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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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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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Development Strategies and Governance

Chibuzo Nwagboso

Research Analyst

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Bio

Chibuzo Nwagboso is a Research Analyst in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Abuja, Nigeria. Her work focuses on applied research and policy analysis in agriculture, nutrition, gender, and youth inclusion, using both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate issues related to the political economy of biotechnology, gender and youth, and food systems. Prior to joining IFPRI, Chibuzo worked as a researcher for Seven Star Consultants Limited, where she specialized in impact evaluations and development studies. She holds a master’s degree in International Business Economics from Coventry University. Chibuzo’s language skills include English and functional French.

Languages spoken: functional French, English

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Publications

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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

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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

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Brief

Navigating Nigeria’s food system challenges in the face of inflation and reform

2025Omamo, Steven Were; Andam, Kwaw S.; Balana, Bedru; Amare, Mulubrhan; Popoola, Olufemi; Nwagboso, Chibuzo
Details

Navigating Nigeria’s food system challenges in the face of inflation and reform

Main Messages: 1. Low-income households in both urban and rural areas are hardest hit by rising food prices. Post-reform (fuel subsidies removal and exchange rate liberalization) price shocks and persistent inflation have disproportionately affected poor urban and rural households, forcing them to reduce food consumption and dietary diversity. Malnutrition and food insecurity are on the rise, particularly among children and women-headed households, with sharpest impacts in conflict-affected areas. 2. Small-scale farmers are not benefiting proportionately from price increases. Despite surging food prices, small-scale farmers face escalating input costs, poor market access, and structural in-efficiencies that leave them with marginal gains far below the rate of inflation. 3. Trading networks maintain healthy margins, amplifying systemic inefficiencies. Traders and intermediaries dominate the food supply chain, passing on increased costs to consumers while pre-serving or even increasing their profit margins, highlighting inequities in the distribution of benefits along the value chain. 4. Recent economic reforms and external shocks exacerbate structural weaknesses. Economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and exchange rate adjustments, have amplified existing challenges in the food system, including high transport costs, inadequate infrastructure, and fragmented markets. 5. Policy interventions should protect vulnerable groups and strengthen local food systems. Addressing these disparities requires targeted safety nets for consumers, support for small-scale farmers, and systemic investments to reduce inefficiencies in the value chain while promoting cli-mate-resilient food systems.

Year published

2025

Authors

Omamo, Steven Were; Andam, Kwaw S.; Balana, Bedru; Amare, Mulubrhan; Popoola, Olufemi; Nwagboso, Chibuzo

Citation

Omamo, Steven Were; Andam, Kwaw S.; Balana, Bedru; Amare, Mulubrhan; Popoola, Olufemi; and Nwagboso, Chibuzo. 2025. Navigating Nigeria’s food system challenges in the face of inflation and reform. Policy Brief April 2025. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174326

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Economics; Food Systems; Households; Inflation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Project

Climate Resilience

Record type

Brief

Events

2025 Gender Conference: Accelerating Equality in Food, Land, and Water Systems
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

October 7 to 9, 2025

2025 Gender Conference: Accelerating Equality in Food, Land, and Water Systems

Join the CGIAR Accelerator Gender Equality & Inclusion, in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Western Cape Government, in Cape Town for the 2025 Gender Conference, a pivotal gathering at the intersection of gender equality and sustainable development. This year’s theme, “Accelerating Equality in Food, Land, and Water Systems,” highlights the urgent need […]