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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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Natural Resources and Resilience

Wei Zhang

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Wei Zhang is a Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead on Ecosystem Health and Biodiversity in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). She is the co-lead of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems (Mitigate+) and leader of Work Package on Living Labs for People (2022-2024). Wei conducts policy-relevant research on the intersection between agriculture, development, nature/environment, and climate change. Her research interests include the economics and behavior of ecosystem service management and biodiversity conservation, natural resource governance, nature-based/nature-positive solutions, participatory action research, and behavioral experiments (games) for experiential learning, with gender and climate change as cross-cutting issues. Wei has extensive experience leading and implementing multidisciplinary research projects in Africa, South Asia, East and Southeastern Asia, and Latin America, and supporting national partners in capacity strengthening. She has also contributed to global research initiatives, such as TEEB for Agriculture and Food, and working groups, such as SESYNC and SNAPP.

Prior to joining IFPRI, Wei worked in the Environment Department, the World Bank, on payment for environmental services. Wei earned a PhD in Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University with a specialization in Environmental and Resource Economics. She has an MA in Community Development and Applied Economics from the University of Vermont and a BA in International Economics from Renmin University of China.

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Publications

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Data Paper

Experiential learning for groundwater governance in India study data

2025
Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Sanil, Richu; Duche, Vishwambhar; ElDidi, Hagar; Kosec, Katrina; Zhang, Wei; Melesse, Mequanint B.; Carrillo, Lucia
…more Ferguson, Nathaniel; Shastri, Seema Vigneshwar; Reddy, Hemalatha; Foundation for Ecological Security Team
Details

Experiential learning for groundwater governance in India study data

This data article presents a dataset developed to support a rigorous impact assessment of an experiential learning intervention aimed at enhancing groundwater governance and agricultural water management in rural Indian communities. The intervention combined collective action games, participatory planning tools, and community debriefings to promote behavioral shifts toward sustainable groundwater and surface water management. These tools are designed to support informed decision-making, foster collective action, and strengthen governance of water as a common resource. The impact evaluation follows a randomized control trial design, incorporating baseline and follow-up data from both treatment and control habitations. The dataset encompasses behavioral, social, and institutional variables collected through individual surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The intervention and data collection took place in four districts across three Indian states, targeting communities heavily dependent on groundwater. Baseline data were gathered between November 2021 and February 2022, prior to intervention implementation, with follow-up data collected from January to June 2023. The data was collected by local trained enumerators to test the scalability of the approach. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling from a purposively defined sample frame, reflecting groundwater reliance and socioeconomic diversity. The resulting dataset comprises anonymized, structured files detailing demographic, social, agricultural, and water governance information across all study groups. The dataset’s multi-layered structure and detailed documentation enable a wide range of reuse opportunities, including replication of previous analyses, in-depth exploration of behavioral and institutional dynamics, and the advancement of novel methodological approaches in water governance research. It supports diverse research needs spanning cross-regional comparisons and policy evaluations.

Year published

2025

Authors

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Sanil, Richu; Duche, Vishwambhar; ElDidi, Hagar; Kosec, Katrina; Zhang, Wei; Melesse, Mequanint B.; Carrillo, Lucia; Ferguson, Nathaniel; Shastri, Seema Vigneshwar; Reddy, Hemalatha; Foundation for Ecological Security Team

Citation

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth S.; Falk, Thomas; Priyadarshini, Pratiti; Sanil, Richu; Duche, Vishwambhar; et al. 2025. Experiential learning for groundwater governance in India study data. IFPRI Data Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177557

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Experiential Learning; Groundwater; Groundwater Management; Natural Resources; Water Resources

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Data Paper

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Journal Article

Unlock genotype-environment-management interaction via field phenotypic insights for multi-scale prediction of winter rapeseed flowering in the Yangtze River Basin

2025Wang, Chufeng; Zhang, Jian; Kuai, Jie; Wu, Wei; Hua, Shuijin; Yan, Mingli; Du, Hai; Ma, Ni; You, Liangzhi
Details

Unlock genotype-environment-management interaction via field phenotypic insights for multi-scale prediction of winter rapeseed flowering in the Yangtze River Basin

Crop yields are significantly impacted by adverse climatic events during flowering. Accurately predicting flowering periods is crucial for optimizing strategies to enhance crop yields. Previous studies used crop models to predict flowering periods, challenging due to limited sowing date data and generalizability across different cultivars and environment. In this study, plot experiments and high-throughput field phenotypes were coupled to determine the impact of genotype–environment–management interaction (G × E × M) on the flowering period of winter rapeseed in the Yangtze River Basin. The findings indicated that the pre-winter leaf area index adeptly indicated the impact of sowing dates on flowering period. The leaf color during winter distinguished the genotype effects, and the cumulative temperature between 50 and 60 days after the winter solstice (WS) was identified as the pivotal climate factor. The predictive indicators for the flowering period were referenced to the time point of the WS, alleviating the constraints of uncertain sowing dates. A combination of these indicators could be used to predict the flowering period in 24 winter rapeseed cultivars with an error of < 4 days at experimental plots across the Yangtze River Basin. Notably, the accuracy of flowering prediction model was validated on an actual farmland in Jingzhou City, aligning well with the observed flowering dynamics from satellite data. To extend the utility of the model to regional scales, distribution maps of the flowering period were generated using a linear regression model that correlated post-winter cumulative temperature with the flowering period, considering a 2.0 °C warming level by 2050 across the entire Yangtze River Basin. Results show higher temperatures or lower cumulative solar radiation during the flowering period will appear in many regions in the Yangtze River Basin. The findings of this study hold promise for aiding region-specific crop cultivation and breeding in the future.

