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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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IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Markets, Trade, and Institutions

Jeffrey Bloem

Research Fellow

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Jeffrey Bloem

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Jeff Bloem is a Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit whose research interest is in applied microeconomics with applications in agriculture, conflict, and psychology. He holds a BS in economics from Calvin College, Michigan; an MS in Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics from Michigan State University; and a PhD in applied economics from the University of Minnesota.

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Publications

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Journal Article

Herder-related violence, labor allocation, and the gendered response of agricultural households

2025Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Damon, Amy; Francis, David C.; Mitchell, Harrison
Details

Herder-related violence, labor allocation, and the gendered response of agricultural households

Violent conflict between nomadic herders and settled agricultural communities in Nigeria occurs as both groups clash over the use of land and natural resources, in part, due to a changing climate. We generate theory and evidence to study the labor responses of individuals within agricultural households to herder-related violence and consider a “shadow of violence” mechanism, whereby previous exposure to a violent event alters labor responses to a recent event. Using panel data from 2010 through 2019, we highlight how exposure to violence can lead to differing responses in the planting or harvest seasons and among men or women. In the planting season, among both men and women living in households with no previous exposure to herder-related violence, we find that exposure (i.e., singular exposure) leads to a reduction in household enterprise work, but among households with previous exposure experience, exposure (i.e., repeated exposure) leads to an increase in household enterprise work. Meanwhile, repeated exposure to herder-related violence reduces agricultural work among men only. This leads total hours worked to decline in response to singular exposure and to increase in response to repeated exposure especially among women. In the harvest season, we find that singular exposure increases agricultural work among both men and women, but repeated exposure reduces agricultural work among men only. JEL Codes: E26, E29, I31, Q12

Year published

2025

Authors

Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Damon, Amy; Francis, David C.; Mitchell, Harrison

Citation

Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Damon, Amy; Francis, David C.; and Mitchell, Harrison. 2025. Herder-related violence, labor allocation, and the gendered response of agricultural households. Journal of Development Economics 176(September 2025): 103512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103512

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Agriculture; Conflicts; Gender; Households

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103512 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

The unmet financial needs of intermediary firms within agri-food value chains in Uganda and Bangladesh

2025Adong, Annet; Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; de Brauw, Alan; Herskowitz, Sylvan; Islam, A.H.M. Saiful; Wagner, Julia
Details

The unmet financial needs of intermediary firms within agri-food value chains in Uganda and Bangladesh

JEL Codes: L14, L81, O13, Q13

Year published

2025

Authors

Adong, Annet; Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; de Brauw, Alan; Herskowitz, Sylvan; Islam, A.H.M. Saiful; Wagner, Julia

Citation

Adong, Annet; Ambler, Kate; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; de Brauw, Alan; Herskowitz, Sylvan; Islam, A.H.M. Saiful; and Wagner, Julia. 2025. The unmet financial needs of intermediary firms within agri-food value chains in Uganda and Bangladesh. Food Policy 132(April 2025): 102838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102838

Country/Region

Uganda; Bangladesh

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Asia; Southern Asia; Agrifood Systems; Arabica Coffee; Potatoes; Rice; Soybeans; Value Chains; Capital Markets; Financial Inclusion

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102838 Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

How agri-food value chain employment and compensation evolve with structural transformation

2024Yi, Jing; Jiang, Shiyun; Tran, Dianna; Gómez, Miguel I.; Canning, Patrick; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Barrett, Christopher B.
Details

How agri-food value chain employment and compensation evolve with structural transformation

The traditional structural transformation narrative emphasizes inter-sectoral labor reallocation out of agriculture, ignoring whether workers exit agri-food value chains or merely migrate within them, from primary agricultural production to downstream food industries. We introduce a method to decompose multiregional input-output table data into industry-and-country-specific annual labor value added estimates by final consumer market segment – domestic food at home, domestic food away from home, or exports – and match with industry-specific employment data to estimate average worker compensation. Using data covering most of the global economy, 1993-2021, we report ten stylized facts that sharpen the traditional narrative about labor reallocation amid structural transformation. As incomes grow, labor exits primary production for downstream agri-food value chain segments that maintain a steady economywide employment share while offering jobs that pay better than farm work. Women disproportionately move from primary production to downstream, consumer-facing retail and food service, while men migrate to better-paying midstream jobs, increasing gender pay inequality within the value chain. Employment shifts are strongly associated with changes in national per capita income, but not with agricultural total factor productivity growth.

Year published

2024

Authors

Yi, Jing; Jiang, Shiyun; Tran, Dianna; Gómez, Miguel I.; Canning, Patrick; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Barrett, Christopher B.

Citation

Yi, Jing; Jiang, Shiyun; Tran, Dianna; Gómez, Miguel I.; Canning, Patrick; Bloem, Jeffrey R.; and Barrett, Christopher B. 2024. How agri-food value chain employment and compensation evolve with structural transformation. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2311. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168646

Keywords

Food Systems; Agricultural Development; Gender Gap; Input Output Analysis; Labour; Agricultural Value Chains; Employment; Structural Adjustment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Events

2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting
IFPRI at External Event

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July 23 to 25, 2023

2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

Event: July 23, 2023 – 8:30 AM to July 25, 2023 – 4:15 PM EDT. IFPRI is participating in the 2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting.