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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.

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Timothy Thomas

Timothy Thomas is a Senior Research Fellow in the Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit. His research focuses on the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity. Tim’s work involves developing innovative methods for simulated climate futures and model coordination between climate, crop, water, energy, and economics.

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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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experts

Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion

Akhter Ahmed

Research Fellow Emeritus

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Ahmed Akhter

Bio

Akhter Ahmed is a Research Fellow Emeritus in the Director General’s Office at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). He has worked on strategies for agricultural and rural development, social protection, and women’s empowerment to reduce poverty, food insecurity, and undernutrition of the poor in developing countries. He served as the leader of IFPRI’s collaborative project on food security research in Egypt. He also worked on poverty and human development issues in Bangladesh, China, India, Malawi, the Philippines, and Turkey. Since 2010, Ahmed has been posted in Bangladesh. Before joining IFPRI, Ahmed worked with the World Bank and served as an Agricultural Economist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He received a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University and a master’s in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.

Publications

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Publications

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Brief

Modernizing Bangladesh's social protection system: Priorities for greater effectiveness

2026Ahmed, Akhter; Anowar, Md Sadat
Details

Modernizing Bangladesh's social protection system: Priorities for greater effectiveness

Bangladesh has made considerable progress in reducing poverty and improving human development, with social protection playing an important role in protecting vulnerable households and supporting human capital. The Government has demonstrated a strong commitment to social protection, particularly through the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) adopted in 2015 and subsequent efforts to streamline programs. Despite this progress, the social protection system faces persistent challenges. The system remains fragmented across numerous programs and ministries, significant targeting errors persist, and benefit levels are often inadequate. A substantial share of social protection spending is directed toward programs that do not primarily benefit the poor, while many vulnerable households remain inadequately covered. Addressing these shortcomings has become increasingly important as Bangladesh confronts rising food prices, slower economic growth, and climate-related risks. Bangladesh now has an important opportunity to modernize social protection. Recent efforts to consolidate programs and the introduction of the Family Card Program provide a foundation for building a more coherent, inclusive, and effective system. The priority should be to improve the quality and effectiveness of spending rather than simply increase the overall budget. This policy note presents a roadmap for building a more efficient, equitable, and adaptive social protection system. It recommends scaling up successful programs while phasing out inefficient ones. By improving targeting and reducing benefit leakage, social protection coverage for poor households can be significantly expanded even within the current budget.

Year published

2026

Authors

Ahmed, Akhter; Anowar, Md Sadat

Citation

Ahmed, Akhter; and Anowar, Md Sadat. 2026. Modernizing Bangladesh's social protection system: Priorities for greater effectiveness. IFPRI Policy Note. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183784

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Social Protection; Modernization; Policies; Public Expenditure; Targeting

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

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Abstract

Diet diversity does not mean better diet quality: Evidence from a latent class analysis of rural Bangladeshi adolescents

2026Cattaneo, Françoise D.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; Brouwer, Inge D.; Leak, Tashara M; Kerr, Rachel Bezner; Hoddinott, John F.
Details

Diet diversity does not mean better diet quality: Evidence from a latent class analysis of rural Bangladeshi adolescents

Objectives: We identified dietary patterns and examined associations with sociodemographic characteristics and diet quality among rural Bangladeshi adolescents (10-19 years). We hypothesized that adolescents exhibit distinct patterns that vary by gender, socioeconomic characteristics, and diet quality.

Year published

2026

Authors

Cattaneo, Françoise D.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; Brouwer, Inge D.; Leak, Tashara M; Kerr, Rachel Bezner; Hoddinott, John F.

