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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.

researcher spotlight

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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Where we work

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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country program

Nigeria Strategy Support Program

Vegetable seller at local market in Abuja A Nigerian man sells fresh vegetables at a market in the Nigerian capital of Abuja. IFPRI works with local partners to conduct research on improving the vegetable value chains.

country programs

Overview

The Nigeria Strategy Support Program (NSSP) Abuja Office of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) began its operation in 2007 supporting works for strengthening evidence-based policymaking in Nigeria in the areas of rural and agricultural development. IFPRI-NSSP works closely with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS formerly Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD) and supports the implementation of Nigeria’s national development plans by strengthening agricultural- sector policies and strategies. This is in addition to providing evidence-based research outputs to support and guide the development agenda of international development partners working to promote pro-poor policies in Nigeria.

The IFPRI-NSSP employs a participatory stakeholder approach to achieve these objectives through:

  • Enhanced knowledge, information, data, and tools for the analysis, design, and implementation of pro-poor, gender-sensitive, and environmentally sustainable agricultural and rural development polices and strategies in Nigeria;
  • Strengthened capacity for government agencies, research institutions, and other stakeholders to carry out and use applied research that directly informs agricultural and rural polices and strategies; and
  • Improved communication linkages and consultations between policymakers, policy analysts, and policy beneficiaries on agricultural and rural development policy issues.

To learn more, visit the IFPRI Nigeria website.

IFPRI Nigeria Website

Africa Regional Website

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Duration

2007 – Ongoing

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Conflict and agricultural inputs: Impacts on maize yields in Nigeria

2025Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.; Balana, Bedru; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; Omamo, Steven Were
Details

Conflict and agricultural inputs: Impacts on maize yields in Nigeria

While standard agronomic recommendations advocate for increased application of inorganic fertilizer to boost maize yields across sub-Saharan Africa, there is limited understanding of how violent conflict influences smallholder farmers’ fertilizer demand, yield responses, and the overall profitability of fertilizer use. This study addresses this gap by analyzing how exposure to conflict affects input use decisions and the economic returns to fertilizer among maize farmers in Nigeria. Using detailed household-level data and spatially referenced conflict events, we estimate maize yield response functions with respect to nitrogen application and assess the profitability of fertilizer under varying levels of conflict exposure. Our findings reveal three key results. First, the marginal physical product (MPP) of nitrogen is low across the study sample, indicating limited agronomic responsiveness. Second, conflict exposure significantly reduces the likelihood and intensity of fertilizer use, suggesting that insecurity constrains both input access and willingness to invest. Third, conflict lowers the MPP of nitrogen even further, thereby reducing the marginal value-cost ratio (MVCR) and undermining the profitability of fertilizer use. These results highlight the importance of considering conflict as a key external factor that distorts input-output relationships in agricultural production. Insecurity not only affects access to inputs through higher prices and disrupted supply chains, but also alters expected returns, making fertilizer investments less attractive for risk-averse farmers. Recognizing the effects of conflict on fertilizer use and yield response is essential for designing more effective input subsidy programs, targeting strategies, and resilience-building interventions in fragile agricultural systems.

Year published

2025

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.; Balana, Bedru; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; Omamo, Steven Were

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Andam, Kwaw S.; Balana, Bedru; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; and Omamo, Steven Were. 2025. Conflict and agricultural inputs: Impacts on maize yields in Nigeria. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2378. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178034

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Conflicts; Farm Inputs; Maize; Crop Yield; Fertilizer Application; Yield Response Factor

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

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Journal Article

Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries

2025Ragasa, Catherine; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Asante, Seth; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ma, Ning; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; Duchoslav, Jan
Details

Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries

Enhancing maize productivity growth is pivotal for revolutionizing the agrifood system in Africa, with inorganic fertilizer serving as a fundamental input for catalyzing this progress. However, concerns are mounting about the low and decreasing yield response and profitability of inorganic fertilizer use, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to refine yield response and profitability models by incorporating recent data from nationally representative and panel datasets spanning six countries. Most countries exhibited low nitrogen yield responsiveness (4–7 kg), while Ghana and Uganda showed higher responsiveness (15–20 kg) per additional 1 kg of nitrogen. Analysis of fertilizer-to-maize price ratios from 2010 to 2023 showed a downward trend, with spikes in 2022 in Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Overall, except for those years, the data suggest a trend of increasingly favorable price incentives for fertilizer use. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda experienced declines in the fertilizer-to-maize price ratio. Increasing inorganic fertilizer use would be profitable in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda at current market prices, but not in Malawi or Tanzania. Subsidies in Malawi and Tanzania have boosted profitability, but these may not be necessary in Ghana, Nigeria, or Uganda, which already have favorable price incentives; Malawi could benefit by substantially reducing its 80 percent subsidy while maintaining decent price incentives and farm profits. The paper proposes policy options based on factors influencing yield responsiveness and potential improvements drawn from new modeling and synthesis of the literature.

