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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.

researcher spotlight

Elodie Becquey

Elodie Becquey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, based in IFPRI’s West and Central Africa office in Senegal. She has over 15 years of research experience in diet, nutrition, and food security in Africa, including countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Tanzania.

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Development Strategies and Governance

Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse

Senior Research Fellow/Program Leader- Ethiopia

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Bio

Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Ethiopia. He is a development economist whose recent research covered agricultural transformation; impact evaluation (including impact evaluation of large multi-year public programs); social protection; individual psycho-social characteristics, behaviour, and well-being outcomes; risk and insurance, consumption patterns and demand elasticities; cooperatives; and inter‐sectoral linkages and growth. The bulk of Alemayehu’s research focuses on Ethiopia, with ongoing contributions to studies on Sudan and earlier work on sub-Sharan Africa. He is an Elected Fellow of the Econometric Society and the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. Alemayehu has previously worked as an assistant professor of economics at Addis Ababa University and an economic affairs officer at the UNECA. He holds a BA in Economics from Addis Ababa University, an M.Sc. in Quantitative Development Economics from the University of Warwick, and a D.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford.

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Google Scholar Citations

Publications

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Working Paper

Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers

2025Abay, Kibrom A.; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Kahsay, Goytom Abraha; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
Details

Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers

Trust in local leadership is critical for effective delivery of public goods and services -especially in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, where local institutions and markets remain weak, and peacebuilding and recovery efforts are crucial. Thus, identifying avenues and instruments for rebuilding trust in local leadership remains important. Building on a recent and large-scale armed conflict in Ethiopia, we study the impact of a randomized community-based cash transfer on trust in local leadership. The randomized cash transfer was introduced after the war in Ethiopia and its implementation involved local community leaders, some of whom may have participated in the conflict. We find that exposure to armed conflict is associated with a significant deterioration in trust in local leaders, while the community-based cash transfer recovers some of the deteriorated trust. We provide suggestive evidence that the impacts of cash transfer are driven not only by those who received the cash transfer but also by non-beneficiary households in communities where the cash transfer is implemented. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the treatment effect is largely driven by poor households and households which do not benefit from government safety net programs. These results have important implications for policy design in rebuilding trust in local leadership in post-conflict and fragile settings.

Year published

2025

Authors

Abay, Kibrom A.; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Kahsay, Goytom Abraha; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

Citation

Abay, Kibrom A.; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Kahsay, Goytom Abraha; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2025. Rebuilding trust in local leadership in conflict-affected settings: The impact of community-based cash transfers. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2370. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177383

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Armed Conflicts; Cash Transfer; Governance; Institutions; Leaders

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Graduating from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme: What have we learned?

2025Hirvonen, Kalle; Abate, Gashaw T.; Berhane, Guush; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Leight, Jessica; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
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Graduating from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme: What have we learned?

Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) – one of the largest social protection programs in Africa – has improved food security and strengthened recovery from shocks, yet it has achieved limited progress in raising incomes or diversifying livelihoods. In response, policymakers have layered graduation models onto the PSNP to promote sustainable self-reliance. This note synthesizes evaluation evidence from NGO- and government-led initiatives. NGO-led intensive, high-cost models increased assets and incomes in the short to medium term but rarely enabled households to exit the program. NGO-led lighter-touch approaches improved resilience but delivered minimal gains in overall well-being. Government-led efforts have faced persistent delivery challenges, including overstretched systems, weak credit access, and limited market linkages. Broader structural constraints, such as shrinking landholdings, scarce nonfarm opportunities, and recurrent drought and other shocks, further undermine the promise of graduation programming in this context. The review highlights six policy lessons on design, financing, and integration with broader development strategies to shape more effective approaches going forward.

Year published

2025

Authors

Hirvonen, Kalle; Abate, Gashaw T.; Berhane, Guush; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Leight, Jessica; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

Citation

Hirvonen, Kalle; Abate, Gashaw T.; Berhane, Guush; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Leight, Jessica; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2025. Graduating from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme: What have we learned? IFPRI Discussion Paper 2366. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176897

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Northern Africa; Food Security; Livelihoods; Poverty; Social Protection; Modelling

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

Coping with crisis: Livelihood vulnerabilities and food insecurity in Sudan’s current conflict

2025Kirui, Oliver K.; Rakhy, Tarig Alhaj; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala
Details

Coping with crisis: Livelihood vulnerabilities and food insecurity in Sudan’s current conflict

Sudan’s conflict, reignited in April 2023, represents not just a military contest between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but a total systemic collapse that has engulfed governance, infrastructure, markets, and public services. This conflict did not arise in a vacuum. Sudan has long faced structural vulnerabilities including weak institutions, a fragile economy, and climate-related stressors such as erratic rainfall and land degradation. The war, however, accelerated these pre-existing fault lines into a full-blown crisis. Key urban economies such as Khartoum have been devastated by airstrikes and sieges, while transport corridors and trade routes have been severed. Local governance structures in many regions have been displaced or dissolved, leaving civilians without recourse to basic services or protection. Simultaneously, the banking sector has fractured, disrupting remittances, cash transfers, and supply chains across the country. Insecurity has driven over 12.8 million people from their homes – 8.6 million internally and 3.9 million seeking refuge neighboring countries, as of May 2025 (UNHCR, 2025).

