IFPRI Publications: Journal Articles

Hcropland30: A hybrid 30-m global cropland map generated by leveraging global land cover products and Landsat data via deep learning

Collecting Holistic Evidence on Agroecology Performance to Accelerate Sustainable Food System Transitions

A growing body of research shows the potential of agroecology for enabling a shift to planet-friendly and socially just agrifood systems through context-specific transition pathways. We conduct a scoping review to identify and evaluate the potential of 42 existing agroecology adherence and/or agricultural performance assessment tools to generate credible, legitimate, salient and transferable evidence to inform these transitions. Results show that while multiple relevant tools exist, each of them can be strengthened in at least one area. While most tools are transferable (low time and resource requirements) and have legitimacy (open access with transparent methods), tools have variable saliency (holistic scope inclusive of local priorities) and credibility (use scientific design principles and quality assurance processes). For a subset of 11 tools collecting multidimensional performance data, analysis of 263 identified indicators showed there is a bias towards economic measures (notably income, yield, and resilience), while certain social (e.g. land tenure, traditional knowledge retention) and environmental (e.g. climate mitigation) aspects are regularly overlooked. Through a multidisciplinary process engaging experts across 8 countries, we develop a Holistic Localized Performance Assessment for agroecology (HOLPA) framework that integrates and builds on positive features of existing multidimensional agroecology performance assessments tools and overcomes key limitations. The HOLPA framework for analysis, agroecology indicators, key performance indicators, and low-cost localization process can be used to strengthen agroecology performance assessments, empowering landscape actors to identify evidence-based pathways towards agrifood systems where both people and nature can thrive.

The gendered effects of rainfall shocks on stunting: Evidence from Papua New Guinea

Rainfall fluctuations significantly reduce welfare for poor rural households in low- and middle-income countries dependent on rainfed agriculture for consumption, and the effects of these shocks can be borne disproportionately by vulnerable household members, particularly children and girls. We present new evidence around the effects of rainfall fluctuations on child anthropometric status in Papua New Guinea, an understudied context characterized by some of the highest stunting rates in the world. We show that negative fluctuations in rainfall within the first 12 months of life lead to a reduction in height-for-age and weight-for-age (though not stunting), but this effect is observed only for girls.

A robust spectral-temporal index for cross-regional mapping of plastic-mulched farmland using decametric-resolution images

Familiar strangers: The role of diaspora networks in foreign investment and long-run development

Trends, determinants, and anthropometric consequences of low birthweight in Indian children: A prospective analysis of national data

Background Low birthweight (LBW) is a major concern for child survival and growth, and India accounts for the highest number of such cases globally. Studies have examined determinants of birthweight and child growth but little evidence exists on how birthweight influences growth outcomes during early childhood. This paper examines associations between maternal, household, and health-related factors, LBW, and growth faltering, and explores childhood growth trajectories across birthweight groups. Methods Data from three waves of India’s National Family Health Survey were used to examine heaping-adjusted trends and predictors of LBW. Regression-based decomposition was used to quantify the way in which changes in predictors could reduce future LBW prevalence. Trajectories of childhood anthropometry by LBW status and determinants were examined by using smoothing and regression methods. Results The LBW prevalence between 2000 and 2020 was 20% (unadjusted) and 40% (heaping-adjusted). Improvements in maternal stature, weight, household wealth, and antenatal care coverage could yield the largest future reductions in LBW. Children born with LBW had 1.5 times higher odds of being underweight and 1.3 times higher odds of stunting. Maternal short stature, underweight, and poverty were associated with higher odds of subsequent anthropometric faltering regardless of LBW. Conclusion Findings show the dominant role of maternal nutrition in birthweight and childhood growth outcomes. Once a child is born with LBW, there is limited potential to prevent subsequent anthropometric failure. To break the intergenerational cycle of undernutrition, programs must prioritize improved nutrition for girls beginning early in life and sustained through adolescence and preconception.

Healthier diets: A global economic modelling study of income and employment impacts across regions

Interest has grown in how to achieve healthy, sustainable, and affordable human diets. The potential income and employment effects of a transition towards healthier diets have received much less attention. We simulate aggregate and sectoral income and employment for business-as-usual and healthier diets for all geographic regions up to 2050 using scenario-based modelling. These healthier diets can increase food’s share of household expenditure in some regions, for example from 18% to 25% in East and Central Africa in 2050. Our results suggest that a global shift towards healthier diets leads to a reallocation of primary factors of production, especially low-skilled labour and capital, from non-agricultural sectors to crop agriculture in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Notably, in 2050, with healthier diets, agriculture’s share of low-skilled labour increases by 3.2 percentage points in East and Central Africa and 1.5 percentage points in South Asia excluding India. Although Gross Domestic Product increases in these regions relative to business-as-usual, this reallocation raises agriculture’s share of Gross Domestic Product, consistent with a slower pace of long-run structural transformation. The reallocation leads to a mild increase in wages for low-skilled workers relative to high-skilled workers in most of these regions, compared to business-as-usual. However, in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, food price increases outweigh wage gains for low-skilled labour, reducing real purchasing power. Policies that encourage healthier diets may also alter income and employment and reduce economic welfare of poor populations in some regions, so care is needed in policy design to avoid adverse unintended consequences.

The state of global food insecurity measurement: A mix of methods, and a mix of messages

Robust food insecurity indicators are needed for monitoring development targets, emergency responses, and rationally allocating foreign aid. For decades, global food security monitoring relied on the FAO’s prevalence of undernourishment, but this indicator’s fundamental limitations led the FAO to develop the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and adopt the unaffordability of the healthy diet. In parallel, The World Bank monitors monetary poverty, arguably a food insecurity indicator in its own right. In this study we assess whether this larger suite of indicators agrees on: (a) which countries are most food insecure; and (b) whether global food insecurity is really deteriorating. Unfortunately, this new mix of methods produces mixed messages. Longstanding criticisms of the prevalence of undernourishment still apply, while rising undernourishment in the past decade is driven by modelled increases in calorie inequality that are inconsistent with income inequality trends. The FIES fares no better: severe FIES food insecurity is higher in several Latin American and Caribbean countries than in extremely food-insecure African countries such as Niger. The World Bank’s poverty and healthy diet affordability monitoring efforts are significantly constrained by systematically fewer household surveys in poorer and more crisis-affected countries. How can this situation be improved? First, experience-based indicators need to be more rigorously evaluated for cross-cultural comparability, and alternatives need to be considered. Second, international agencies and national governments should pool resources to implement coordinated, high-frequency, multi-purpose surveys – focusing on poor and crisis-affected countries – to jointly monitor food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition, as well as their root causes.

Food systems policy coherence: A ten-country assessment

Policy coherence is widely recognised as essential for achieving food systems transformation, but attempts to assess food systems policy coherence have been limited to date in terms of their scope of topics and geographies and lack of comparable methods. This paper introduces the Food Systems Policy Coherence (FSPC) Diagnostic Tool and uses it to analyse food systems policy coherence across 10 low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia through key informant interviews (n = 189) and review of policy documents (n = 808). The FSPC Diagnostic Tool considers two aspects of policy coherence: (1) the structures and mechanisms that may contribute to achieving stronger policy process coherence and (2) coherence between policies from six sectors and ten common food systems goals. Regarding the former, all countries analysed had strong framework documents for cross-sectoral food policy, backed by high-level political commitment, but they tended to be much weaker when it came to capacity for implementation and especially monitoring and accountability. Policy coherence across sectors was generally strong for the goals of climate change adaptation and social protection but weaker for goals of healthy diets for all, adequate wages for food system workers, and climate change mitigation through food systems. Trade policy was the policy area with the greatest incoherence with a diverse range of food systems goals. The results offer the most comprehensive analysis of food systems policy coherence to date. The tool makes a useful contribution to measuring policy coherence and can serve as both a foundation for future research and enhance accountability for achieving coherent policy outcomes.

