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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.

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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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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Wellcome Trust supports researchers and campaigns for better science through the lens of addressing large health challenges. Wellcome Trust directly funds thousands of scientists and researchers through every step of the scientific process – from research to analyzing impacts. They offer grants in biomedical science, population health, medical innovation, humanities and social science, and public engagement.

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Projects

Foresight Modeling with IFPRI’s IMPACT Model

Foresight Modeling with IFPRI’s IMPACT Model

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Publications

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Journal Article

Farming cattle in the tropics: Transnational science and industrializing pastures in Brazil

2024Nehring, Ryan
Details

Farming cattle in the tropics: Transnational science and industrializing pastures in Brazil

Societal Impact Statement Society is increasingly concerned over the environmental impact of diets. Much of this concern is over the environmentally destructive nature of meat production, especially beef and especially in the Amazon. This article aims to understand the production of beef in Brazil through the understudied perspective of forage grasses. In doing so, the article traces who was involved in the importation and improvement of forage grasses in Brazil, why they were involved, and what the consequences of their actions were. By centering forage grasses, we can better understand the potential consequences of seemingly unimportant plant breeding efforts. Summary Beef is viewed by many as one of the more environmentally destructive foods today. Whether it is deforestation in the Amazon or concentrated feedlots, the rancher and the cow have come to epitomize the dangers of a global industrial food system. This article looks at the industrialization of beef cattle from another angle, a bit closer to the ground. It looks at the role and circulation of plants and plant breeders in the expansion of beef cattle in the Brazilian tropics. The article draws on documents collected from the institutional archives of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, known by its Portuguese acronym Embrapa and the Rockefeller Archive Center. Additional archival documents were acquired by a personal contact. Embrapa was established in 1973, but its archives contain documents from Brazilian agricultural research agencies from as far back as 1952. Documents from the Rockefeller Archive Center include research bulletins and reports from Nelson Rockefeller’s IBEC Research Institute (IRI), which conducted research on forage grasses from the 1950s until the 1970s. The article puts forth the argument that imported and improved forage grasses made large-scale cattle ranching environmentally viable and economically profitable in Brazil. One type of grass in particular, Brachiaria, was central in propelling Brazil as the world’s largest producer of beef and underpinning perhaps the most environmentally and socially destructive cattle ranching system in the world. Brachiaria was a key biological and technological input to further entrench longstanding structural inequalities of land ownership. One of the key conclusions of this article is that perspectives from the margins can be illustrative of how seemingly unimportant research (forage grass breeding) can have massive consequences as part of a broader socio-environmental system.

Year published

2024

Authors

Nehring, Ryan

Citation

Nehring, Ryan. Farming cattle in the tropics: Farming cattle in the tropics: Transnational science and industrializing pastures in Brazil. Plants, People, Planet 6(5): 1060-1069. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10441

Country/Region

Brazil

Keywords

South America; Beef; Cattle; Diet; Environmental Impact; Meat Production; Plant Breeding

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10441 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Preprint

An Inclusive agri-food systems transformation pathway for India

2024
Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Jha, Chandan; Bodirsky, Benjamin; Beier, Felicitas; Humpenöder, Florian; Leip, Debbora; Chen, David; Crawford, Michael
…more von Jeetze, Patrick; Bacca, Edna Molina; Soergel, Bjoern; Springmann, Marco; Dietrich, Jan; Popp, Alexander; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Lotze-Campen, Hermann
Details

An Inclusive agri-food systems transformation pathway for India

Although India has transformed from a food scarce to a food self-sufficient nation, the challenges of nutrition security, regional inequalities, and unsustainable agricultural practices persist. Existing policies lack an integrated vision for and implementation of holistic food system changes. This study undertakes a food system assessment for India using a global food system modelling framework, evaluating 23 food system measures on 14 indicators across dimensions of health, environment, inclusion, and economy. The food system measures include healthy diets, biosphere protection, agriculture management, equitable livelihood, and external reforms. Results indicate that 13 out of 14 indicators including nutrition and environmental outcomes improve due to synergistic effects driven by coordinated interventions, reducing trade-offs among the four dimensions of the food system. While progress is observed in most health and environmental indicators, challenges such as rising obesity and nitrogen pollution persist. Our attempt to quantify the dynamics of India’s food system under different scenarios enables understanding the trade-offs across dimensions. The comprehensive and forward-looking food system outcomes that this study elucidates aid in the identification of pivotal intervention points and facilitate strategizing policies for transformative changes.

Year published

2024

Authors

Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Jha, Chandan; Bodirsky, Benjamin; Beier, Felicitas; Humpenöder, Florian; Leip, Debbora; Chen, David; Crawford, Michael; von Jeetze, Patrick; Bacca, Edna Molina; Soergel, Bjoern; Springmann, Marco; Dietrich, Jan; Popp, Alexander; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Lotze-Campen, Hermann

Citation

Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Jha, Chandan; Bodirsky, Benjamin; et al. 2024. An Inclusive agri-food systems transformation pathway for India. Preprint available August 16, 2024. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4767324/v1

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Inclusion; Agrifood Systems; Nutrition Security; Health

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4767324/v1 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Preprint

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Journal Article

Evidence of potential impacts of a nutrition-sensitive agroecology program in Andhra Pradesh, India, on dietary diversity, nutritional status, and child development

2024
Ch, Lakshmi Durga; Bharath, Yandrapu; Bliznashka, Lilia; T., Vijay Kumar; Jonnala, Veerendra; Chekka, Vijayalakshmi; Yebushi, Srileka; Roy, Aditi; Venkateshmurthy, Nikhil Srinivasapura; Prabhakaran, Poornima
…more Jaacks, Lindsay M.
Details

Evidence of potential impacts of a nutrition-sensitive agroecology program in Andhra Pradesh, India, on dietary diversity, nutritional status, and child development

Introduction While a number of studies have examined the nutritional impacts of agroecological interventions, few have examined impacts on child development, maternal and child anemia, and men’s dietary diversity. Moreover, there have been few such evaluations at scale. We evaluated the impact of a large-scale, multi-component food-based nutrition intervention involving homestead food production, nutrition counselling, cooking demonstrations, and crop planning exercises. Methods A cross-sectional assessment was conducted in 2021–2022 of 50 intervention villages where the nutrition-sensitive agroecology program had been implemented since 2018 and 79 control villages where only the agroecology program had been implemented. Data on self-reported dietary intake, caregiver-reported early child development, anthropometric measurements, and hemoglobin concentrations were collected using standardized procedures by trained Nutrition Farming Fellows, who were also responsible for implementing the program. Results A sample of 3,511 households (1,121 intervention and 2,390 control) participated in the survey. Dietary diversity scores (DDS) among women and men were mean (SD) 6.53 (±1.62) and 6.16 (±1.65), respectively, in intervention villages and 5.81 (±1.58) and 5.39 (±1.61), respectively, in control villages (p<0.01). DDS among children 6–24 months of age in intervention and control villages was 2.99 (±1.52) and 2.73 (±1.62), respectively (p<0.01). Children <2 years of age were less likely to be anemic in intervention versus control villages (59% versus 69%, p<0.01). Children 18–35 months age in intervention villages had higher child development scores than children in control villages (all p<0.05). Conclusion Nutrition-sensitive agroecological programs may be effective in improving diets, nutrition, and child development in rural India.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ch, Lakshmi Durga; Bharath, Yandrapu; Bliznashka, Lilia; T., Vijay Kumar; Jonnala, Veerendra; Chekka, Vijayalakshmi; Yebushi, Srileka; Roy, Aditi; Venkateshmurthy, Nikhil Srinivasapura; Prabhakaran, Poornima; Jaacks, Lindsay M.

Citation

Ch, Lakshmi Durga; Bharath, Yandrapu; Bliznashka, Lilia; T., Vijay Kumar; Jonnala, Veerendra; Chekka, Vijayalakshmi; Yebushi, Srileka; Roy, Aditi; et al. 2024. Evidence of potential impacts of a nutrition-sensitive agroecology program in Andhra Pradesh, India, on dietary diversity, nutritional status, and child development. PLoS ONE 19(5): e0286356. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286356

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agroecology; Capacity Development; Child Development; Dietary Diversity; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286356 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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