Year published

2025

Authors

Kirui, Oliver K.; Rakhy, Tarig Alhaj; Siddig, Khalid; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; Abushama, Hala

Citation

Kirui, Oliver K.; Rakhy, Tarig AlHaj; Siddig, Khalid; Tafesse, Alemayehu Seyoum; and Abushama, Hala. 2025. Coping with crisis: Livelihood vulnerabilities and food insecurity in Sudan’s current conflict. Sudan SSP Policy Note 12. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Sudan

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Capacity Development; Conflicts; Livelihoods; Vulnerability; Food Insecurity

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Blogs

Sudan’s ongoing conflict disrupts agrifood processing and aggravates unemployment
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 15, 2023

Sudan’s ongoing conflict disrupts agrifood processing and aggravates unemployment

By Oliver K. Kirui, Khalid Siddig, Hala Abushama, and Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse

Food system impacts of war,

Informing policies with causal impact evaluations: Co-creation and trust matter
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 06, 2023

Informing policies with causal impact evaluations: Co-creation and trust matter

By Kibrom Abay, Akhter Ahmed, Clemens Breisinger, Naureen Karachiwalla, Sikandra Kurdi, and Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse

IFPRI assessments provide key information for policymakers.

Teff love: Ethiopia’s staple crop requires a big push
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 24, 2018

Teff love: Ethiopia’s staple crop requires a big push

By Bart Minten, Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, and Smita Aggarwal

A new book explores the potential for expanding production of one of Ethiopia's signature crops.

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Events

Shaping Food Policy in a Changing World: Research Priorities for Greater Impact
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

December 15, 2025, 9:00 – 4:00 pm

Shaping Food Policy in a Changing World: Research Priorities for Greater Impact

In today’s fast-changing world and evolving food systems, the need for evidence-based food policy has never been more urgent – demanding research that is timely, inclusive, and tailored to context. Reliable data and rigorous analysis are essential, but research must also evolve – and become more timely, more relevant, and more inclusive of diverse voices […]

SPIR II RFSA Learning Event: Impact results workshops
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

December 9 to 10, 2024

SPIR II RFSA Learning Event: Impact results workshops

December 9, 2024 | 9:30am to 12:00pm (Africa/Addis_Ababa) | Video Recording | Presentation December 9, 2024 | 1:00pm to 3:30pm (Africa/Addis_Ababa) | Video Recording | Presentation December 10, 2024 | 9:30am to 12:45pm (Africa/Addis_Ababa) | Video Recording | Presentation Click HERE to view the agenda. The Strengthen PSNP Institutions and Resilience (SPIR II) Resilience Food […]

32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

August 2 to 7, 2024

32nd International Conference of Agricultural Economists

The triennial International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE-2024), centred on the theme “Transformation Towards Sustainable Agri-Food Systems” is scheduled from August 2-7, 2024, in New Delhi, India. The conference offers a distinctive platform, providing a golden opportunity for the agricultural academic institutions and researchers to convene in person, exchange knowledge, and actively contribute to the […]

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News

July 19, 2018 | Press Release

NEW BOOK: Higher Investments in Research, Adoption of New Technologies to Improve Productivity and Export Potential of Teff

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia could increase production of its gluten-free and nutrient-rich cash crop teff, and tap into the expanding domestic and international markets, by ramping up investments in basic research; adopting new and better technologies; improving input distribution systems; and extending markets , according to a new book launched by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Addis Ababa today.   “Teff makes a considerable contribution to Ethiopians’ incomes and food security, and has potential to provide […]

August 22, 2018 | In the News

Teff love: Ethiopia’s staple crop requires a big push (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Thomson Reuters Foundation published an op-ed by IFPRI researchers Bart Minten and Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse analyzing the current value chain of Ethiopia’s staple grain, teff.  Still a nascent cash crop, Minten and Taffesse list various challenges, and provide recommendations to increase production and marketability of teff drawing from their new book, The Economics of Teff: […]

July 20, 2018 | In the News

More investment in research could improve Ethiopia’s teff crop (African Independent)

The African Independent summarized findnigs of a new book on Ethiopian teff.

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Research

Topics/Countries

Awards

  • Elected Fellow, The Econometric Society, 2022
  • Elected Fellow, The Ethiopian Academy of Sciences (EAS), 2018