Interpersonal communication and maternal behavioral practice: A case study of explanatory causal machine learning in Nepal

Background There is increasing interest not only in whether a program produced impacts but also the mechanisms through which the impacts were produced. Studies of nutrition interventions have frequently highlighted the role of nutrition education interventions, but few studies have investigated the paths through which those interventions achieve impact. Objectives We assessed the total effect of maternal exposure to interpersonal communication with a frontline worker on behavioral practice and the degree to which that effect operated through 2 key pathways: improved awareness and knowledge. We also conducted a comparative case study examining the differences between machine learning (ML) and structural equation model (SEM) approaches. Methods We used data from the endline cross-sectional survey of the quasi-experimental Suaahara study of 2040 mothers with a child less than 2 years of age. We estimated the total effect of maternal exposure to interpersonal communication with a frontline worker on her nutrition-related practices and the indirect effects through improvements in awareness and knowledge using ML and conventional SEMs. Models were adjusted for household, child, and maternal factors as well as household location. Results Maternal exposure to interpersonal communication with a frontline worker translated into practicing more of the ideal, promoted nutrition-related practices. Both methods suggested a similar total effect—ML: 0.58 (95% CI: 0.37, 0.78) and SEM: 0.60 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.72). ML models, however, attributed a much larger proportion of that total effect to indirect effects operating through awareness and knowledge (ML: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.33; SEMs: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.21). Conclusions Interpersonal communication improved nutrition-related practices, in part due to increasing one’s awareness and knowledge. The disparities in results between ML and SEMs suggested that the production of effects is a more complex, nonlinear or interactive function of awareness, knowledge, treatment and covariates than what is captured by simple linear models.

Diets, fruit and vegetable intake, and nutritional status in Benin, Fiji, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania: Foreword

Improving diets can improve nutrition and health outcomes. In this supplement, evidence from five low-and-middle-income countries on the country specific dietary (including F&V) intake patterns, nutrition issues and evaluated solutions to improve diets across population groups is presented. Based on this evidence, the final paper offers perspectives and future priorities.

Perceived challenges and solutions to adopting healthy diets among women and children: A photovoice study in urban Ethiopia

Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of undernutrition among children under five (U5) and women of reproductive age (WRA) globally, alongside rising overweight/obesity, particularly in urban areas. Poor diet is a shared driver of multiple forms of malnutrition. We used a participatory photography (Photovoice) approach to explore the lived experiences of WRA and their children U5 in adopting healthy diets across lower- and higher- socio-economic status (SES) groups in Addis Ababa. Women took photographs illustrating challenges to healthy diets, and five focus groups (n = 31 women) were conducted to discuss challenges and solutions, with separate sessions held for different SES groups. A hybrid thematic analysis, combining deductive and inductive approaches, identified themes/subthemes, with comparisons across SES groups. Financial and physical barriers to accessing healthy foods, time constraints and perceived poor food safety were major contributors to poor diets. In lower SES groups, women also reported limited knowledge about healthy diets, inadequate family support and poor home food environments. In higher SES groups, unhealthy food preferences coupled with easy access to and aggressive promotion of unhealthy foods were key challenges. Proposed government-level solutions included job creation, nutrition education, affordable healthy food, investment in household infrastructure, expanded childcare and restrictions on unhealthy food availability and promotion. Societal-level solutions included gender equality, strengthened community-based loan schemes and support for urban agriculture. These findings highlight that women recognise their needs and who should support them, and emphasise the importance of including women’s voices in decision-making processes. Findings also underscore the need for integrated interventions targeting individual, food environment and socio-economic drivers to improve diets among women and children in urban Ethiopia.

Urbanicity and the diets and nutritional status of adolescents and their mothers in Vietnam

Background Urbanization catalyzes significant shifts in diets worldwide, yet its impact on adolescent diets and nutrition is poorly understood. Objectives We examined the association between urbanicity and diets and nutritional status among Vietnamese adolescents and their mothers. Methods We assessed diets using a multipass 24-h recall (15% repeated) and collected anthropometric data from 2861 adolescents and their mothers (n = 2664) in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. We calculated the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS: total 0–49; healthy: 0–32; unhealthy: 0–17) and risk categories. We estimated usual intakes (National Cancer Institute’s method) and the mean probability of adequacy (MPA) for 11 micronutrients. We compared outcomes across areas using regression models adjusted for school-level clustering. Results GDQS healthy was higher in the urban area (adolescents 7.5, mothers 9.5) than in the rural area (6.6 and 7.7). GDQS unhealthy was comparable across areas (∼11 in adolescents and mothers). Adolescent and maternal diets in the rural area were most likely to fall in the GDQS high-risk category for nutrient inadequacy and non-communicable diseases(23% and 11%). MPA was low across all areas for both adolescents and mothers (≤40%). The prevalence of overweight/obesity was highest in urban areas among adolescents (29%) and similar across areas among mothers (15%–19%). Conclusions Urbanicity was positively associated with healthier diets due to greater healthy food consumption, but also with higher risks of adolescent overweight/obesity. Differences by study area, however, were small and diet healthiness was low across all settings. Innovative school and food environment interventions and policies are needed to promote greater consumption of healthy foods and limit unhealthy food intake among Vietnamese adolescents and their mothers, and to prevent and control rising overweight/obesity.

Barriers and factors associated with treatment coverage of severe acute malnutrition among children 6–59 months in agrarian and pastoralist areas of Ethiopia

Severe acute malnutrition remains a major public health concern, yet a large proportion of affected children do not receive appropriate treatment. Understanding the barriers and associated factors is essential for informing targeted, context‐specific interventions. A door‐to‐door screening campaign among children aged 6–59 months was conducted from May to September 2024 in Kersa (agrarian) and Jeldessa (pastoralist) woredas of Ethiopia. The treatment coverage of severe acute malnutrition was 12.8% (95% CI: 9.0%–17.9%). The most frequently reported barriers to treatment included lack of awareness of the child’s nutritional status, time and financial constraints, and absence of family permission. Multivariable analysis revealed that household wealth index (aPR: 2.9; 95% CI: 1.5–5.5), use of water treatment methods (aPR: 4.6; 95% CI: 1.7–11.9), recent community MUAC screening (aPR: 12.0; 95% CI: 5.4–26.8), availability of treatment services at a nearby health post (aPR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.1–9.9), and possession of a vaccination card (aPR: 3.2; 95% CI: 1.1–9.1) were significantly associated with severe acute malnutrition treatment coverage. The findings highlight that severe acute malnutrition treatment coverage in both pastoralist and agrarian settings of Ethiopia remains critically low. Stronger implementation of active screening and treatment services recommended by Ethiopian national guidelines, together with social protection measures for the poorest households, may improve treatment coverage.

