Oliver Kiptoo Kirui

Scaling up a promising program.

Mapping relationships in a devastating war.

Investigating how best to deliver aid.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, small-scale, resource-poor farmers are disproportionately affected by climatic and market shocks. Providing them with the tools and technologies to manage these shocks is critical to building resilience, especially in Nigeria, with its considerable diversity. This seminar will showcase novel evidence of how improved crop varieties, quality seed, and better seed systems can […]

The Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) is co-hosted by the Government of Japan, the United Nations, UNDP, the World Bank, and the African Union Commission and will take place in Yokohama, Japan, from August 20 to 22, 2025. The TICAD9 conference promotes African ownership and international partnership, bringing together heads of […]

The Sudan conflict, now entering its third year, continues to devastate the country’s socioeconomic fabric. As of January 2025, more than 8.8 million people were internally displaced, and over 3.3 million had sought refuge in neighboring countries. Conservative reports estimate over 32,000 fatalities occurred between the start of the war on April 15, 2023, and […]

This issue of BBC’s “Focus on Africa” looks at how the conflict in the Middle East is affecting the supply of fertilizer on the African continent–with insights from Oliver Kirui, IFPRI Research Fellow and Acting Country Program Leader for Nigeria and Ghana.

Countries in west and central Africa are facing a food crisis with multiple causes. Estimates in late December 2025 suggested that 41.8 million people were already in crisis or worse in October-December 2025.

The importance of understanding the political economy incentives that drive large-scale conflict.