Year published

2025

Authors

Ragasa, Catherine; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Asante, Seth; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ma, Ning; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; Duchoslav, Jan

Citation

Ragasa, Catherine; Takeshima, Hiroyuki; Asante, Seth; Amare, Mulubrhan; Ma, Ning; Olanrewaju, Opeyemi; and Duchoslav, Jan. 2025. Maize yield responsiveness and profitability of fertilizer: New survey evidence from six African countries. Food Policy 133(May 2025): 102815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102815

Country/Region

Ghana; Uganda; Malawi; Nigeria; Ethiopia

Keywords

Tanzania; Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Maize; Agricultural Productivity; Agrifood Systems; Inorganic Fertilizers; Yields; Profitability; Data; Prices

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2025.102815 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Conflicts, crop choice, and agricultural investments: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

2025Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Berhane, Guush; Andam, Kwaw S.; Adeyanju, Dolapo
Details

Conflicts, crop choice, and agricultural investments: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

Conflict remains a major driver of poverty in Africa. Conflicts and political instability in the region have been increasing recently and are drawing more attention in public discourse. While it is widely acknowledged that conflicts disrupt agricultural production and food systems, the full extent of the damage inflicted on the lives and livelihoods of farming households and the mechanisms to redress this harm remain poorly understood. In particular, the link between violent conflicts and households’ land allocation and related agricultural investment decisions remains understudied. In this study, we use geocoded longitudinal data along with detailed agricultural panel household surveys in Nigeria to assess the impact of violent conflicts on crop choice decisions and related agricultural investments. Specifically, we explore how farmers’ land allocation and agricultural investment decisions relate or respond to the outbreak and intensity of violent conflicts. We find that violent conflicts are associated with a reduction in the share of both land area cultivated and area harvested. We also find suggestive evidence that violent conflicts may shape farmers’ crop choices and related investments, as violent conflicts are associated with reduction in the share of land allocated to long-term crops (e.g., perennial crops, trees, roots and tubers). Overall, our findings suggest that violent conflicts can negatively influence farmers’ agricultural investments directly by affecting both land utilization patterns and portfolio allocation across activities with varying returns to investments.

Year published

2025

Authors

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Berhane, Guush; Andam, Kwaw S.; Adeyanju, Dolapo

Citation

Amare, Mulubrhan; Abay, Kibrom A.; Berhane, Guush; Andam, Kwaw S.; and Adeyanju, Dolapo. 2025. Conflicts, crop choice, and agricultural investments: Empirical evidence from Nigeria. Land Use Policy 148(January 2025): 107391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107391

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Western Africa; Conflicts; Investment; Smallholders; Decision Making; Gender

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107391 Source record

Project

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Bridging the gap: Unlocking intermediary bottlenecks for small-scale irrigation through human-centered design in Nigeria
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 11, 2025

Bridging the gap: Unlocking intermediary bottlenecks for small-scale irrigation through human-centered design in Nigeria

By Bedru Balana, Augustine Iraoya, Abba Aminu, Musa T. Yakasai, and Claudia Ringler

Overcoming obstacles for farmers.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis presents threats to Nigeria’s food security, but potential opportunities for the fertilizer, energy sectors
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 09, 2022

The Russia-Ukraine crisis presents threats to Nigeria’s food security, but potential opportunities for the fertilizer, energy sectors

By Bedru Balana, Kwaw Andam, Mulubrhan Amare, Dolapo Adeyanju, and David Laborde

Problems for a country that imports 99% of its wheat.

Why Nigeria urgently needs to grow non-oil exports
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 10, 2018

Why Nigeria urgently needs to grow non-oil exports

By Channing Arndt, Adedeji Adeniran, Chuku Chuku, George Mavrotas, Morakinyo Adetutu, and Victor Ajayi

Continued low oil prices are putting unsustainable stresses on Nigeria's economy. Time to diversify.