Determinants of infant and young child feeding practices of children with severe acute malnutrition in agrarian and pastoralist settings of Ethiopia

Previous research has established determinants of young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the general child population, but determinants of these practices in children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) are unknown. This study assessed the determinants of IYCF practices among children aged 6–23 months with SAM and under SAM treatment in a pastoralist and a predominantly agrarian setting in Ethiopia. As part of the baseline survey for the R-SWITCH cluster randomized control trial, we screened ~28,000 under-fives and included 486 children aged 6–23 months with SAM and under SAM treatment. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify determinants on household, caregiver and child levels. Minimum meal frequency (MMF) was similar between children from the agrarian (53.9%) and pastoralist (51.9%) setting. The prevalence of children with minimum dietary diversity (MDD) was low overall but higher among pastoralist children (31.5%) than children from the agrarian setting (19.0%; p = 0.012). The consumption of egg/flesh foods was lower among pastoralist children (5.6%) than agrarian children (16.9%, p = 0.085). Caregiver literacy was positively associated with a higher likelihood of MMF (IRR = 1.21; 95% CI:1.02–1.43; p = 0.030), while caregiver depression was associated with a lower likelihood of MMF (RR = 0.97; 95% CI:0.95–0.99; p = 0.003). Improved water source (RR = 1.59; 95% CI:1.06–2.38; p = 0.037), caregiver literacy (RR = 2.04; 95% CI:1.25–3.34; p = 0.002), caregiver MDD (RR = 2.21; 95% CI:1.60–3.05; p ≤ 0.001), older children(RR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.02–1.08;p ≤ 0.001), and pastoralist setting (RR = 1.62; 95% CI:1.07–2.44; p = 0.014) were associated with a significantly higher likelihood of meeting MDD. Conversely, caregiver depression (RR = 0.94; 95% CI:0.90–0.97; p < 0.001), caregiver mobility restriction (IRR = 0.94; 95% CI:0.89–1.00; p = 0.025), and food insecurity (RR = 0.64; 95% CI:0.41–1.01; p = 0.05) were associated with reduced MDD likelihood. Caregiver community involvement (IRR = 1.12; 95% CI:1.00–1.26; p = 0.038), caregiver MDD (RR = 1.67; 95% CI:1.10–2.53; p = 0.043), and older children (RR = 1.08; 95% CI:1.05–1.12; p < 0.001) were associated with increased egg/flesh-food consumption among children, while living in a pastoralist setting was associated with reduced it (RR = 0.36; 95% CI:0.13–0.97; p = 0.038). Integrated and Targeted interventions recommended: caregiver literacy/depression support to improve IYCF; livelihood-specific foods (eggs/flesh, fruits/vegetables); WaSH enhancements; community engagement; and IYCF counseling within CMAM programs.

Information framing effects on diet choices among Chinese urban residents

Unhealthy diets have become a leading contributor to death and disability globally. The current Chinese diet falls short of a healthy diet, including too much meat, oil, salt, and sugar while having insufficient levels of whole grains, fruits, nuts, and milk. Transforming Chinese dietary patterns has become urgent. This paper compares the effectiveness of information framing effects on enhancing Chinese consumers’ healthy diet choices, varied by information content, source, and presentation. The survey is conducted across six Chinese cities, with a sample of 3150 urban consumers. Chinese consumers’ healthy diet choices are measured using an online discrete choice experiment. Four different diet patterns were used to label each of the product alternatives in the experiment, which varied in taste and cost. Results reveal that compared to positive information; negatively framed healthy information is more effective in increasing Chinese consumers’ valuations for healthy diets. Consumer valuation of a healthy whole diet is significantly enhanced when the information is from social celebrities, compared to information from a scientific source. Moreover, when health information is disclosed via social media, its effectiveness in promoting healthy diet choices is significantly reduced. Our findings have implications for designing and implementing nutrition policies and programs in China and other developing countries.

Formative research in Ethiopia and Bangladesh: Strengthening household survey measures of maternal micronutrient supplementation in low- and middle-income countries

Background As countries transition from implementing iron folic acid (IFA) to multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) for pregnant women, they need accurate data on who is being reached with these interventions. The aim of our formative research in Ethiopia and Bangladesh was to design updated household survey questions, response options, and visual aids to measure coverage of prenatal micronutrient supplements. Methods In phase I, we landscaped health providers and retailers to identify prenatal micronutrient products available in each country and interviewed currently pregnant women (CPW) and recently delivered women (RDW) about how they differentiated among micronutrient products. In phase II, we used these findings to draft survey questions and visual aids. In phase III, we iteratively tested and refined the draft tools through cognitive interviews with women. Results We had 73 participants in Ethiopia and 132 in Bangladesh, encompassing CPW, RDW, healthcare workers, and retailers. Women in both contexts distinguished among micronutrient products based on colour, shape, packaging, and perceived purpose. In cognitive tests, women generally understood the English term ‘iron’ as a catch-all term for any iron-containing supplement. Women did not recognise any specific term for multivitamins or MMS. Shorter recalls of seven days or one month for adherence were feasible for respondents. Conclusions It is challenging for the measurement community to identify terms and images that help women distinguish between supplement types. The final set of survey questions developed as part of this research is comprehensible and can be feasibly adapted and used in multi-topic surveys in MMS contexts, but requires validation.

Food is always close by: An assessment of the healthiness of the adolescent home and school food environments in northern Vietnam

Background Adolescents are vulnerable to rapidly evolving food environments. Urbanization is widely thought to contribute to less healthy food environments, and school food environments are often considered less healthy than those at home. These associations, however, have not been quantified. Objective Assess differences in adolescent food environments in Northern Vietnam by setting (home vs school) and area (rural town, peri-urban or urban). Methods We collected cross-sectional data on adolescents (n=3,005) and surveyed all outlets (n=6,194) that sold food or beverages around adolescents’ homes and schools (n=13) in three sites that differed in urbanicity. We calculated distances from home and school to the nearest outlet selling select food groups and measured outlet density and diversity of foods offered (within 100-meter radius). We analyzed differences by urbanicity and by home/school environment using regression models, accounting for clustering at commune level. Results Both unhealthy food groups (UFG) (e.g., sugar-sweetened beverages, sweets), and healthy food groups (HFG) (e.g., fruits, nuts/seeds) were closer to adolescents’ home in the urban (∼21-50 m) than the peri-urban area (∼75-200 m) and rural town (∼155-270 m). Fruits and vegetables were consistently further away than UFG across all areas in home environments, although still close by (∼ 50-270 m). Urban adolescents were exposed to the greatest density and diversity of both HFG and UFG close to home and school. There were no differences in healthiness of home and school food environments. Conclusions Unhealthy foods were more accessible (in distance) and available (in density) than fruits and vegetables across all settings, but differences were small and food was always close by. Diversity of HFG and UFG was the greatest in urban areas. Healthy foods should be promoted and made the preferred choice through nudging interventions at point-of-purchase, combined with restrictions on the marketing and availability of unhealthy foods.

Under the gun: Military and paramilitary actors in Sudan’s agrifood system

Armed actors are entrenched in the agrifood systems of several low- and middle-income countries, often with implications for agricultural transformation and democratic transitions. This paper focuses on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s agrifood system. Through over 50 semi-structured stakeholder interviews, the paper traces how these actors gained their foothold in the agrifood system and how they interact with the private sector across diverse value chains. We argue that their investments in certain value chains depend on whether the formal private sector is already involved and the degree of technical complexity required for more profitable product upgrading. Based on these considerations, we uncover four strategies used in different value chains: exclusive capture and rent-extraction, biased competition through licencing and quota allocations, acquiescence to private competitors when value-addition is too complex, and innovation when profit potential is high and the private sector is absent. We demonstrate these strategies with respect to livestock, wheat, gum Arabic, and horticulture, with secondary applications to other commodities. Since economic competition between SAF and RSF was a major factor in the outbreak of the 2023-armed conflict, identifying these strategies expands insights about the political economy antecedents of large-scale conflict.

Digital and technology-enabled approaches in dietary assessment: Addressing bias, error, and feasibility in population- and community-based research

Dietary intake data are essential for understanding diet–disease relationships, informing policy, and evaluating nutrition interventions. This is particularly challenging in population- and community-based research, where varying dietary patterns, motivation to participate, and practical constraints limit the feasibility of highly controlled dietary assessment methods. Advances in digital tools, mobile technologies, and artificial intelligence are transforming how dietary data are collected, processed, and analyzed. This narrative review examines how digital and technology-enabled approaches impact key sources of bias and error across the stages of dietary assessment, including sample selection, participant reporting, food classification, and nutrient composition assignment. We also assess the feasibility of implementing these approaches in large-scale research settings, considering cost, infrastructure, respondent burden, and scalability. Although many technologies have the potential to reduce specific sources of bias and measurement error, such as recall limitations, interviewer effects, and misclassification, they may simultaneously introduce new challenges, including selection bias, increased analytic complexity, and high development or implementation costs. These trade-offs are most pronounced in large and heterogeneous study populations, where assessment methods must balance accuracy with feasibility across diverse contexts. Constraints related to connectivity, device access, and technical capacity may further limit implementation in low-resource settings. Technological innovations offer significant opportunities to improve dietary assessment, but their value depends on context-specific trade-offs between accuracy and feasibility. Careful consideration of these factors is essential when selecting methods for population- and community-based nutrition research.

Women’s experiences of the food environment and their association with fruit and vegetable intake: Insights from northern Tanzania

This analysis examined associations between factors in the food environment and fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake among women living in rural Northern Tanzania. We used cross-sectional data from 2597 women and 1275 food sources. Women’s self-reported factors included buying frequency, sources, availability, and convenience. We also measured women’s access to F&V sources using geospatial measures of distance and time from home to the reported typical sources. Data from a 30-day F&V food frequency questionnaire were used to calculate two scores that captured intake frequency and variety. We conducted a descriptive analysis of indicators of women’s experience and tested their associations with the scores using multivariable and Poisson regression models, controlling for covariates. On average, 5% and 35% of women reported buying F&V daily, respectively. Fruit was mostly bought from markets: F: 80%, V: 40%. Two-thirds of respondents perceived F&V as available (F: 65%, V: 60%). Median (IQR) distance and time to fruit sources were 9 km (2,19), 39 min (19,78), and to vegetable sources were 3 km (1,10), 32 min (8-69). Compared to women who reported making daily purchases of F&V, those who purchased weekly or monthly reported lower frequency and variety of F&V intake. Women’s perceptions that F&V were less available and at a longer distance were associated with lower frequency and variety of vegetable intake.Buying frequency, perceived availability, and distance to markets were associated with women’s frequency and variety of F&V intake, underscoring the need to consider these and other factors in food environments to increase F&V intake.

Uncovering the climate vulnerability of China’s poverty alleviation frontiers

Exposure to social and behavior change interventions directly and indirectly improved health and nutrition-related awareness, knowledge, and practices among male household heads and grandmothers in Nepal

Background Adult family members often share household tasks and decision-making, including those related to health and nutrition. Beyond the important role of mothers, grandparents and fathers also often play key contributing roles for maternal and child nutrition and health. Objectives This study aimed to investigate whether exposure of male household heads (HHs) and grandmothers to social behavior change communication (SBCC) platforms was associated with ideal nutrition and health practices in their households and the mediating role of awareness and knowledge for this linkage. We also aimed to investigate whether key sociodemographic factors moderated these mediated paths. Methods We used data from the endline survey (2022) of Suaahara’s quasi-experimental impact evaluation. Our samples were limited to households with a child <2 that included male HHs (n = 982) and grandmothers (n = 817). Structural equation models, accounting for community-level clustering, were used to examine the mediation paths for male HHs and grandmothers separately. All models were adjusted for household wealth and caste/ethnicity, child age, and respondent (male HHs or grandmothers) age and education. Stratified models examined potential moderating factors: wealth (relatively poorer 40% compared with wealthier 60%), caste/ethnicity (upper compared with lower), and household structure (nuclear compared with joint). Results Greater exposure to SBCC was associated with greater awareness and, in turn, knowledge, and ultimately, maternal and child health and nutrition practices. Approximately 30% and 40% of the total association was mediated through this indirect path among male HHs and grandmothers, respectively. The indirect path through greater awareness and knowledge was stronger among male HHs from lower (compared with upper) caste/ethnic groups and nuclear (compared with joint) households, as well as wealthier (compared with poorer) grandmothers. Conclusions Family member engagement in SBCC interventions is an important mechanism for improving health and nutrition practices.

Feasibility and readiness for scaling‐up multiple micronutrient supplements in Nepal: A qualitative study using the expandnet scaling‐up framework

Micronutrient deficiencies in pregnancy remain a critical public health issue in Nepal, where iron–folic acid (IFA) supplementation alone has not fully addressed maternal and neonatal risks. Multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) promise broader nutritional benefits; however, real‐world guidance for their effective and equitable integration into routine maternal care is lacking. A qualitative study, guided by the ExpandNet scaling‐up framework, was conducted from February to March 2025, including 28 focus group discussions with antenatal care (ANC) providers and female community health volunteers (FCHVs) and 40 key informant interviews with policymakers at different levels of the health system. Data was analyzed thematically to identify perceived facilitators and barriers to MMS adoption, institutionalization, and scale‐up, and equitable implementation. Stakeholders viewed MMS as offering clear advantages over IFA, citing broader micronutrient coverage and fewer side effects that could improve adherence. However, they identified several system‐level requirements for successful scale‐up, including formal policy integration, sustainable financing, strengthened procurement and supply chains, and adequate storage capacity at facilities. FCHVs and ANC providers emphasized the need for clearer role definitions, improved training, and manageable counseling workloads. Persistent community‐level barriers—such as concerns about tablet size, misconceptions about fetal growth, and low trust in free medicines—were seen as risks to equitable uptake. Respondents highlighted community engagement, culturally tailored counseling, and consistent support for FCHVs and ANC providers as essential to ensuring effective and equitable MMS adoption. Stakeholders in Nepal view MMS as a promising strategy to improve maternal and newborn nutrition, but its potential depends on strong policy commitment, adequate and sustainable financing, and community‐centered implementation. Addressing product‐related concerns, strengthening counseling and trust in public services, and ensuring uninterrupted supply chains are essential to MMS scale‐up, including translating its introduction into equitable and meaningful gains in maternal and child nutrition.

Gestational weight gain and maternal immediate perinatal and postpartum outcomes in low and middle income countries: Individual participant data meta-analyses

Objective To estimate the associations between gestational weight gain and maternal immediate perinatal and postpartum outcomes by pooling data from low and middle income countries. Design Individual participant data meta-analyses. Data sources PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, based on three searches (Search 1: all prospective studies published from January 2000 to May 2021; Search 2: randomized controlled trials of balanced energy and protein supplementation published until June 2021; Search 3: randomized controlled trials of anti-infectious agents published until August 2021). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Prospective studies (randomised controlled trials or observational cohort studies) with measured maternal weight during pregnancy and data available on maternal height, based in populations from low and middle income countries with no underlying conditions. Results The analyses included 156 300 women from 61 studies and 23 countries, with most participants based in South Asia (n=78 454, 50.2%) and sub-Saharan Africa (n=36 327, 23.2%). Compared with women with adequate (90-125%) gestational weight gain, women with excessive (>125%) gestational weight gain had a higher risk of caesarean delivery (risk ratio 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.13, τ2=0.000) and emergency caesarean delivery (risk ratio 1.22, 1.03 to 1.43, τ2=0.000). Women with moderately (70% to <90%) or severely inadequate (<70%) versus adequate gestational weight gain had lower risks for caesarean delivery (risk ratio in women with moderately inadequate gestational weight gain 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 0.92, τ2=0.004; risk ratio in women with severely inadequate gestational weight gain 0.82, 0.77 to 0.88, τ2=0.010) and emergency caesarean delivery (risk ratio in moderately inadequate gestational weight gain 0.82, 0.71 to 0.95, τ2=0.004; risk ratio in severely inadequate gestational weight gain 0.73, 0.56 to 0.96, τ2=0.103). Excessive versus adequate gestational weight gain was associated with higher postpartum weight retained at any time point (mean difference 2.00 kg, 95% confidence interval 1.49 to 2.50, τ2=1.317), whereas moderately and severely inadequate gestational weight gain were associated with lower retained weight compared with adequate gestational weight gain. Similar trends were found for postpartum body mass index. Severely inadequate gestational weight gain was associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure at any time point post partum than adequate gestational weight gain. No associations were observed for other outcomes including postpartum depressive symptoms or breastfeeding. Evidence indicating an interaction between gestational weight gain and body mass index before pregnancy was found when examining the risk of caesarean delivery and postpartum weight retention, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure as outcomes. Conclusions These findings support the association between suboptimal gestational weight gain and adverse maternal outcomes in the immediate perinatal and postpartum periods. Further research examining the consequences of suboptimal gestational weight gain in low and middle income countries would be valuable to inform potential strategies to improve long term maternal health.

Genetic technologies to enhance crop nutritional value under climate change

India’s national maternity benefit cash transfer program and child anthropometry

This study evaluates the impact of India’s Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), the world’s largest rights-based conditional cash transfer (CCT) program targeting women during their first pregnancy. Using National Family Health Survey data from 2005 to 2021, we assess changes in growth in a nationally representative sample of children, before and after program implementation. To address potential biases, we employ a quasi-experimental approach with a Propensity Scores Matched Difference in Differences analysis. We find that potential exposure to the program is associated with moderate improvements (0.10 SD) in height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores. These effects likely operate through increased uptake of health interventions and consumption of certain food groups. The study underscores persistent barriers to program access and finds that women from higher socio-economic strata have entered the CCT beneficiary pool since 2017, suggesting a need for more equitable program targeting.

Integrating Earth observation and digital tools for agricultural mapping and monitoring: The Mozambique case study

Accurate and timely agricultural data are vital in low- and middle-income countries for effective national planning, informed food policy decisions, and progress toward achieving sustainable development goal (SDG) 2 (zero hunger). Annual field surveys are costly, time-consuming, hampered by weak infrastructure, and vulnerable to extreme weather. This article presents the architecture developed in the statistics from space project, which integrates Earth observation (EO) data, digital tools for field-data collection, and a cloud-based aggregation and visualization platform to propose a cost-effective solution for efficient agricultural monitoring. The workflow was tested in Mozambique and includes: first, an EO-based sampling-frame methodology for heterogeneous agro-landscapes, second, an open-source smartphone application for efficient, geo-referenced field data collection, third, a data-aggregation and visualization system for real-time quality monitoring and national-level dissemination, and fourth, automated methods for EO-based crop type mapping. The project delivered a comprehensive framework for integrating EO and digital technologies into efficient and scalable workflows. High-resolution crop type maps (openly accessible) and statistics were generated for the main crops in three pilot provinces, Gaza, Manica, and Zambezia, for the 2024/25 season.

Food subsidies in India: Revisiting the estimates

There is a view that the fis­cal bur­den of food sub­si­dies in India is un­sus­tain­able. Yet pop­u­lar de­bate and dis­cus­sion around the costs of these food sub­si­dies, rel­a­tive to their ben­e­fits, are mis­lead­ing for two rea­sons. First, they typ­i­cally treat re­ported bud­getary sub­sidy es­ti­mates—i.e. the fis­cal cost to the gov­ern­ment of the dis­tri­b­u­tion of food via ra­tion shops—as equiv­a­lent to “trans­fers” to ben­e­fi­cia­ries. Sec­ondly, they tend to focus ex­clu­sively on con­sumers. In doing so, they ne­glect the two-part na­ture of the food dis­tri­b­u­tion sys­tem, which in­cludes pay­ments to farm­ers at the time of pro­cure­ment. This paper ex­am­ines ways of mea­sur­ing the costs and value of the food sub­sidy. We pre­sent es­ti­mates that com­bine the im­plicit value of ben­e­fits to con­sumers aris­ing from the re­duced price of grain sold to con­sumers via ra­tion shops, with im­plicit ben­e­fits to farm­ers, in terms of the price dif­fer­ence be­tween what farm­ers are paid by the gov­ern­ment and what they would have ob­tained in the open mar­ket. This ap­proach shows that each rupee of the “food sub­sidy” re­ported in gov­ern­ment ac­counts rep­re­sents a trans­fer worth Rs 1.29 to con­sumers and farm­ers, on av­er­age, over the pe­riod 2001–02 to 2022–23. That is, each rupee trans­ferred to these groups is as­so­ci­ated with a cost of Rs 0.79 to the gov­ern­ment.

Beyond the 24-hour recall: Aligning dietary diversity metrics with nutrient physiology

Changing rural labor markets and welfare in Malawi

Cash transfers relax climate-induced mobility constraints in Kenya

The use of migration as an adaptation strategy is now recognized by scholars and policymakers as a key response to climate change. Cash transfer programs, now being implemented worldwide, also have the potential to facilitate adaptation and promote resilience in low- and middle-income countries. We investigate the extent to which a cash transfer program in Kenya promoted the mobility of household members due to climate shocks, leveraging exogenous variation in local deviations from the historical climate and the administration of the program through a randomized controlled trial. Our findings indicate that beneficiary households were less likely to reduce migration amid cold spells, likely via shifts in education-related migration. We also find that heat spells ubiquitously encourage new members to join the household, while cold spells have the opposite effect, and that cash transfers do not appear to alter these relationships. Together the results suggest that cold spells can trap migrants in temperate, low-resource settings and that cash transfers can partially alleviate these constraints. Modeling migration and complementary strategies in the presence of climate tipping points will become necessary to predict when more permanent migration will be triggered and modifying social assistance will become necessary.

Modeling the association between repeated measures of hemoglobin during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes

Youth in relation to agroecology: practices, promises, and perceptions in five countries

In the context of rising youth populations in many low- and middle-income countries, coupled with high youth unemployment and aging farmer populations, this paper asks in what ways agroecology, as a sustainable alternative to the conventional agricultural practices and paradigm, attracts youth to farming and rural-based livelihoods. We draw on empirical data from semi-structured interviews and photovoice conducted with young women and men in five countries: Kenya, India, Peru, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. In our discussion, we highlight which dimensions and aspects of agroecology resonate with youth and why.

