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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.

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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

Augustine Iraoya

Research Analyst

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Augustine Iraoya is a Research Analyst in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Abuja, Nigeria. His research focuses on agriculture, trade, poverty, rural livelihoods, and food systems. Prior to joining IFPRI, he was a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA, and, as a Teaching Assistant, taught microeconomics and supported fieldwork at the Federal University of Technology. Augustine holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigeria, and a master’s in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania, and the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

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Publications

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Bridging the gap: How human-centered design can help unlock bottlenecks in the diffusion of small-scale irrigation in Nigeria

2025
Balana, Bedru; Abba, Aminu; Iraoya, Augustine Okhale; Takasai, Musa Tukur; Yakasai, Bello; Abdullahi, Kabiru; Shuaibu, Ahmed Usman; Musa, Nurudden Muhammad; Kirui, Oliver K.; Edeh, Hyacinth O.
…more Ringler, Claudia
Details

Bridging the gap: How human-centered design can help unlock bottlenecks in the diffusion of small-scale irrigation in Nigeria

Ample evidence shows that small-scale irrigation (SSI) has positive impacts on agricultural productivity, poverty reduction, climate resilience and household food security, nutrition. Despite this, adoption of SSI has remained low in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, where previous research suggests potential for adoption is largest. Factors such as high cost of technologies, farmers’ risk behavior, lack of incentives, and lack of access to finance and capacity gaps have often been noted as key constraints limiting the adoption/scaling of SSI among smallholders. However, in an environment with low overall levels of use, it is important to not only focus on the challenges experienced by smallholder farmers, but also on those of key intermediary actors—specifically government, irrigation equipment distributors, and finance institutions—that are critical for a supportive enabling environment of SSI technology diffusion. To understand the constraints these groups encounter and propose innovative policy, financial, and supply chain solutions, we conducted a series of human-centered design (HCD) workshops in three locations in Nigeria. Key solutions proposed during nine workshops include the need for cross-sector coordination and policy harmonization, improved data and digital systems and platforms, customized financial products and risk-sharing options for SSI, capacity-sharing for extension services, and specific strategies to support women farmers so that they benefit equally.

Year published

2025

Authors

Balana, Bedru; Abba, Aminu; Iraoya, Augustine Okhale; Takasai, Musa Tukur; Yakasai, Bello; Abdullahi, Kabiru; Shuaibu, Ahmed Usman; Musa, Nurudden Muhammad; Kirui, Oliver K.; Edeh, Hyacinth O.; Ringler, Claudia

Citation

Balana, Bedru; Abba, Aminu; Iraoya, Augustine Okhale; Takasai, Musa Tukur; Yakasai, Bello; et al. 2025. Bridging the gap: How human-centered design can help unlock bottlenecks in the diffusion of small-scale irrigation in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2380. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178299

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Irrigation; Small-scale Irrigation; Government; Financial Institutions; Irrigation Equipment; Design

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Food systems in conflict-prone and climate-affected areas of Northern Nigeria: Humanitarian and development challenges

2025Balana, Bedru; Omamo, Steven Were; Amare, Mulubrhan; Popoola, Olufemi; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Iraoya, Augustine Okhale; Loum, Serigne; Jawed, Khusro; Andam, Kwaw S.
Details

Food systems in conflict-prone and climate-affected areas of Northern Nigeria: Humanitarian and development challenges

Protracted conflict and climate shocks have profoundly disrupted food systems in northern Nigeria, yet little empirical evidence exists on how these shocks shape the functioning of the region’s food system (production, transportation, value addition, and trade). This study addresses this evidence gap by combining GIS-based mapping, cost structure analysis, and investment opportunities in food production, transportation, processing, and trade in key staple commodities across conflict-prone and climate-affected areas of northern Nigeria and connected market hubs. The analysis quantifies cost structures for key food supply chain actors, identifies systemic food system inefficiencies driven by conflict and climate factors, and examines how these factors undermine both commercial and humanitarian food flows. By integrating commodity-specific diagnostics with stakeholder perspectives, the study offers an evidence-based rationale for prioritizing interventions in conflict contexts. Two investment cases—on-farm storage and localized wheat milling—illustrate how targeted actions can reduce losses, enhance resilience, and create co-benefits for humanitarian operations and market recovery. By combining food-flow maps and cost structures for multiple actors along the food supply chain in a high-risk environment, and by demonstrating simplified approaches to linking empirical diagnostics with practical investment strategies, the study’s findings contribute to the literature on the functioning of food systems in conflict-prone and climate-affected contexts. In addition, the findings provide evidence to support policy changes, interventions, and investment decisions aimed at transforming food systems and addressing structural failures, while enhancing the efficacy of short-term humanitarian interventions. They also address the underlying causes of chronic food insecurity and support economic recovery in the region.

