German Enhancing Rural Resilience through Appropriate Development Actions, or ERADA project. ERADA was implemented in 8 blocks of 4 large Indian states, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. The ERADA project had three broad objectives – of enhancing natural capital, green recovery through green enterprises, and convergence of resources and networks – and identified the MGNREGA as a critical social safety net on which to base its activities. While much has been written on the impact of the MGNREGA on “first-order” outcomes such as wages, employment, rural-urban distress migration and other household welfare outcomes, we know considerably less about the use of the assets created under the program, and even less about the potential of these assets to support and sustain value chain activities.

Year published

2024

Authors

Narayanan, Sudha; Raghunathan, Kalyani; Gautam, Aditi

Citation

Narayanan, Sudha; Raghunathan, Kalyani; and Gautam, Aditi. 2024. Leveraging public works for sustainable and resilient livelihoods: Four case studies from India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2318. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/169341

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Public Works; Sustainability; Resilience; Livelihoods; Social Protection; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Events

Advancing Gender Equality through Agricultural and Environmental Research: Past, Present, and Future
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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November 23, 2021, 9:00 – 10:15 am

Advancing Gender Equality through Agricultural and Environmental Research: Past, Present, and Future

Discussion of the history and wealth of gender knowledge that has been generated to date by CGIAR agricultural & environmental research. 

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Myths about the feminization of agriculture: Implications for global food security
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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September 14, 2021, 10:00 – 11:00 am

Myths about the feminization of agriculture: Implications for global food security

SEP 14, 2021 – 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT. This webinar will present and discuss finding of a new paper on myths about the feminization of agriculture. 

Measuring employment and consumption in household surveys: Reflections from three survey experiments
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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July 13, 2021, 10:00 – 11:00 am

Measuring employment and consumption in household surveys: Reflections from three survey experiments

Virtual Event: July 13, 2021 – 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT. This event will discuss how survey efforts are invaluable tools for development practitioners. 

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Blogs

Resource-poor rice farmers in Myanmar suffer double impact from political conflict
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 12, 2024

Resource-poor rice farmers in Myanmar suffer double impact from political conflict

By Hiroyuki Takeshima, Zin Wai Aung, Ian Masias, and Bart Minten

Productivity erodes amid turmoil.

Training Ugandan coffee farmers on agronomy practices more than pays for itself
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 05, 2024

Training Ugandan coffee farmers on agronomy practices more than pays for itself

By Vivian Hoffmann

Promise for boosting yields and income.

Can a light-touch graduation model address persistent poverty? Evidence from Ethiopia
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 08, 2024

Can a light-touch graduation model address persistent poverty? Evidence from Ethiopia

By Jessica Leight

Impacts of a large-scale approach.

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