Targeting social assistance in fragile settings: An experiment in community-based targeting

Political economy of planting for food and jobs input subsidy policy process in Ghana: An application of the Kaleidoscope Model

The Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) input subsidy policy was Ghana’s flagship agricultural programme from 2017 to 2025, designed to increase agricultural productivity, enhance food security, create jobs, and improve rural livelihoods through targeted support to smallholder farmers. Despite its prominence, there has been little systematic analysis of the political economy of the policy process that shaped it. This study applies the Kaleidoscope Model of Policy Change (KM), a framework developed for analysing development policy processes, to examine how the PFJ input subsidy policy was placed on the agenda, designed, adopted, and implemented. A qualitative research design was employed, involving 50 key informant interviews with policymakers, programme implementers, farmer-based organisations, and development partners, alongside two focus group discussions with farmers. Data were coded and analysed thematically using the KM framework to identify drivers, enablers, and constraints across the different stages of the policy process. The findings indicate that focusing events and policy coalitions were crucial in placing PFJ on the agenda. Policy design was influenced by the urgency of addressing declining productivity, ideological factors, and cost–benefit assessments. Adoption was shaped by the authority of advocates, the limited resistance of veto players, and favourable political timing, reflecting the perception that presidential initiatives often become policy priorities. Implementation, although constrained by budget shortfalls and logistical challenges, benefited from institutional capacity, budgetary allocations, and sustained advocacy. Overall, PFJ reached its target number of beneficiaries, raised productivity, enhanced food security, created jobs, and reduced dependence on food imports, despite only 69% of planned resources being released. However, limited tailored support for youth and women remains a key gap. The study demonstrates the value of political economy analysis for agricultural policy and recommends structured engagement with the private sector in subsidized input delivery from agenda setting through to implementation.

Adding small quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements to an enhanced homestead food production program improves child hemoglobin, iron and vitamin A status in rural Burkina Faso: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Background Enhanced homestead food production programs (EHFP) including nutrition behavior change communication and women’s empowerment activities have limited impacts on child nutrition. This may be due to short program duration or the absence of interventions to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and access to nutritious foods. Objective We assessed impacts on child anemia, micronutrient status and anthropometry of prior village exposure to an EHFP, and of adding WASH alone or WASH with daily small quantity-lipid based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS). Design This 2y longitudinal cluster-randomized controlled trial (2014-2016) included 60 villages in Burkina Faso randomized to four groups (15 per group): (1) EHFP-2014, (2) EHFP-2014+WASH, (3) EHFP-2010+WASH, and (4) EHFP-2010+WASH+SQ-LNS. Groups 3 and 4 had previously received EHFP (2010-2012). We assessed impacts on child anemia and micronutrient status (n=1,704; 3-12.9 mo at baseline) and anthropometry (n=2,308; 0-12.9 mo at baseline) using difference-in-difference (DID) specifications. We controlled for covariates, adjusted for clustering, and assessed interactive effects by child age at baseline. The trial was registered with clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02236468). Results We found no impact of prior exposure to EHFP (groups 2 vs 3) on the outcomes examined. Adding WASH (groups 1 vs 2) reduced anemia (hemoglobin (Hb)<11 g/dL) (DID=9.43 pp, p<0.01) and led to a decline in weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) (DID -0.11±0.04, p=0.01). Adding SQ-LNS (groups 3 vs 4) increased Hb (DID=0.26±0.13 g/dL, p<0.05), plasma ferritin (DID=7.61±2.69 μg/L, p<0.01), and retinol binding protein (DID=0.07±0.02 umol/L, p<0.01) concentrations. Effects were larger in children <6 mo at baseline, where providing SQ-LNS (>6 mo) positively impacted Hb, plasma ferritin, height-for-age Z-score, WAZ, and underweight. Conclusions Using EHFP to deliver WASH and SQ-LNS reduced child anemia and improved micronutrient status. Anthropometric improvements were found in children who joined the program before 6 mo of age and were exposed for the whole complementary feeding period.

Role of credit access, improved varieties, and gender dynamics in commercialization of cassava seeds in Nigeria

Cassava seed entrepreneurship is critical for strengthening seed systems and advancing agricultural transformation in Nigeria. This study examines the determinants of smallholder participation in cassava seed entrepreneurship and simulates the effects of targeted policy interventions using survey data from 993 cassava farmers in Benue State. The analysis applies a binary logit framework with counterfactual scenario simulations and production-regime, specific estimations to account for heterogeneity between low- and high-productivity environments, alongside additional robustness checks. The results show that access to credit (dy/dx = 13.2%, p <0.01), adoption of improved cassava varieties (dy/dx = 14.3%, p < 0.01), use of an area-calculation mobile application (dy/dx = 7.1%, p < 0.05), and access to extension services (dy/dx = 5.2%, p < 0.05) significantly increase the likelihood of participation in cassava seed entrepreneurship. Gender-disaggregated analysis indicates that male farmers have a modest but meaningful advantage (β = 0.92, dy/dx = 5.8%), reflecting differential access to productive resources and institutional support. The production-regime analysis reveals important structural differences in participation drivers. In low-productivity environments, participation is primarily constrained by financial capital, with credit access emerging as the dominant determinant. In contrast, in high-productivity environments, participation is more strongly influenced by technological complementarities, particularly adoption of improved varieties, digital decision-support tools, and extension services that enhance productivity and market coordination. These findings highlight that entrepreneurial engagement is context-dependent rather than uniform across farming systems. Policy simulations further indicate that the joint provision of credit and improved varieties could increase participation probabilities by 36.1 percentage points for men, 32.0 percentage points for youth (≤35 years), and 25.8 percentage points for women, demonstrating substantial untapped entrepreneurial potential among women and youth if structural barriers are relaxed. As part of the robustness analysis, conflict exposure, used as a proxy for local political instability, shows a positive and statistically significant association with participation, suggesting that farmers in conflict-affected environments may adopt cassava seed entrepreneurship as a resilience or income-diversification strategy. Consistency across alternative specifications confirms that institutional access, technological adoption, and productive capacity remain more decisive for participation than most demographic characteristics. Overall, the study underscores the need for gender and youth-responsive policies that integrate financial inclusion, technological support, institutional strengthening, context-sensitive interventions as well as attention to productivity regimes and local security conditions, to promote inclusive and resilient cassava seed systems in Nigeria.

C’est la vie! Mixed impacts of an edutainment television series in West Africa

Edutainment is a promising tool for changing behavior at scale, yet little is known about how to maximize impacts. We undertake an experimental evaluation of a popular West African television series, C’est la vie!, delivered through film clubs targeted at adolescent girls and young women in rural Senegal. We examine impacts on violence against women and girls and sexual and reproductive health. Results show C’est la vie! improved knowledge on both domains three months after film clubs ended, as well as violence-related attitudes nine months later, however, had no impact on behaviors. We investigate design components intended to strengthen impacts, generally finding no additional impacts from post-screening discussions, engaging men, and podcasts. Our findings suggest that edutainment is an engaging way to reach viewers on sensitive themes, however more evidence is needed on how to effectively deliver edutainment content for sustained behavior change at scale.