Year published

2025

Authors

Balana, Bedru; Omamo, Steven Were; Amare, Mulubrhan; Popoola, Olufemi; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Iraoya, Augustine Okhale; Loum, Serigne; Jawed, Khusro; Andam, Kwaw S.

Citation

Balana, Bedru; Omamo, Steven Were; Amare, Mulubrhan; Popoola, Olufemi; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; et al. 2025. Food systems in conflict-prone and climate-affected areas of Northern Nigeria: Humanitarian and development challenges. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2376. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177848

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Western Africa; Conflicts; Climate; Food Systems; Food Suppy

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

The price of fragility: Shocks, food security, and lessons from Nigeria

2025Amare, Mulubrhan; Omamo, Steven Were; Balana, Bedru; Andam, Kwaw S.; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Iraoya, Augustine; Popoola, Olufemi; Loum, Serigne; Jawed, Khusro
Details

The price of fragility: Shocks, food security, and lessons from Nigeria

Over the past decade Nigeria has experienced persistent food price inflation and substantial volatility, driven by domestic fragilities and global shocks. Three major shocks – the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), the Ukraine-Russia war (2022), and fuel subsidy reform (2023) – drove large and uneven price increases, with wheat prices rising by 63.3% and brown sorghum by 83.9%. Volatility was highest for wheat flour and groundnuts, with coefficients of variation of 0.53 and 0.51, reflecting Nigeria’s dependence on imports and sensitivity to external price shocks. This study utilizes high-frequency retail price data for eight staple food commodities across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to analyze spatial and temporal food price dynamics, volatility patterns, and their welfare implications. To quantify welfare impacts, we use the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Food Price Simulator. Results show a 9.1 percentage point increase in food poverty (from 42.9% to 52.0%) and an 11.6-point rise in undernourishment (from 40.0% to 51.6%). Lower-income households reduced food expenditures by 12.7%, compared to 9.5% for higher-income groups, reflecting disproportionate exposure to food inflation. Northern zones had relatively lower prices for traditional grains due to more favorable agroecological conditions, while southern regions faced higher prices due to higher transport costs and limited local production. Conflict-affected northeastern states exhibited the highest volatility and food insecurity. We propose a three-pronged policy agenda: short-term safety nets and strategic reserves, medium-term reforms to strengthen market connectivity through improved transport and storage infrastructure, and long-term investments in climate-resilient, inclusive food systems.

Year published

2025

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Omamo, Steven Were; Balana, Bedru; Andam, Kwaw S.; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Iraoya, Augustine; Popoola, Olufemi; Loum, Serigne; Jawed, Khusro

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Omamo, Steven Were; Balana, Bedru; Andam, Kwaw S.; Nwagboso, Chibuzo; Iraoya, Augustine; et al. 2025. The price of fragility: Shocks, food security, and lessons from Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2371. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Food Prices; Food Security; Households; Markets; Policy Innovation; Price Volatility

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Bridging the gap: Unlocking intermediary bottlenecks for small-scale irrigation through human-centered design in Nigeria
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 11, 2025

Bridging the gap: Unlocking intermediary bottlenecks for small-scale irrigation through human-centered design in Nigeria

By Bedru Balana, Augustine Iraoya, Abba Aminu, Musa T. Yakasai, and Claudia Ringler

Overcoming obstacles for farmers.

Integrating gender and nutrition into climate policy: Insights from the GCAN Initiative in Nigeria
IFPRI Blog
 | 
May 12, 2025

Integrating gender and nutrition into climate policy: Insights from the GCAN Initiative in Nigeria

By Musa Tukur Yakasai, Bello Yakasai, Yohanna Moses, Bedru Balana, Elizabeth Basauri Bryan, Augustine Iraoya, and Claudia Ringler

Grounding action in research and collaboration.

Overcoming policy, finance, and technology supply constraints to unleash small-scale irrigation in Nigeria
IFPRI Blog
 | 
April 14, 2025

Overcoming policy, finance, and technology supply constraints to unleash small-scale irrigation in Nigeria

By Bedru Balana, Musa T. Yakasai, Nuruddeen M. Musa, Augustine Iraoya, and Claudia Ringler

Bringing human-centered design to smallholder agriculture.

View all Blogs