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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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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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TOPIC

Agriculture Production

Sustainable food production is critical to meeting growing global food needs amid climate change and natural resource scarcity. It is also the starting point for a shift toward sustainable, equitable food systems. But in many developing countries, underinvestment in agricultural production means that productivity and farmer incomes remain low, with negative impacts on rural development. Lack of knowledge, capital, labor, or other resources can lead to degradation of the natural resources that support agricultural production. As a result, food production is vulnerable to natural and socioeconomic shocks.

Evidence shows that sound and sustained investment in agriculture, especially in research and development, is key to increasing agricultural productivity, reducing poverty, and fostering economywide growth. Yet many developing countries give little consideration to agricultural science and technology in their national development plans.

… read more

IFPRI’s research examines emerging technologies and policy innovations designed to meet global food needs sustainably and equitably. Our researchers consider innovations in natural resource management, climate and energy policies, mechanization and digital options, biosafety systems for biotechnology, agricultural diversity, property rights, and collective action that can lead to improved food production and sustainability.

With proven innovations in hand, improvements in agricultural extension can lead to greater adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies. Work on nutrition and value chain development can help to build demand for diverse agricultural products. IFPRI’s foresight research helps to identify future threats to food production and security and ensure that scarce budgetary resources are directed toward sustainable development investments that achieve the greatest impact.

IFPRI’s agriculture production research is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 7, SDG 8, SDG 10, SDG 13, and SDG 15. It also aligns with the CGIAR Impact Areas on Climate Adaptation and Mitigation; Environmental Health and Biodiversity; Nutrition, Health, and Food Security; and Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods, and Jobs.

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topics

Publications

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Journal Article

Agricultural technology adoption and deforestation: Evidence from a randomized control trial

2026Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Lundberg, Clark
Details

Agricultural technology adoption and deforestation: Evidence from a randomized control trial

We study the effect of the adoption of improved agricultural inputs on deforestation using a randomized control trial in Nigeria which introduced a more efficient and environmentally-friendly nitrogen fertilizer. We combine survey data from the intervention with earth observation data to develop a generalizable method for evaluating the effects of cluster-level interventions on landscape-level outcomes. We find evidence of an intensification response to treatment exposure that reflects significant heterogeneity across land cover. On land with relatively sparse pre-intervention tree cover, treatment exposure increased deforestation while in denser forest areas the intervention reduced deforestation. We find corresponding effects showing treatment exposure increases agricultural productivity. Our results reflect an intensification response to improved agricultural technology that redirects agricultural activity away from forests and towards existing cropland.

Year published

2026

Authors

Bloem, Jeffrey R.; Lundberg, Clark

Citation

Bloem, Jeffrey R.; and Lundberg, Clark. 2026. Agricultural technology adoption and deforestation: Evidence from a randomized control trial. Journal of Development Economics 178(January 2026): 103600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103600

Country/Region

Nigeria

Keywords

Africa; Western Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Agricultural Technology; Data; Deforestation; Nitrogen Fertilizer; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103600 Source record

Project

Rethinking Food Markets

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Transfers, information and management advice: Direct effects and complementarities in Malawi

2026Ambler, Kate; de Brauw, Alan; Godlonton, Susan
Details

Transfers, information and management advice: Direct effects and complementarities in Malawi

We examine a program designed to alleviate credit, information, and farm management constraints among smallholder cash crop farmers through transfers and a cross-randomized program offering intensive agricultural extension. We document strong complementarities between the two sets of interventions. Investment driven by increased labor expenditures, production, and consumption are highest for farmers that received both transfers and intensive extension, a pattern that persists two and three years later. In the short run, transfers alone led to the reallocation of input expenditures into increased labor for cash crop cultivation, which led to increased production of project focal crops but not total crop production. While farmers in the transfers only group continue to spend more on labor in subsequent seasons, this does not lead to changes in production or consumption, suggesting that the support of the intensive extension was important for the generation of the largest welfare gains from the transfers.

Year published

2026

Authors

Ambler, Kate; de Brauw, Alan; Godlonton, Susan

Citation

Ambler, Kate; de Brauw, Alan; and Godlonton, Susan. 2026. Transfers, information and management advice: Direct effects and complementarities in Malawi. Journal of Development Economics 178(January 2026): 103601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103601

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Agriculture; Extension; Cash Transfers; Inputs; Smallholders; Advisory Services

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103601 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Gendered networks and demand for an agricultural technology in India

2026Gulati, Kajal; Magnan, Nicholas; Lybbert, Travis J.; Spielman, David J.
Details

Gendered networks and demand for an agricultural technology in India

Studies on social learning and technology adoption often only consider the networks of a single individual in a household as a source of information influencing agricultural production decisions. We test the validity of this assumption by examining the role of men’s and women’s social networks in the adoption of a novel water-saving technology, laser land leveling (LLL), in India. Using network data from men and women in the same household, we test the influence of being connected to an adopter on demand for LLL. We identify the causal gender-specific network effects using a field experiment that combines an auction with a lottery for the technology, making the presence of adopters in networks exogenous. The data reveal that men’s and women’s networks vary in size and show little overlap. We find that whereas household demand for LLL increases when men are linked to an LLL-adopting household, it decreases when the network linkages run through women. These gender-differentiated effects are concentrated in households where the woman’s opinion about the technology is valued by the man and in non-poor households. The results highlight that social learning may interact with the socio-demographic characteristics of households in myriad ways to influence household technology adoption decisions, and that agricultural-based information interventions ought to also consider how information gets used in the household. JEL classification: D13; Q12; Q16

Year published

2026

Authors

Gulati, Kajal; Magnan, Nicholas; Lybbert, Travis J.; Spielman, David J.

Citation

Gulati, Kajal; Magnan, Nicholas; Lybbert, Travis J.; and Spielman, David J. 2025. Gendered networks and demand for an agricultural technology in India. World Development 197(January 2026): 107182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107182

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Agricultural Technology; Capacity Development; Gender; Social Networks; Technology Adoption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107182 Source record

Project

Policies, Institutions, and Markets

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Signaling, screening, or sunk costs? Experimental evidence on how prices affect agricultural technology adoption in East Africa
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 20, 2025

Signaling, screening, or sunk costs? Experimental evidence on how prices affect agricultural technology adoption in East Africa

By Bjorn Van Campenhout, Gashaw Abate, Liesbeth Colen, and Berber Kramer

An avenue to improved productivity.

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 05, 2025

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs

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

Linking sustainable farming practices to childhood nutrition.

No olive branch: Natural resource destruction and prospects for restoration in Gaza and the West Bank
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 15, 2025

No olive branch: Natural resource destruction and prospects for restoration in Gaza and the West Bank

By Hagar ElDidi, Ryan Nehring, and Claudia Ringler

Addressing the war’s heavy toll on olive trees.

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Events

Launch of the Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) 2025
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

December 16, 2025, 12:00 – 2:00 pm

Launch of the Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) 2025

AKADEMIYA2063 and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), in partnership with AGRA, are convening a hybrid launch event to unveil and discuss the findings of the Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor (AATM) 2025. This annual publication monitors and highlights trends in African agrifood trade, including intra-African trade, the continent’s participation in global trade, insights into […]

Shaping Food Policy in a Changing World: Research Priorities for Greater Impact
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

December 15, 2025, 9:00 – 4:00 pm

Shaping Food Policy in a Changing World: Research Priorities for Greater Impact

Also streaming on Please type your questions into the chat box with name, affiliation, and country. The event video, presenter slides, and podcast will be available in the days following the event. In today’s fast-changing world and evolving food systems, the need for evidence-based food policy has never been more urgent – demanding research that […]

The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs in Ghana and Malawi
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

December 10, 2025, 10:00 – 11:00 am

The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs in Ghana and Malawi

This webinar will explore the latest global evidence on how school feeding programs drive broad-based returns: boosting education, enhancing health outcomes, supporting local agriculture, and strengthening national development as a follow-up to episode 1 of this series. The session will showcase research from Malawi and Ghana, evaluating the economy-wide impacts of both nation’s national school […]

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News

November 28, 2024 | Press Release

New paper calls for harnessing agrifood value chains to help farmers be climate-smart

The global food system is uniquely vulnerable to climate impacts, making adaptation of paramount importance.

February 11, 2024 | In the News

Agricultural growth key to accelerated poverty reduction in Bangladesh (Financial Express)

Senior research fellow and country representative, Akhter Ahmed writes in an op-ed for the Financial Express (Bangladesh) that the country “has witnessed substantial economic growth over the past decade, with an average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.6 per cent between 2016 and 2022. Notably, the country experienced a 3.4 per cent increase in GDP in 2020, making Bangladesh one […]

November 26, 2023 | In the News

Scientists are racing to protect grass from climate change. Your cheap burger is at stake (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal (Australia) quotes Keith Wiebe, IFPRI senior research fellow, in an article analyzing how heat waves and drought are threatening pasture on farms worldwide.  “If pasture becomes less productive, prices would be expected to rise, not just for meat, wool and dairy products but also for cereals and other food commodities that would […]

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Our experts

Claudia Ringler

Claudia Ringler

Director, Natural Resources and Resilience (NRR), Natural
Resources and Resilience

David Spielman

David Spielman

Director, Innovation Policy and Scaling (IPS), Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Xinshen Diao

Xinshen Diao

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

Nina Jovanovic

Nina Jovanovic

Associate Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Avinash Kishore

Avinash Kishore

Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

William Ndeko

William Ndeko

Research Associate – Demand Creation, Innovation
Policy and Scaling

Amit Burman

Amit Burman

Project Coordinator, Development
Strategies and Governance

Mariam Dawoud

Mariam Dawoud

Program Manager, Development
Strategies and Governance

Ian Masias

Ian Masias

Program Head, Development
Strategies and Governance

Patrick Ward

Patrick Ward

Nonresident Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Cynthia Kazembe

Cynthia Kazembe

Communications Manager, Development
Strategies and Governance