Using method of moments quantile regression to examine the influences of fishery operations and their ramifications for marine water contamination

This study aims to investigate the dynamic impact of the fishing industry on marine water contamination in 27 European countries by taking into account the roles of fisheries output, the use of fossil fuels, economic development, and governance between 1990 and 2022. The results, which used a novel technique called the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) in addition to factors that are fixed effect, demonstrated that, at most quantiles, there was a significant positive correlation between fishing production and marine water contamination. At the earliest and latest quantiles, fishery production significantly exacerbates marine water contamination, with a smaller impact at the lowest and a larger impact at the highest. Additionally, the data indicate that affluent EU14 countries produce more fish than developing EU13 countries, which has a significant and negative impact on the contamination of marine water. Marine water contamination from the usage of fossil fuels has increased significantly in the EU13 developing countries as compared to the EU14 wealthy countries. Policymakers can reduce marine water contamination in EU14 and EU13 countries by using eco-friendly fishing gear, more sustainable fishing methods, and energy technologies like wave and tidal power.

Assessing the development impacts of bio-innovations: The case of genetically modified maize and cassava in Tanzania

Agrifood systems of India: A state-level analysis using a social accounting matrix

What’s on the menu? A review of school meal quality across 29 countries

Objective: The double burden of malnutrition (DBM) – the coexistence of undernutrition and overweight/obesity – poses a critical global health challenge, particularly for children and adolescents. School meal programs offer an opportunity to address the DBM by providing nutritious meals that support growth, development, and lifelong health. However, limited school meal quality data hinders effective program design. This study evaluates global school meal quality through nutrient composition analyses and the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS)-Meal and -Menu metrics. Design: Data were collected from the Global Child Nutrition Foundation’s 2024 Global Survey of School Meal Programs, grey literature, and in-country stakeholders. Nutritional content was compared to age-specific Nutrient Reference Values, including Harmonized Average Requirements. The nutritional quality of meals and menus was assessed using GDQS metrics based on 25 food groups. Setting: Twenty-nine countries across diverse geographic and socioeconomic contexts. Participants: Not applicable. Results: Most menus met or exceeded 30% of recommended daily nutrient values. Lunches had the highest nutrient contributions, followed by snacks and breakfasts. GDQS-Meal and -Menu scores revealed variability across age groups, meal types, and countries. Overall, 57% of menus achieved high nutritional quality, 37% medium, and 6% low. Few menus lost points for unhealthy components. Diverse, balanced menus with healthy food groups scored higher, though fortification also proved nutritionally valuable. Conclusions: While most menus contribute significantly to daily nutrient needs, variability across countries, age groups, and meal types highlights opportunities for context-specific improvements through diversification and fortification. Learning from high-performing peer programs can help identify feasible improvements.

Market remoteness and the production–diet association in smallholder food systems: Evidence from rural Nepal

Climate shocks, conflict, and agricultural change

Understanding of functional trait contributions to seed yield and drought adaptations in common bean

Iran War: From fertilizer to food crisis?

The critical supply chain for fertilizer in combination with rising energy and transport costs will be felt most by poorer countries and households. Whether this develops into a veritable food crisis will depend on how the war procedes.

Uncovering bottlenecks and innovative solutions for scaling small-scale irrigation through a system approach and design thinking: Evidence from Nigeria

CONTEXT Small-scale irrigation (SSI) is central to food system transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet its scaling remains low in Nigeria despite the apparent demand and policy narratives. OBJECTIVE Examine intermediary ‘missing middle’ barriers to SSI scaling and co-create solutions for socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and institutionally coherent scaling of SSI. METHODS We integrated Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) theory with a Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach to examine SSI diffusion in a Responsible Scaling lens. For qualitative study, a series of HCD workshops were conducted in three geographies (Kano, Oyo, and FCT) with a total of 85 stakeholders drawn from government institutions, financial organizations, and private irrigation technology suppliers. To complement qualitative insights, we analyzed the 2023 National Agricultural Sample Survey microdata to generate a national snapshot of irrigation prevalence, methods, and water sources. This is a nationally representative data from sample of 152,485 households and over 76 million agricultural plots included in the Nigeria National Agricultural Sample Survey (NASS) 2022/2023. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrates that Nigeria’s SSI bottlenecks stem not simply from farmer reluctance or technological ignorance but primarily from systemic intermediation failures across policy coordination, finance, and market supply chains—producing a “missing-middle” ecosystem. These failures include fragmented government mandates, high lender risk perceptions, weak supplier networks, gendered exclusion, and pervasive information gaps. Applying responsible scaling (RS) we show how scaling of SSI is being hindered by institutional fragmentation, liquidity constraints, gender exclusion, and data/information deficiency. SIGNIFICANCE The study presents co-created innovation pathways, including a national SSI coordination platform, blended-finance mechanisms, supplier hub models, and gender-responsive financing, mapped to AIS functions to guide responsible, inclusive, and climate-resilient scaling. The integrated AIS–HCD–RS approach advances system learning and participatory co-design and offers a practical methodology for responsible scaling of agricultural innovation.

Impact of custom hiring services on paddy cultivation: A propensity score matching approach

Leveraging salt fortification platforms to address multiple-micronutrient deficiencies in Africa: A policy opportunity

Union budget 2026 and Indian agriculture: Policy signals, priorities and trade-offs

The impact of a continuum of care intervention from prevention to treatment on child wasting compared to usual community group activities: A cluster randomized controlled trial in Mali

Background Child wasting is associated with a high mortality risk and remains a persistent public health challenge. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an intervention strengthening the continuum of care of child wasting from prevention, screening, and referral to treatment in Mali. Methods A two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted using two study designs to evaluate impact and pathways: i) a longitudinal study of children enrolled at 6 months (n=2,324) with monthly follow-up for 3–6 months to assess wasting prevalence (primary outcome); ii) a longitudinal study of all children 6–23 months admitted to outpatient therapeutic programs (OTP; n=7,104) assessing recovery and adherence. Additional OTP coverage surveys were conducted at the end of the study. In both study arms, nutrition activity support groups (NASG) screened children for wasting and provided caregiver behavior change communication (BCC). The intervention arm additionally received small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS), child-centered BCC, family-led screening, and follow-up on referred wasting cases to support OTP admission and adherence. Results The intervention did not impact wasting prevalence but reduced the incidence of wasting (relative risk (RR): 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.64, 0.99) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) (RR: 0.71, 95%CI: 0.57, 0.89). The intervention significantly increased wasting screening coverage by 37 pp (95%CI: 31, 44) and SAM treatment coverage by 15 pp (95%CI: 0.35, 30). No impacts of the intervention on OTP recovery or adherence were found. NASGs often replaced the monthly home visits with community gatherings to deliver the intervention. NASGs also often distributed SQ-LNS to children they identified with wasting instead of referring them to the OTP. Conclusions Strengthening the continuum of care of wasting through community groups reduced the incidence of wasting and SAM and improved screening coverage, which translated into a modest gain in SAM treatment coverage.

Food supply implications of healthy diet consumption in Senegal by 2050

Cost and affordability of recommended diets in Rwanda using [near] real-time market data

Countries are increasingly benchmarking food assistance and labour laws on the cost of nationally recommended diets. Benchmarking is made against national annual estimates, which fail to account for sub-national and intra-annual variation in cost, blunting the impact of policies. Using monthly market price data collected by the Government of Rwanda (April 2019-March 2024), we estimate the cost of the country’s proposed food-based dietary guidelines, using a standardised diet costing methodology. We found rural areas experienced greater inflation in diet cost over the study period than urban areas (41% vs 28%), yet the recommended diet was 12.7% higher in urban locations. Diet costs were approximately 6% lower in districts with international border crossings to Tanzania, but 7% more in those with borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fruits and vegetables (110% and 71%) and starchy staples (86% and 83%) contributed most to cost increases in rural and urban locations respectively. Seasonal diet cost fluctuations were also evident with a seasonal amplitude of 5.6% and 6.9% in rural and urban locations, synchronised to Rwanda’s agricultural calendar. 70% of employed Rwandans would find the recommended diet unaffordable, if spending 52% of wages on food. Diet costs varied 4.2-fold across all districts throughout the study period, meaning that uniform national policies to address costs and affordability would be systematically inadequate in high-cost settings and wasteful in low-cost ones. That such spatial–temporal variation exists in a small, relatively market integrated country like Rwanda suggests variation would be at least equally consequential in other low and lower-middle-income countries. High-frequency and sub-national monitoring of prices, diet costs, and affordability provides essential intelligence for policymakers to enable spatially and seasonally targeted interventions, improving both the adequacy and efficiency of food policy.

