Subscribe

Back

Who we are

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.

researcher spotlight

Lilia Bliznashka

Lily Bliznashka is a Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit. Her research focuses on assessing the effectiveness of multi-input nutrition-sensitive and nutrition-specific interventions and the mechanisms through which they work to improve maternal and child health and nutrition globally. She has worked in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Back

What we do

Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

Research topics

Projects and impact

Food Security Portal

Modeling tools

What’s new

Where we work

Back

Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 480 employees working in over 70 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country and Regional Offices

Research by country and region

Subscribe

experts

Development Strategies and Governance

Maram Darwish

Senior Research Assistant

Maram Darwish

Bio

Maram Darwish is a Senior Research Assistant with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, and is based at IFPRI-Cairo.

Development Strategies and Governance

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Brief

Solar powered drip irrigation: Lessons learned from an impact evaluation in Yemen

2025Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Kurdi, Sikandra; Yamauchi, Futoshi
Details

Solar powered drip irrigation: Lessons learned from an impact evaluation in Yemen

This policy note summarizes findings from a clustered randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in eastern Yemen to assess the impacts of subsidized solar powered drip irrigation systems on smallholder farmers’ production decisions and household food security. The study provides causal evidence on how subsidizing solar drip irrigation for smallholders affects crop choice, market engagement, and welfare outcomes in a fragile, water-scarce context. The intervention led to a significant shift in cropping patterns, with treated farmers becoming less likely to cultivate cereals and more likely to grow higher-value horticultural crops. Treated households also sold a greater share of their harvest in markets during the first season following installation, suggesting increased commercialization. However, the study did not detect significant short-term impacts on household food security, indicating that production changes did not immediately translate into improved consumption outcomes.

Year published

2025

Authors

Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Kurdi, Sikandra; Yamauchi, Futoshi

Citation

Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Kurdi, Sikandra; and Yamauchi, Futoshi. 2025. Solar powered drip irrigation: Lessons learned from an impact evaluation in Yemen. MENA Policy Note. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179369

Country/Region

Yemen

Keywords

Western Asia; Middle East; Climate Change Adaptation; Solar Energy; Irrigation; Evaluation; Solar Powered Irrigation Systems; Trickle Irrigation; Groundwater Irrigation; Irrigation Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Impact evaluation of a solar powered drip irrigation intervention in eastern Yemen

2025Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Kurdi, Sikandra; Yamauchi, Futoshi
Details

Impact evaluation of a solar powered drip irrigation intervention in eastern Yemen

Groundwater irrigation supports agricultural production and local food security in arid regions, however costs and accessibility of fuel for pumping are a challenge in conflict-affected contexts. Solar-powered drip irrigation technology can support smallholder farmers in such settings. In this study we estimated the impacts of subsidized solar-powered drip irrigation systems on smallholder farmers’ production decisions and household food security via a clustered randomized control trial in eastern Yemen. We found that farmers in the treatment group were significantly less likely to cultivate cereals, more likely to cultivate horticultural crops, and more likely to sell a higher share of their harvests at market during the first season post‑intervention. These results provide causal evidence on the impact of solar drip irrigation systems on shifting smallholder farmers’ crop production toward higher-value crops. We did not find significant impacts on household food security within the short-term post-intervention period that the analysis covered. These findings also provide preliminary support for investments in solar and drip irrigation technology in Yemen, while acknowledging that more research is needed to address potential negative externalities.

Year published

2025

Authors

Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Kurdi, Sikandra; Yamauchi, Futoshi

Citation

Jovanovic, Nina; Darwish, Maram; Kurdi, Sikandra; and Yamauchi, Futoshi. 2025. Impact evaluation of a solar powered drip irrigation intervention in eastern Yemen. MENA Working Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179397

Country/Region

Yemen

Keywords

Middle East; Impact Assessment; Irrigation; Solar Powered Irrigation Systems; Trickle Irrigation; Groundwater Irrigation; Smallholders; Irrigation Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Small and medium enterprise development for climate adaptation and an inclusive food system in Egypt

2025Steinhuebel-Rasheed, Linda; Darwish, Maram; Ecker, Olivier
Details

Small and medium enterprise development for climate adaptation and an inclusive food system in Egypt

Rural households in many low- and middle-income countries remain highly dependent on agriculture and related value chain activities, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. As rising temperatures and increasing climate variability reduce agricultural productivity and income stability, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly promoted as a path toward rural development and the transformation of the agrifood systems (AFS). Yet, little is known about whether climate change influences rural households’ decision to start an enterprise to diversify or switch their income sources away from agriculture-related activities in order to adapt to weather risks. We address this research gap by drawing from nationally representative data from the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2023 and estimating a dynamic duration model to explore how heat stress is linked to households’ likelihood to start a (nonfarm) SME. Our findings offer new evidence for climate-responsive rural policy and SME support strategies in vulnerable regions.

Year published

2025

Authors

Steinhuebel-Rasheed, Linda; Darwish, Maram; Ecker, Olivier

Citation

Steinhuebel-Rasheed, Linda; Darwish, Maram; and Ecker, Olivier. 2025. Small and medium enterprise development for climate adaptation and an inclusive food system in Egypt. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2400. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180550

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Small and Medium Enterprises; Development; Climate Change; Climate Change Adaptation; Food Systems; Agrifood Systems; Heat Stress; Dynamic Models; Modelling

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Events

Fisheries for Economic Recovery and Food Security in Yemen
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

May 20, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am

Fisheries for Economic Recovery and Food Security in Yemen

Fisheries in Yemen have suffered from years of conflict, underinvestment, weak regulations, and high fuel prices. Fish production has fallen by an estimated 40 percent from its peak in 2004. Before the recent conflict, fisheries were Yemen’s second-largest export sector and an important contributor to national GDP and foreign revenue earnings. Given rich fish resources […]