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

Kinya Kaibung’a

Kinya Kaibung’a is a Research Officer with the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Nairobi, Kenya. She has a keen interest in leveraging machine learning, AI, and other cutting-edge technologies to boost climate resilience and food security in smart agriculture systems.

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

Agrifood Innovation and Resilience

Upeksha Hettiarachchi

Research Analyst

Follow

Upeksha

at:

ORCiD

Bio

Upeksha Hettiarachchi is a Research Analyst at IFPRI in the Agrifood Innovation and Resilience Unit. Her background is in environmental economics and policy, and her research interests include ecosystem service valuation, nature-positive agricultural solutions, games for experiential learning, and natural resource governance. Before joining IFPRI, Upeksha worked for the Seychelles Islands Foundation at the Vallée de Mai UNESCO World Heritage site. She holds a BSc in Development and Economics from the University of London International Programmes and an MSc in Environmental Policy from Duke University, with a concentration in environmental economics.

Agrifood Innovation and Resilience

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Blog Post

Conservation and restoration actions in a multifunctional landscape: Lessons from Tunisia

2026Balana, Bedru; Frija, Aymen; Idoudi, Zied; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Zhang, Wei
Details

Conservation and restoration actions in a multifunctional landscape: Lessons from Tunisia

Key takeaways Multifunctional landscapes deliver food, income, and environmental gains together. Across four sites in northwestern Tunisia, treating land, water, agriculture, and ecosystems as one system improved soil, water, biodiversity, productivity, and incomes at once. There is no single template for success—many models work. Farmer-led innovation, community action, public forest management, and public-private partnership each succeed; choosing the right one depends on local land tenure and governance. Evidence drives adoption—yet the full value of these landscapes has yet to be documented. Measurement converts skeptics into investors. An IFPRI-ICARDA effort to evaluate ecosystem services across these sites aims to close that gap.

Year published

2026

Authors

Balana, Bedru; Frija, Aymen; Idoudi, Zied; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Zhang, Wei

Citation

Balana, Bedru; Frija, Aymen; Idoudi, Zied; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; and Zhang, Wei. 2026. Conservation and restoration actions in a multifunctional landscape: Lessons from Tunisia. IFPRI Blog Post. https://www.ifpri.org/blog/conservation-and-restoration-actions-in-a-multifunctional-landscape-lessons-from-tunisia/

Country/Region

Tunisia

Keywords

Africa; Northern Africa; Agricultural Production; Ecosystem Services; Biodiversity; Environment; Natural Resources; Resource Conservation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Blog Post

Resource thumbnail

Blog Post

Understanding soil health in practice: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme

2026Ghosh, Ritwick; Zhang, Wei; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Phillip, Francis; Nehring, Ryan
Details

Understanding soil health in practice: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme

Key takeaways -India’s Soil Health Card scheme has reached hundreds of millions of farmers but simplified soil health into a limited set of standardized measurements, a study shows. -Providing information alone was not enough to change farmer fertilizer practices or encourage widespread adoption of recommendations. -Stronger farmer engagement and local input are needed to make government-led soil health programs more effective.

Year published

2026

Authors

Ghosh, Ritwick; Zhang, Wei; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Phillip, Francis; Nehring, Ryan

Citation

Ghosh, Ritwick; Zhang, Wei; Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Phillip, Francis; and Nehring, Ryan. 2026. Understanding soil health in practice: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme. IFPRI Blog Post. https://www.ifpri.org/blog/understanding-soil-health-in-practice-insights-from-indias-soil-health-card-scheme/

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Soil Health; Agricultural Production; Environment; Natural Resources

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Blog Post

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Links between school meal programs and regenerative agriculture: Scoping literature review

2026Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Davis, Kristin E.; Einbinder, Aron; Gelli, Aulo
Details

Links between school meal programs and regenerative agriculture: Scoping literature review

School meal programs (SMPs) are among the largest public investments in child well-being worldwide, and they have untapped potential to act as levers for sustainable food systems transformation. This discussion paper provides an overview of evidence on linkages between regenerative agriculture and SMPs, and also presents a framework to guide future analytical work on integrating regenerative agriculture and SMPs for food systems transformation. We conducted a scoping review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA). The reviewed literature reveals a geographically diverse but uneven distribution of research on how SMPs incentivize regenerative agriculture. The review reports emerging evidence on the ability of SMPs to generate positive outcomes for livelihoods and community development. That evidence, however, is limited in scope as it is dominated by studies on Brazil’s SMP. Beyond Brazil, our review found no evidence that conclusively establishes a causal relationship between SMPs and the uptake of regenerative agriculture. Much of the literature focuses on smallholder procurement, organic production, or agroecological practices more broadly, with relatively few studies explicitly measuring regenerative outcomes such as soil health restoration, biodiversity gains, or carbon sequestration.

Year published

2026

Authors

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Davis, Kristin E.; Einbinder, Aron; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Hettiarachchi, Upeksha; Nehring, Ryan; Zhang, Wei; Davis, Kristin; Einbinder, Aron; and Gelli, Aulo. 2026. Links between school meal programs and regenerative agriculture: Scoping literature review. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2429. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183803

Country/Region

Brazil

Keywords

South America; School Feeding; Regenerative Agriculture; Environment; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Conservation and restoration actions in a multifunctional landscape: Lessons from Tunisia
Research Post
 | 
August 17, 2026

Conservation and restoration actions in a multifunctional landscape: Lessons from Tunisia

By Bedru Balana, Aymen Frija, Zied Idoudi, Upeksha Hettiarachchi, and Wei Zhang

Integrated approaches to land, water, agriculture, and ecosystems show success.

Understanding soil health in practice: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme
Research Post
 | 
August 10, 2026

Understanding soil health in practice: Insights from India’s Soil Health Card scheme

By Ritwick Ghosh, Wei Zhang, Upeksha Hettiarachchi, Francis Phillip, and Ryan Nehring

Effects of a top-down approach.

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs
Event Post
 | 
November 05, 2025

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs

By Kristin Davis, Upeksha Hettiarachchi, Ryan Nehring, Wei Zhang, Claudia Ringler, and Aulo Gelli

Linking sustainable farming practices to childhood nutrition.

View all Blogs

Events

Rooted in Biodiversity: Transforming Agriculture through Nature-Positive Solutions
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

December 11, 2025, 2:00 – 3:30 pm

Rooted in Biodiversity: Transforming Agriculture through Nature-Positive Solutions

Agriculture is both a major driver of biodiversity loss and a crucial part of the solution. This session will present research and evidence underpinning the forthcoming World Bank report Rooted: Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity, which identifies strategies and investment pathways to harness biodiversity for resilient agricultural systems. By showcasing sustainable practice bundles, the economics of […]