Digital literacy training to promote diffusion of digital agricultural tools to smallholder farmers: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt

Despite growing enthusiasm about the potential of digital innovations to transform agrifood systems, adoption among smallholder farmers in Africa remains low and heterogeneous. While the proliferation of digital tools targeting smallholder farmers is encouraging, the vast majority remain at pilot stages, facing barriers such as limited awareness among farmer, digital illiteracy, usability challenges, and low trust among farmers. This paper evaluates alternative digital literacy interventions designed to address these demand-side barriers and enhance smallholder farmers’ knowledge, utilization, trust, and uptake of two Egyptian mobile apps offering marketing, advisory, and input delivery services. Following a Training of Trainers (TOT) model, we designed and implemented a randomized controlled trial to test three variants of digital literacy training: standard classroom-based digital literacy training (T1), digital training complemented (preceded) by a video-based play (T2), digital training complemented (preceded) by a live community play (T3), and a control group (C). We find that the different variants of digital training led to statistically significant increases in uptake and utilization of digital tools. Specifically, the standard digital training alone increased uptake by 20 percentage points and utilization by 18 percentage points. The interventions also improved farmers’ trust in digital tools by 8–13 percentage points. Surprisingly, for some outcomes, the digital literacy training alone outperformed the combined approaches that incorporated edutainment nudges. We explore possible explanations, including group size effects and social influence dynamics during the plays. We also document heterogeneity in the impact of these interventions across farmers’ gender and age. Our findings offer insights into designing cost-effective, scalable interventions that build digital capabilities and trust among smallholder farmers, while cautioning against assuming edutainment always strengthens adoption outcomes.

Antimicrobial and other aquamedicine use for disease treatment in pond-based commercial tilapia farms in Bangladesh

This study addresses the limited information on use of antimicrobials and other chemical use in commercial tilapia farms in Bangladesh. A retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2022 in the Mymensingh district, a major tilapia production hub. Nearly half of the farms (46.6%) experienced fish mortality during the last production cycle, and 75.0% of farmers did not seek professional assistance during disease outbreaks. Among those who did, 68.0% relied on chemical or drug suppliers for guidance rather than veterinary experts. Biosecurity practices were inadequate, with 98.3% not implementing four basic monitored measures: disinfection of vehicles, footwear, hands, and equipment. Awareness of antimicrobial use (AMU) risks among respondents was low, with 56.0% unaware of its negative impacts and 88.8% unfamiliar with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antibiotic use was low, with only 15.5% of farms reporting antibiotic treatments, primarily oxytetracycline hydrochloride (23.8%), enrofloxacin (19.0%), and erythromycin–sulphadiazine–trimethoprim (19.0%). However, other chemicals with antimicrobial properties, such as disinfectants, were more commonly applied, reported by 39.7% of farms for disease management. The use of both antimicrobial and non-antimicrobial medicine varied significantly by location, being significantly less likely observed in Tarakanda (p < 0.05) and Fulbaria (p < 0.01), suggesting location-specific differences in disease management. The presence of clinical signs was significantly associated with increased use of both antimicrobials, non-antimicrobial medicine and use of overall aquamedicine (p < 0.001), while longer cultivation durations showed a weak association with reduced AMU. Imprudent use of antimicrobials and other chemicals may pose One Health risks, including disruption of pond microbial ecosystems, AMR development, chemical residues, and occupational hazards. In-depth qualitative studies are needed to further understand and optimize antimicrobial and other chemical use practices and determine how tilapia farmers may benefit from improved biosecurity, training, and veterinary access.

Locally led climate adaptation: Business unusual for agricultural research

“There are increasing calls for the fostering of climate-resilient food, land and water systems that are sustainable, equitable and inclusive. Climate adaptation endeavors, however, often do not position local people’s needs, capacities and preferences at the core of climate action; efforts often bypass the poorest and most vulnerable and in some cases exacerbate extant inequities [1,2]. There is a need for a more radical locally led climate adaptation (LLCA) approach that goes beyond buzzwords and rhetoric to ensure that climate action is genuinely led by those communities who are affected and who are best placed to understand their own priorities and what is relevant within a given context. Coger et al. (2022) identified eight principles for LLCA. These have been widely endorsed including by investors in climate action such as the World Bank. There are few tools, methodologies and approaches, however, to guide the implementation of LLCA, and a lack of evidence on its efficacy [3]. Operationalization of LLCA is further stymied by rigid policy and funding frameworks that remain embedded in traditional hierarchies of decision-making, agenda setting, power relations and short-term thinking/action. Closing the gap between LLCA rhetoric and reality requires a business unusual agricultural research approach. This poses both a challenge and opportunity for agricultural researchers and other actors involved in LLCA.”

Artificial intelligence-assisted dietary assessment in adolescent girls in Sri Lanka: Validity against weighed food records and comparison with 24-hour recalls

Background Reliable dietary data for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited due to high costs and estimation errors in traditional dietary assessment methods. Although technology-assisted dietary assessment tools are becoming popular, few have been validated in LMICs. Objectives This study validated the PlantVillage Food Recognition Assistance and Nudging Insights (FRANI), an artificial intelligence-assisted mobile application for dietary assessment, against weighed food records (WFR) and multipass 24-h recalls (24HR) among adolescent girls aged 14‒18 y (n = 60) in urban/semi-urban communities in Sri Lanka. Methods Dietary intake was assessed over 2 non-consecutive days using 3 methods: FRANI, WFR, and 24HR. The equivalence of nutrient intake was evaluated using mixed-effect models accounting for repeated measures by comparing intake ratios (FRANI/WFR and 24HR/WFR) with 10%, 15%, and 20% equivalence bounds. The concordance correlation coefficient was utilized to assess the agreement between methods. Results FRANI demonstrated equivalence with WFR at the 10% bound for energy and vitamin A; 15% for protein, fiber, iron, and zinc; and 20% for fat, niacin, and folate intakes. Comparisons between 24HR and WFR found that no nutrients fell within the 10% bound. Energy, protein, fat, iron, niacin, and vitamin A intakes were equivalent at 15% bound, whereas fiber, calcium, folate, and vitamin C intakes were equivalent at 20% bound. Concordance correlation coefficient ranged from 0.49 to 0.89 for FRANI compared to WFR, and 0.44 to 0.84 for 24HR compared with WFR. Omission errors were 2% for FRANI and 12% for 24HR, and intrusion errors were 7% and 9%, respectively. Conclusions PlantVillage FRANI application accurately estimated nutrient intakes of adolescent girls in Sri Lanka compared to the WFR. Its performance was at least comparable to the traditional 24HR method, supporting its potential as a scalable alternative for dietary assessment in similar LMIC populations.