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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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Samuel Benin

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Samuel Benin is a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating agrifood systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). Sam originally joined IFPRI in 2004 as a Research Fellow and Leader of the Uganda Strategy Support Program for the design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of key agricultural and rural development strategies. He has held various managerial and leadership positions at IFPRI including Acting Division Director of the Africa Regional Office from 2022 to 2024, Deputy Division Director of the Africa Regional Office from 2017 to 2022, manager of the Statistics on Public Expenditures for Economic Development (SPEED) database from 2015 to 2017, coordinator of the inter-Center Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) from 2010 to 2012, and leader of the research program on Pro-Poor Public Investment from 2006 to 2010. Prior to joining IFPRI, Sam worked with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as a post-doctoral scientist from 1999 to 2001 and an agricultural economist from 2001 to 2003. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Ghana, Legon, a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a PhD from the University of California, Davis, specializing in econometrics, natural resource economics, and development economics.

Publications

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Publications

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Book Chapter

Regional developments: Africa [in 2025 GFPR]

2025Ulimwengu, John M.; Omamo, Steven Were; Badiane, Ousmane; Benin, Samuel
Details

Regional developments: Africa [in 2025 GFPR]

Africa’s food systems have undergone significant transformations over the past four decades, with notable improvements in agricultural productivity and food security, but persistent challenges remain. This chapter examines how Africa’s agrifood policy landscape has evolved over time in response to complex challenges, including food insecurity, climate change, and socioeconomic disparities. It explores how IFPRI and other international organizations have offered research-based solutions to Africa’s development challenges, as well as underscoring the necessity of systemic, inclusive, and evidence-based approaches to address the agrifood system challenges projected for 2050. Book link: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174108

Year published

2025

Authors

Ulimwengu, John M.; Omamo, Steven Were; Badiane, Ousmane; Benin, Samuel

Citation

Ulimwengu, John M.; Omamo, Steven Were; Badiane, Ousmane; and Benin, Samuel. 2025. Regional developments: Africa. In Global food policy report 2025: Food policy: Lessons and priorities for a changing world, eds. Johan Swinnen and Christopher Barrett. Part Six: Regional Developments and Priorities, Chapter 19, Pp. 471-486. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/174355

Keywords

Africa; Resilience; Agrifood Systems; Inclusion; Caadp; Collaboration; Food Security; Agricultural Productivity; Poverty

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Book Chapter

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Brief

Conditional contracts in indirect local procurement of maize from smallholder farmers in Uganda: A study design to assess impacts

2025Raghunathan, Kalyani; Abate, Gashaw T.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Mukangabo, Emerence; Mugabo, Serge; Benin, Samuel
Details

Conditional contracts in indirect local procurement of maize from smallholder farmers in Uganda: A study design to assess impacts

Improving smallholder farmers’ access to reliable markets can have significant impacts on their wellbeing, income, poverty reduction, dietary diversity, and rural economic growth. As the choice of marketing channels may influence outcomes differently depending on the context, a key issue is understanding the effectiveness of different marketing instruments. One such modality is a conditional contract between a buyer and the traders supplying it. Such a contract requires traders to source a certain percentage of their supplies directly from smallholder farmers. This raises the question of whether conditional contracts create access to reliable markets for smallholder farmers, result in value chain transformation, and sustain market engagement between traders and smallholder farmers.

Year published

2025

Authors

Raghunathan, Kalyani; Abate, Gashaw T.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Mukangabo, Emerence; Mugabo, Serge; Benin, Samuel

Citation

Raghunathan, Kalyani; Abate, Gashaw T.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Mukangabo, Emerence; Mugabo, Serge; and Benin, Samuel. 2025. Conditional contracts in indirect local procurement of maize from smallholder farmers in Uganda: A study design to assess impacts. SFS4Youth Project Note 2. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/172818

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Contracts; Maize; Smallholders; Value Chains

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

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Working Paper

Making the CAADP BR forward looking: A decision support tool for transforming African agrifood systems

2024Benin, Samuel
Details

Making the CAADP BR forward looking: A decision support tool for transforming African agrifood systems

This paper presents an Excel-based interactive decision-support tool that policymakers and development practitioners can use to evaluate policy options to achieve targeted outcomes of the Malabo Declaration at the country level. The tool is based on a partial equilibrium simulation model that allows the user to simulate different scenarios based on the desired level of change in one outcome or more. For each scenario that is created, the simulated results provide information on the level of change required in each of the policies included in the model, the level of change in the other outcomes included in the model, and the allocation of the resources provided, including reallocation of some of the existing resources. A prototype of the tool that is developed using the fourth biennial review (BR) data on Ghana, which has some quality issues, is presented to demonstrate the potential features and utility of the tool. Limitations of the model and further work that is required to develop the actual tool for reliable policy evaluation are discussed. The latter includes using accurate data on the various indicators and expanding it to cover more years, in addition to developing a web-based interactive version of the tool.

Year published

2024

Authors

Benin, Samuel

Citation

Benin, Samuel. 2024. Making the CAADP BR forward looking: A decision support tool for transforming African agrifood systems. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2270. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/152192

Keywords

Africa; Caadp; Agrifood Systems; Decision Support; Policy Analysis; Public Expenditure

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Events

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week
IFPRI at External Event

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April 7 to 12, 2025

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week

When humanity has faced its greatest challenges, science and innovation have provided solutions. Today, major and connected global challenges threaten the sustainability of food, land, and water systems, with the most vulnerable people and communities at greatest risk. Recognizing the urgency of these challenges, CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) are […]

Extraordinary Summit on Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)
IFPRI at External Event

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January 9 to 11, 2025

Extraordinary Summit on Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)

IFPRI is pleased to participate in the Extraordinary Summit on Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), organized by the African Union Commission and hosted by the Government of Uganda on January 9 to 11, 2025. The summit will focus on adopting the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Acton Plan for 2026-2035. This […]

Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) 2023 Summit
IFPRI at External Event

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September 5 to 8, 2023

Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) 2023 Summit

Event: September 5, 2023 – 3:00 AM to September 8, 2023 – 7:30 AM EDT. IFPRI is participating in Africa’s Food Systems Forum (AGRF) 2023 Summit.

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