Year published

2025

Authors

Wang, Chufeng; Zhang, Jian; Kuai, Jie; Wu, Wei; Hua, Shuijin; Yan, Mingli; Du, Hai; Ma, Ni; You, Liangzhi

Citation

Wang, Chufeng; Zhang, Jian; Kuai, Jie; Xie, Jing; Wu, Wei; Hua, Shuijin; et al. 2025. Unlock genotype-environment-management interaction via field phenotypic insights for multi-scale prediction of winter rapeseed flowering in the Yangtze River Basin. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 374: 110788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110788

Country/Region

China

Keywords

Asia; Eastern Asia; Rapeseed; Crop Yield; Flowering Time; Genotype-environment Interaction; Forecasting

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110788 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

A good global investment for the United States: How investing in CGIAR makes America stronger, safer and more prosperous

2025
Hill, Ruth Vargas; McNamara, Brian; Ringler, Claudia; Spielman, David J.; Thurlow, James; Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Chambers, Judith A.; Falck-Zepeda, José B.; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Glauber, Joseph W.
…more Hernandez, Manuel A.; Headey, Derek D.; Hoffmann, Vivian; Kosec, Katrina; Martin, Will; Nia, Reza; Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; Piñeiro, Valeria; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Vos, Rob; Zambrano, Patricia; Zhang, Wei
Details

A good global investment for the United States: How investing in CGIAR makes America stronger, safer and more prosperous

This report documents how CGIAR investments have delivered substantial economic, security, and diplomatic benefits for the U.S. that far exceed financial contributions. By driving agricultural innovation and providing evidence-based insights, CGIAR has boosted U.S. farm productivity, expanded export markets, and made food more affordable for American consumers. It has also helped prevent billions of dollars in potential damage from pests and diseases that threaten U.S. food security and farm livelihoods. CGIAR promotes American leadership in agricultural innovation by supplying the majority of the genetic materials used in U.S. crop breeding and acting as a critical research partner for U.S. businesses and universities. CGIAR also makes America safer and stronger through its work on predicting crises, protecting food security, and on improving livelihoods as an alternative to migration.

Year published

2025

Authors

Hill, Ruth Vargas; McNamara, Brian; Ringler, Claudia; Spielman, David J.; Thurlow, James; Berrospi, Maria Lucia; Chambers, Judith A.; Falck-Zepeda, José B.; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Glauber, Joseph W.; Hernandez, Manuel A.; Headey, Derek D.; Hoffmann, Vivian; Kosec, Katrina; Martin, Will; Nia, Reza; Nin-Pratt, Alejandro; Piñeiro, Valeria; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Vos, Rob; Zambrano, Patricia; Zhang, Wei

Citation

Hill, Ruth; McNamara, Brian; Ringler, Claudia; Spielman, David; Thurlow, James; Berrospi, Maria Lucia; et al. 2025. A good global investment for the United States: How investing in CGIAR makes America stronger, safer and more prosperous. IFPRI Working Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/176753

Country/Region

United States

Keywords

Americas; Northern America; Economic Aspects; Finance; Agricultural Innovation; Exports; Markets; Food Security; Research

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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 […]

IFPRI @ CGIAR Science Week
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

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 […]

Against the grain: Could farmers feed the world and heal the planet?
Series/Special Event

 | 

August 27, 2024, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Against the grain: Could farmers feed the world and heal the planet?

Humanity relies on agriculture to provide nourishment, yet there is an urgent need to reduce the agricultural sector’s environmental footprint. Meeting these two goals is crucial for both people and the planet to thrive. Please join us for a conversation featuring Roger Thurow, award-winning author and journalist, whose recently released book argues it is possible […]

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News

April 10, 2025 | Press Release

IFPRI’s Wei Zhang appointed to the prestigious NASEM ad-hoc study committee on the status of insects in North America

IFPRI’s Wei Zhang will participate in the NASEM study that will assess trends in insect abundance, identify research priorities, and recommend actions to slow insect declines in the most vulnerable and ecologically critical areas.

November 11, 2019 | In the News

Diversification promotes sustainable development of agriculture

ScienceNet (China) reported on an international research team of more than 100 experts including IFPRI researchers who confirmed the benefits of biodiversity for agricultural development. Senior Research Fellow Wei Zhang explained that different relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services are determined by the relative importance of species & how they complement each other, the abundance […]

March 06, 2019 | In the News

Act fast to halt the declining insect numbers (SciDev)

Wei Zhang explains how and why researchers, development practitioners, and policy makers should act to stop dramatically declining insect numbers and protect natural habitats.

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