View all Blogs

News

October 25, 2022 | In the News

Economic readiness vital in cushioning against effects of future pandemics (This Day Live)

This Day Live (Nigeria) cites an IFPRI Nigeria report in its post about the importance of economic readiness in cushioning against the effects of future pandemics.   IFPRI reported that cause of the lockdown measures necessitated by the pandemic, Nigeria’s GDP plunged to 34.1 percent which translates to USD 16 billion with two-thirds of this loss coming in […]

October 14, 2022 | In the News

Nigerian fried rice is a fresh take on a classic dish (Tasting Table) 

Tasting Table published an article extolling the great taste of Nigerian fried rice. According to IFPRI, rice is an integral part of the Nigerian diet. (See the book chapter, Rice in the Nigerian economy and agricultural policies. Jollof rice and coconut rice are everyday mealtime staples for the country, but Nigerian fried rice is a […]

August 31, 2022 | In the News

Food security: FG launches policy to boost agriculture production (News Agency of Nigeria [NAN]) 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) produced a video on the Agriculture Technology and Innovation Policy launch. The Policy has ten thematic areas including synergy and MDA alignment; livestock development; knowledge creation, and transfer; rapid mechanization; revitalization of extension service delivery; strengthening value-chains for priority crops; fisheries, and development of marine resources. The project runs through […]

View all News

Events

Developing Evidence for Agricultural and Rural Development Policies and Strategies in Nigeria
May 20 to 21, 2009

Developing Evidence for Agricultural and Rural Development Policies and Strategies in Nigeria

Abstract​ The APSF Stakeholder Workshop convened policymakers, farmer organizations, donors, development partners, and members of the research community to learn about research findings on Nigeria’s agricultural development and to discuss future directions for the program. APSF is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and implemented by IFPRI’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (NSSP), and works […]

Team members

Kwaw Andam

Kwaw Andam

Country Program Leader / Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Kwaw Andam

Kwaw Andam

Country Program Leader / Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Paul Dorosh

Paul Dorosh

Research Fellow Emeritus, Director
General's Office (DGO)

Xinshen Diao

Xinshen Diao

Senior Research Fellow, Foresight and Policy Modeling, Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Suresh Babu

Suresh Babu

Research Fellow Emeritus, Director
General's Office (DGO)

Olivier Ecker

Olivier Ecker

Senior Research Fellow, Foresight
and Policy Modeling

Mulubrhan Amare

Mulubrhan Amare

Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Bedru Balana

Bedru Balana

Research Fellow and Acting Program Leader, Nigeria , Natural
Resources and Resilience

Hyacinth Edeh

Hyacinth Edeh

Country Program Manager, Development
Strategies and Governance

The Programs

  • Kutubdia Island in the Bay of Bengal

    Bangladesh Policy Research and Strategy Support Program

    Improving food and nutrition security is of paramount concern to millions in Bangladesh.

  • Wuxi, the fast growing city that was formerly known as White Horse Village.

    China Strategy Support Program

    Supports joint research & capacity strengthening as well as policy dialogues & communication to improve policymaking.

  • Farm land in Giza in Egypt

    Egypt Strategy Support Program

    Egypt SSP's main objective is to raise incomes of the rural poor and to improve food and nutrition security in Egypt.

  • Gayo village, Ethiopia

    Ethiopia Strategy Support Program

    ESSP is a collaborative program undertaken by IFPRI and the Ethiopian Development Research Institute (EDRI)

  • amevi-wisdom-wiul_nyafcy-unsplash

    Ghana Strategy Support Program

    Conduct research & advise on policy to support agricultural growth, rural development & economic transformation.

  • Local vendors selling vegetables at a market in Kenya,Africa

    Kenya Strategy Support Program

    KSSP is a policy research, capacity strengthening and policy communication program with the main objectives to accelerate poverty reduction and to improve food security.

  • Mitundu Market, Lilongwe, Malawi

    Malawi Strategy Support Program

    This project facilitates and promotes evidence-based dialogue and decision-making in support of agricultural development, food security, and economic growth in Malawi.

  • Country program Myanmar

    Myanmar Strategy Support Program

    The project supports agricultural transformation and other development policy goals by enhancing national technical, institutional, and policy analysis capacities.

  • Nigeria Strategy Support Program

    NSSP responds to the research, analysis, and capacity needs of stakeholders in the Nigerian agricultural research and policy community.

  • Papua New Guinea Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Policy Support Program

    The Papua New Guinea Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Policy Support Program (PNG-AFNP) is an initiative aligned with the Government of Papua New Guinea’s vision to revitalize and transform its agricultural sector to improve economic opportunities, livelihoods, and food security.

  • Fertile field at sunset in the countryside (Rwanda/ Africa)

    Rwanda Strategy Support Program

    Rwanda SSP is an initiative aligned with the Government of Rwanda’s vision to accelerate agricultural transformation and rural development in Rwanda.

  • A sunset view of river Nile in Khartoum, Sudan

    Sudan Strategy Support Program

    The Sudan Country Strategy Support Program (CSSP), with key team members based in Khartoum, can provide needed analytical support to the Government of Sudan, local and international partners.