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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.

Erick Boy

researcher spotlight

Erick Boy

Erick Boy is the Chief Nutritionist in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. As head of nutrition for the HarvestPlus Program since 2008, he has led research that has generated scientific evidence on biofortified staple crops as efficacious and effective interventions to help address iron, vitamin A, and zinc deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.

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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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experts

Development Strategies and Governance

Jovidon Aliev

Senior Research Analyst

Bio

Jovidon Aliev is a Senior Research Analyst with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, and is working in an outposted capacity.

Development Strategies and Governance

Publications

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Working Paper

Cost effective options for inclusive agrifood system development in Tajikistan

2025Aragie, Emerta A.; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Goibov, Manuchehr; Aliev, Jovidon; Diao, Xinshen; Fang, Peixun; Thurlow, James
Details

Cost effective options for inclusive agrifood system development in Tajikistan

This paper presents a model-based and data-driven analysis of alternative public investment options for Tajikistan’s agrifood system based on cost-effectiveness in achieving multiple development outcomes. The study indicates that there is no single intervention that is the most cost-effective across all economic and social outcomes, including agrifood GDP growth, job creation, poverty reduction, lowered undernourishment, and improvement in diet quality. Irrigation infrastructure development, R&D in husbandry, and food loss and waste reduction are the most cost-effective investments in the combined economic outcomes, including growth and jobs. In contrast, irrigation, food loss and waste reduction, and seed systems are more effective in the combined social outcomes, including poverty, undernourishment, and diet. Considering time horizons, extension services are more effective in the short run, while irrigation and R&D deliver greater impact over time. Sector variations in the magnitude of effects are also observed among investment interventions. Overall, comparisons across development outcomes, sectoral focus, and timeframes reveal important synergies and trade-offs, underscoring the need for evidence-based tools to guide effective policy and investment decisions.

Year published

2025

Authors

Aragie, Emerta A.; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Goibov, Manuchehr; Aliev, Jovidon; Diao, Xinshen; Fang, Peixun; Thurlow, James

Citation

Aragie, Emerta; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Goibov, Manuchehr; Aliev, Jovidon; Diao, Xinshen; Fang, Peixun; and Thurlow, James. 2025. Cost effective options for inclusive agrifood system development in Tajikistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2341. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/175060

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Public Investment; Agrifood Systems; Development; Economic Impact

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Working Paper

Tajikistan’s agrifood system: The past performance and future opportunities and challenges

2025Diao, Xinshen; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon; Fang, Peixun; Randriamamonjy, Josee; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James
Details

Tajikistan’s agrifood system: The past performance and future opportunities and challenges

This study analyzes the past performance and future opportunities and challenges of Tajikistan’s agrifood system (AFS). The study measures the current size and structure of AFS and its historical contribution to economic growth and transformation through a data-driven exercise. A forward-looking economywide model is used to assess the effectiveness of future AFS growth (led by agricultural productivity gains in different value chains) in promoting multiple development outcomes. The findings of the study indicate that AFS transformation is an important part of Tajikistan’s economic transformation and structural change. Because of lower growth contributions from AFS’s off-farm components as well as fewer farm workers moving from primary agriculture to off-farm activities within AFS, Tajikistan’s AFS did not grow as quickly as the broader economy. Expanding off-farm activities to boost on-farm productivity growth remains a challenge for sustainable transformation of Tajikistan’s AFS. Using an economywide model, we find that there is no single value chain group that would most effectively achieve all desired development outcomes including broad economic growth, job creation, declining poverty, and improved diets. Livestock value chains, however, have the most potential to contribute to multiple development outcomes, particularly to dietary improvement, and these value chains also performed impressively during the study period. Moreover, most cattle and ruminants are owned by household farms, and their growth could contribute to broader agricultural transformation. The maize value chain also ranks high in the model-based comparison, but it seems to only modestly contribute to job creation and diet quality and had performed disappointingly during the study period. While growth in livestock and maize value chains face a series of challenges and constraints, promoting them together seems to offer an effective way to broadly achieve important development outcomes.

Year published

2025

Authors

Diao, Xinshen; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon; Fang, Peixun; Randriamamonjy, Josee; Pauw, Karl; Thurlow, James

Citation

Diao, Xinshen; Khakimov, Parviz; Ashurov, Timur; Aliev, Jovidon; Fang, Peixun; Randriamamonjy, Josee; Pauw, Karl; and Thurlow, James. 2025. Tajikistan’s agrifood system: The past performance and future opportunities and challenges. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2329. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173731

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Agrifood Systems; Diet; Economic Growth; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Brief

Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan

2025Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr
Details

Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan

Tajikistan’s heavily relies on imported mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, are crucial for enhancing crop yields, increasing income and supporting farmers’ livelihoods. However, limited access to this input, along with rising global fertilizer prices, has restricted farmers’ ability to fully benefit from them. Particularly due to the result of this, agricultural productivity has been constrained, affecting food security and farmer incomes. Key challenges • Fertilizer application rates, particularly for both mineral and organic types, remain below the recommended norms set by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). Farmers across the country, especially smallholders, struggle to apply adequate amounts of fertilizers due to high costs and limited access. • Access to high-quality mineral fertilizers is further hindered by the country’s dependency on imports, which can exacerbate local price volatility. • Fertilizer use varies across different regions of Tajikistan. In Khatlon and Sughd regions fertilizer use is higher, particularly for cotton and vegetable farming. However, in other regions fertilizer use remains comparatively low, limiting agricultural productivity. • While fertilizers are essential for improving crop yields, excessive or inefficient use can lead to environmental risks, including soil salinity and degradation. Careful management of fertilizer use is needed to prevent harm to biodiversity and soil ecosystems, particularly in regions with intensive farming, such as those producing cotton. Recommended actions • Promote training on organic fertilizer benefits and sustainable practices like composting. Support better manure management to increase organic fertilizer application. • Abolishing or reducing value added tax and import tariffs for fertilizers could make them more cost-effective and attainable for farmers. • Introduce targeted subsidies for mineral fertilizers to make fertilizers more affordable and accessible. • Promote efficient fertilizer use and broader sustainable practices like soil conservation and integrated pest management to ensure long-term productivity.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; Goibov, Manuchehr

Citation

Ashurov, Timur; Khakimov, Parviz; Aliev, Jovidon; and Goibov, Manuchehr. 2025. Use of fertilizers in agriculture sector of Tajikistan. Central Asia Policy Brief 19. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168662

Country/Region

Tajikistan

Keywords

Asia; Central Asia; Fertilizers; Agricultural Sector; Inorganic Fertilizers; Farmers; Crop Yield; Prices; Food Security; Income; Sustainability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Blogs

A changing landscape: Plots, crops, infrastructure, and livestock in the Khatlon Province
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 29, 2024

A changing landscape: Plots, crops, infrastructure, and livestock in the Khatlon Province

By Isabel Lambrecht, Sarah Pechtl, Kamiljon Akramov, Jovidon Aliev, and Parviz Khakimov

Evolving practices with potential impacts for nutrition.