Citation

Cattaneo, Françoise D.; Ahmed, Akhter; Roy, Shalini; Brouwer, Inge D.; Leak, Tashara M.; et al. 2026. Diet diversity does not mean better diet quality: Evidence from a latent class analysis of rural Bangladeshi adolescents. Current Developments in Nutrition 10(Supplement 1): 108326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2026.108326

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Dietary Diversity; Rural Communities; Diet; Adolescents

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2026.108326 Source record

Record type

Abstract

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Book Chapter

Mechanizing agriculture in Bangladesh: Trends, challenges, and policy priorities

2026Karim, Md. Aminul; Shamma, Raisa; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Belton, Ben; Kishore, Avinash; Ahmed, Akhter
Details

Mechanizing agriculture in Bangladesh: Trends, challenges, and policy priorities

Agricultural mechanization has become a cornerstone of rural transformation in Bangladesh (Zhang et al. 2014). Since the 1980s, the country has made significant strides in mechanizing various stages of agricultural production, from land preparation to harvesting (Mottaleb, Krupnik, and Erenstein 2016; Rahman et al. 2021). As in India and other neighboring countries, both informal custom-hiring businesses and government support have enabled the widespread use of agricultural machinery in Bangladesh (Biggs and Justice 2015). Mechanization has helped address growing labor shortages, increase labor productivity and input-use efficiency, and raise farmers’ incomes (Islam 2021; Mandal 2017).

Year published

2026

Authors

Karim, Md. Aminul; Shamma, Raisa; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Belton, Ben; Kishore, Avinash; Ahmed, Akhter

Citation

Karim, Md. Aminul; Shamma, Raisa; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Belton, Ben; Kishore, Avinash; and Ahmed, Akhter. 2026. Mechanizing agriculture in Bangladesh: Trends, challenges, and policy priorities. In Transforming Smallholder Agriculture Through Mechanization in Asia: Volume 1: Pathways and Policies, eds. Ma, Wanglin; Rahut, Dil B.; and Sonobe, Tetsushi. Chapter 1, p. 1-42. https://doi.org/10.56506/OFAY7376

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agricultural Mechanization; Ownership; Econometric Models; Labour; Gender; Profitability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.56506/ofay7376 Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

Events

Into, Through and Beyond USAID Programs: Lessons from the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index
IFPRI at External Event

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March 29, 2023, 9:00 – 10:15 am

Into, Through and Beyond USAID Programs: Lessons from the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

Virtual Event: March 29, 2023 – 9:00 AM- 10:15 AM EDT. This webinar will mark the launch of two briefs, one on the use cases of WEAI in USAID projects worldwide and the other on how WEAI has informed and supported the design of policies and programs in Bangladesh.

Measuring What Matters: 10 Years of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, why has it mattered, and what’s next?
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

March 24, 2022, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Measuring What Matters: 10 Years of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, why has it mattered, and what’s next?

Virtual Event: March 24, 2022 – 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM EDT. This side event will provide an opportunity to discuss country experiences in using the WEAI and reflect on its impact on measuring and tracking gender equity and equality.

Virtual Event - Social Safety Nets and COVID-19: Can we protect food security and nutrition?
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

June 11, 2020, 9:30 – 10:45 am

Virtual Event – Social Safety Nets and COVID-19: Can we protect food security and nutrition?

How have social safety net programs responded to COVID-19? Are food security & nutrition issues effectively addressed with these responses? What and where are opportunities and future challenges? Watch Video

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News

May 12, 2025 | In the News

Fix social protection flaws instead of expanding outlay (The Daily Star)

Bangladesh must urgently redirect resources within its fragmented social protection system and scale up a handful of proven programs that directly benefit the poorest, says IFPRI’s Akhter Ahmed.

February 11, 2024 | In the News

Agricultural growth key to accelerated poverty reduction in Bangladesh (Financial Express)

Senior research fellow and country representative, Akhter Ahmed writes in an op-ed for the Financial Express (Bangladesh) that the country “has witnessed substantial economic growth over the past decade, with an average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.6 per cent between 2016 and 2022. Notably, the country experienced a 3.4 per cent increase in GDP in 2020, making Bangladesh one […]

November 25, 2022 | In the News

‘Immediate interventions needed to lower food prices’ (Dhaka Tribune)  

The Dhaka Tribune published a review and comments from a roundtable on “Food Security for Sustainable Development” held in Bangladesh. Participants agreed that the double shocks of the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine crisis have drastically increased food prices, and immediate policy interventions are needed to keep food items affordable for people of lower income […]

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