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Who we are

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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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 480 employees working in over 70 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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partnerships

The International Affairs Office (IAO) at the Presidential Court of United Arab Emirates works in partnership with the Gates Foundation to support a number of research activities across various CGIAR research institutes, including the Future Food Systems project lead by IFPRI. In addition, the IAO also represents the UAE on the CGIAR’s System Council.   

Projects

Agrifood Investment Prioritization

Agrifood Investment Prioritization

This work is part of IFPRI’s ongoing country level-analyses to identify and rank agrifood investments based on their cost-effectiveness in achieving multiple development goals. Using……

Publications

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Brief

Ghana: Cost effective options for inclusive and sustainable development

2026Aragie, Emerta A.; Pauw, Karl; Jiang, Shiyun; Thurlow, James; Jones, Eleanor
Details

Ghana: Cost effective options for inclusive and sustainable development

In this policy brief, we present findings of a systematic evaluation and ranking of investment options for Ghana’s agrifood system based on their cost-effectiveness in achieving multiple development outcomes, including agrifood gross domestic product (GDP) growth, agrifood job creation, poverty reduction, declining undernourishment, and lowering diet deprivation. Additionally, the study assesses their environmental footprints, focusing on water consumption, land use, and emissions. In Ghana, extension in agronomy and post-harvest food loss reduction are the most cost-effective ways to improve social outcomes, including notably reducing poverty and undernourishment levels. Meanwhile, advisory services in livestock and support to small and medium enterprise (SME) processors are highly ranked in accelerating agrifood GDP and employment. Moreover, extension services for agronomy and climate, and investments in mechanization are also highly ranked. However, many of these cost-effective investments come with relatively high environmental footprints, which highlights potential tradeoffs. The study further reveals shifts in the cost-effectiveness ranking of investment options over time and moderately so in the presence of extreme production shocks.

Year published

2026

Authors

Aragie, Emerta A.; Pauw, Karl; Jiang, Shiyun; Thurlow, James; Jones, Eleanor

Citation

Aragie, Emerta A.; Pauw, Karl; Jiang, Shiyun; Thurlow, James; and Jones, Eleanor. 2026. Ghana: Cost effective options for inclusive and sustainable development. Agrifood Investment Prioritization Country Series Brief 9. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/181872

Keywords

Agrifood Systems; Development; Investment; Economic Aspects; Environmental Impact

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

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Brief

Synopsis: Economywide assessment of CSA interventions in building resilient agri-food systems in Rwanda

2026Aragie, Emerta A.; Thurlow, James; Warner, James; Niyonsingiza, Josue
Details

Synopsis: Economywide assessment of CSA interventions in building resilient agri-food systems in Rwanda

This research extends IFPRI’s RIAPA modeling to include both the full implementation of PSTA 5’s climate smart agriculture and a once-in-five-year weather shock, and the interactions of both on agricultural sectors, agricultural GDP, and on national GDP. Main findings include: Rwanda’s agri-food system is highly vulnerable to climate variability due to its structural characteristics. Results indicate that CSA practices during the PSTA-5 period (2024/25–2028/29) increase agricultural GDP growth by 0.9 percentage points annually, with the largest impacts on horticulture and roots and tubers. However, several CSA interventions relate to infrastructural improvements and therefore the benefits extend over a longer time horizon, ultimately having even greater impact beyond PSTA 5. The weather shock causes dramatic declines in agricultural GDP (-1.6 percent), with horticulture affected most negatively, suffering a 2.4 percent decline. The joint Climate + CSA scenario depicts how CSA helps mitigate, but not fully eliminate, the negative impacts of weather shocks during the PSTA 5 period.

Year published

2026

Authors

Aragie, Emerta A.; Thurlow, James; Warner, James; Niyonsingiza, Josue

Citation

Aragie, Emerta A.; Thurlow, James; Warner, James; and Niyonsingiza, Josue. 2025. Synopsis: Economywide assessment of CSA interventions in building resilient agri-food systems in Rwanda. Rwanda SSP Policy Note 26. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179844

Country/Region

Rwanda

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Climate-smart Agriculture; Modelling; Food Systems; Agricultural Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

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Working Paper

Small and medium enterprise development for climate adaptation and an inclusive food system in Egypt

2025Steinhuebel-Rasheed, Linda; Darwish, Maram; Ecker, Olivier
Details

Small and medium enterprise development for climate adaptation and an inclusive food system in Egypt

Rural households in many low- and middle-income countries remain highly dependent on agriculture and related value chain activities, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As rising temperatures and increasing climate variability reduce agricultural productivity and income stability, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly promoted as a path toward rural development and the transformation of the agrifood systems (AFS). Yet, little is known about whether climate change influences rural households’ decision to start an enterprise to diversify or switch their income sources away from agriculture-related activities in order to adapt to weather risks. We address this research gap by drawing from nationally representative data from the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2023 and estimating a dynamic duration model to explore how heat stress is linked to households’ likelihood to start a (nonfarm) SME. Our findings offer new evidence for climate-responsive rural policy and SME support strategies in vulnerable regions.

Year published

2025

Authors

Steinhuebel-Rasheed, Linda; Darwish, Maram; Ecker, Olivier

Citation

Steinhuebel-Rasheed, Linda; Darwish, Maram; and Ecker, Olivier. 2025. Small and medium enterprise development for climate adaptation and an inclusive food system in Egypt. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2400. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180550

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Small and Medium Enterprises; Development; Climate Change; Climate Change Adaptation; Food Systems; Agrifood Systems; Heat Stress; Dynamic Models; Modelling

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Beyond the harvest: Uncovering the hidden risks driving poverty and hunger in developing economies
Research Post
 | 
April 24, 2026

Beyond the harvest: Uncovering the hidden risks driving poverty and hunger in developing economies

By Askar Mukashov and Eleanor Jones

Systematic risk profiling reveals wide differences in country vulnerabilities.

Models as assets for food security: The impacts of IFPRI's IMPACT, RIAPA, and SPAM models
Research Post
 | 
May 15, 2025

Models as assets for food security: The impacts of IFPRI’s IMPACT, RIAPA, and SPAM models

By Alix Underwood, Eleanor Jones, Karl Pauw, Keith Wiebe, and Liangzhi You

IFPRI’s modeling tools—IMPACT, RIAPA, and SPAM—provide global, national, and subnational insights to guide food policy decisions. These models have influenced major investments and policies, offering evidence-based projections to enhance food security, nutrition, and resilience in evolving agrifood systems.